McLaren’s Lando Norris beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday in a thrilling qualifying session that was red-flagged when Carlos Sainz crashed. Norris’ lap time of 1 minute, 30.002 seconds was 0.155 seconds faster than Verstappen’s. Lewis Hamilton placed third, ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell. “It was good enough for pole, and I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore,” said Norris, who is hoping to cut the 59-point gap with Verstappen in the drivers’ championship. “A pleasant feeling. I’ve felt fantastic all weekend, confident, maybe not so much in qualifying, but we got the job done,” the Englishman continued.
However, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Sainz, who won in Singapore a year ago, had a dismal Q3 and will start ninth and tenth on the grid. Sainz’s back end ripped out on the penultimate turn, sending him crashing into the barriers and stopping Q3 with little over eight minutes remaining, giving most drivers only one shot at a qualifying lap. Verstappen had only been 15th quickest in practice on Friday, so he was relieved to be beside his major championship opponent at the front of the grid.”I’m happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday,”
“Tomorrow is a bit difficult to say, in Singapore a lot of things can happen, but at least we have a shot at it like this.” Hamilton had also battled in practice but put in a strong lap when it counted.
“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year, and I’ve been working, working, working to get back up there,” said the seven-time world champion Hamilton. “The vehicle came to life for the first time in qualifying in a long time. Fernando Alonso finished seventh in an Aston Martin, with Yuki Tsunoda eighth in the RB. Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, failed to qualify for the pole position and will start 13th on the grid.
Along with Perez, the Williams drivers Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto, Kevin Magnussen in a Haas, and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) also failed to get beyond. Daniel Ricciardo, who is reported to be racing in F1 for the final time for RB, was among the bottom five who were eliminated. Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, and the Sauber duo all failed to qualify