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
George Russell posted a couple of stunning Q3 laps to claim pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, eclipsing Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in another pulsating Qualifying session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
After topping Q2, Russell carried that momentum through to the decisive pole shootout by pumping in a time of 1m 29.165s on his first lap out of the pits – the Mercedes man tapping the concrete walls as he pushed his car to the limits under the lights.
Russell found seven more thousandths on his final lap to get down to a 1m 29.158s and, despite their best efforts, none of his rivals had an answer, meaning the Briton will start from the front of the grid for the second time this season after June’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Red Bull driver Verstappen swore over the radio in frustration after finishing 0.182s down on Russell in second, with Piastri leading the McLaren charge in third over the Silver Arrow of Kimi Antonelli and team mate Lando Norris.
Ferrari did not quite have the pace to fight for pole as they wound up sixth and seventh, with Lewis Hamilton a tenth up on team mate Charles Leclerc, who recovered from a scare in Q2 that involved him sitting in the drop zone before his final effort.
Isack Hadjar was one of the stars of Qualifying as he dragged his Racing Bulls car to eighth, while Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso were similarly impressive on their way to ninth and 10th.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/russell-charges-to-singapore-gp-pole-over-verstappen-and-piastri.6RlzeBPkBJt6loH3NQWyNZ
Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen took a jab at McLaren’s Lando Norris after the Singapore Grand Prix qualifying.
The Dutchman secured second on the grid for the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. “You can thank your mate for that. Hard luck,” Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase said over the team radio.
Verstappen accused his McLaren rival of ruining his final flying lap while speaking to David Coulthard following the session.
“That’s what happens when there’s a car in front of you just cruising two seconds in front. That’s noted, it will be remembered as well,” Verstappen explained.
When asked which driver he was speaking about, Verstappen clarified: “Not Oscar. So that was a bit of a shame, otherwise I think it could have been close for pole.
“It’s always very exciting here in qualifying. Of course I’m disappointed to not be first, but for us this weekend so far has been really good. The car has been very competitive, so for us to be second again is very good.”
e later clarified it was indeed Norris.
Replays showed that Norris was ahead of the Red Bull driver at the final chicane during his last flying lap, but 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button argued that the McLaren driver was not required to move over before the chicane.
“With these cars, you get affected by a car a couple of seconds up the road, which is a pain, but that’s why they move over immediately,” Button said on Sky Sports F1.
“I think he’s frustrated Lando didn’t move over before the chicane. He doesn’t have to within the regulations, but it obviously hurt his front end as he turned into the corner and put him off line.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/max-verstappen-sends-warning-to-lando-norris-after-singapore-qualifying-will-be-remembered/10764994/
McLaren driver Lando Norris snapped back at Red Bull following Max Verstappen’s accusation that he impeded his Formula 1 Singapore GP qualifying, saying “they always complain, that’s Red Bull.”
At the end of qualifying at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Norris was on his in-lap having taken fifth on the grid while a hot-lapping Verstappen approached in the final sector – the Dutchman was the last frontrunner to take the chequered flag.
With Norris slowing on his way to the pits, two to three seconds ahead, Verstappen locked up and missed the apex of Turn 16, which made him abandon his lap, angrily gesticulating at Norris.
“That’s what happens when there’s a car in front of you just cruising two seconds in front. That’s noted, it will be remembered as well,” Verstappen said afterwards.
But when quizzed about the incident by Motorsport.com, Norris was puzzled by the reigning world champion’s complaint as he felt he was still well clear and therefore didn’t impact his rival.
“They always complain. They complain about everything. That’s Red Bull. I don’t even know. I was like three second ahead. I can’t work it out.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/norris-verstappen-singapore-f1-impeding-red-bull-always-complain/10765034/