George Russell set a new track record at the Marina Bay street circuit to take pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver’s Q3 performance was solid and he will start ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.
After going quickest in Q2, Russell was able to build up his confidence and speed in the top ten shootout in Q3 by setting the pace with his first flying lap. His one minute, 29.165 seconds was set despite tapping the wall as George pushed his car to the limits under the lights.
Russell found seven more thousandths on his final Q3 lap to record one minute, 29.158 seconds and, despite their best efforts from his rivals, the Mercedes driver will start from the front of the grid for the second time this season after the Canadian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen claimed a front row slot position despite being impacted by Lando Norris, who was on a cooldown lap back to the pits.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri took third on the grid ahead of Kimi Antonelli, while Norris could only manage fifth after his second effort only offered a minor improvement in time.
Lewis Hamilton outqualified Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for sixth, while Isack Hadjar took eighth on the grid for his first Singapore Grand Prix. Ollie Bearman and Fernando Alonso completed the top ten.
Nico Hulkenberg dropped out of Q2 at the last moment as Leclerc rescued a top-ten start after a difficult opening lap. Leclerc touched the wall at Turn 14 and was sat in P13 ahead of the final runs.
This became P14 when Antonelli pushed himself out of Q2’s bottom five, having had his first lap deleted for a track limits violation at Turn 2.
Hulkenberg had contributed to Alex Albon’s drop into the bottom five as both Williams drivers struggled to find pace, but soon found himself out of luck when Leclerc’s last-attempt effort proved good enough for sixth in Q2.
Albon took P12 ahead of Carlos Sainz, while Liam Lawson claimed P14 after shaking off crashes in FP2 and FP3. Yuki Tsunoda struggled to get out throughout the session and only landed in P15 – bottom of the Q2 order.
Pierre Gasly’s stoppage in the final stages of Q1 halted a handful of attempts to break out of the bottom five, as the Alpine driver pulled over with a suspected hydraulics issue at Turn 11.
Gabriel Bortoleto was unable to improve enough on his final lap meaning this was the Sauber driver’s first Q1 exit since the British Grand Prix, as Lance Stroll was also eliminated in the opening phase.
Franco Colapinto outqualified teammate Gasly, whose issue left him unable to progress from last on the grid, as Esteban Ocon split the Alpines.
So congratulations to George Russell with pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix. To get P1 around this challenging Marina Bay street track is excellent and with overtaking very limited despite four DRS zones, Russell has a great chance to win.
Singapore Grand Prix, qualifying results:
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.158
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:29.340
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:29.524
4 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:29.537
5 Lando Norris McLaren 1:29.586
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:29.688
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.784
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:29.846
9 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:29.868
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:29.955
11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:30.141
12 Alexander Albon Williams 1:30.202
13 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:30.235
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:30.320
15 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:30.353
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:30.820
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:30.949
18 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:30.982
19 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:30.989
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:30.989