George Russell beat Max Verstappen to pole position in a thrilling qualifying hour at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Momentum through the weekend swung between McLaren, Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, but it was Russell’s Mercedes that peaked at the right time, topping the Q2 time sheet and then dominating Q3. The Briton defied expectations for unpredictability by setting two laps good enough for pole position as track evolution reached its climax.
A sizzling first lap laid the foundations, featuring two purple times in the opening two sectors to take provisional pole. Russell was then one of only two among the top five drivers to find time with his second lap, cementing his hold on top spot to claim pole with a best time of 1m29.158s, a new track record in Marina Bay.
It was Russell’s second pole of the season and came after a crash in FP2 eliminated him from most of the most important practice session of the weekend.
“Amazing to be on pole position,” he said. “Yesterday was a very challenging day for many different reasons, but it’s good to come back and get a good result today.
“Of course there’s a long, sweaty race tomorrow, but I knew there was potential in the car. I’m very happy to be on pole.”
Verstappen was Russell’s closest challenger, missing pole by 0.182s, but the Dutchman felt there was time left on the table on his second run. The reigning champion, who has never taken pole in Singapore, made a mistake in the final sector, for which he appeared to blame the dirty air from the slow-moving Lando Norris, who was on his way back to pit lane ahead of him in the final corners.
“That’s noted. It will be remembered as well,” he said. “That was a bit of a shame, otherwise I think it could’ve been close for pole.
“It’s always exciting here in qualifying. I’m disappointed not to be first, but for us this weekend so far has been really good. The car’s been very competitive, so for us to be second again is very good.”
Title leader Oscar Piastri qualified third, but the quickest McLaren was 0.366s off the pace after a lap he said was at the car’s maximum.
“Obviously I wanted more,” he said. “But I don’t think we had 0.4s in it to go and get pole.
“Ultimately I’m pretty happy. I think it’s been a good weekend so far, and I built up through it nicely. It was a pretty clean session, so that’s all I can ask for.”
Kimi Antonelli put the second Mercedes fourth and 0.379s behind his pole-getting teammate after being almost eliminated in Q2 for exceeding track limits.
Lando Norris was fifth after an uninspiring session from the Briton, who was 0.428s off the pace.
Lewis Hamilton topped Q1 but improved by only 0.077s through the entire hour on his way to sixth. He was just under 0.1s quicker than Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in seventh.
Isack Hadjar headed the midfield in eighth ahead of Olvier Bearman and Fernando Alonso to complete the top 10.
Nico Hulkenberg will line up a season-best 11th in his Sauber, beating Williams teammates Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz to the place.
Liam Lawson recovered from two big accidents in the second and third practice sessions to qualify 14th ahead of under-pressure Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda, whose 15th place was his worst qualifying performance since August’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The Japanese driver lapped 0.277s shy of a Q3 berth and 0.781s slower than teammate Verstappen.
Gabriel Bortoleto missed Q2 by just 0.045s, leaving the Sauber driver 16th on the grid ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
“So unbelievable, it just always goes bad,” Stroll lamented.
Franco Colapinto was 18th ahead of Haas’s Esteban Ocon and Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, who parked his car by the side of the road after it failed on his final flying lap.
“I’ve lost everything,” the Frenchman reported, explaining his third consecutive Q1 elimination.
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