Lando Norris of McLaren 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 and 30.002 seconds was 0.155 seconds faster than Verstappen’s. Lewis Hamilton finished third, ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell. “It feels fantastic. I’ve felt good all weekend, confident, maybe not so much in qualifying, but we got the job done,” said the Englishman.
But it was a catastrophic Q3 for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Sainz, who won in Singapore a year ago 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.
Leclerc then had his single lap time removed for exceeding track restrictions at turn two. 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,”
Hamilton had likewise battled in practice but produced a strong lap when it counted. “Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year, and I’ve been working hard to get back up there,” said seven-time world champion Hamilton.
“Suddenly, the car came alive for the first time in qualifying in a long time. “I hope we’re in a good position to fight for the front tomorrow.” Oscar Piastri of McLaren was fifth fastest, and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg will start beside him on the third row.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, could not qualify for the pole position shootout and will start from 13th place 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 past Q2.
Daniel Ricciardo, who is said to be driving in F1 for the final time for RB, was among the worst five drivers that were eliminated in Q1. Listen to the most recent music, exclusively on JioSaavn.com. Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, and Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu’s Sauber all failed to qualify for Q2.