Norris edges Verstappen for pole while Sainz crashes, as Mercedes secures a strong second row and Ferrari faces challenges.
Throughout the three free practice sessions at the Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren F1 and Lando Norris have emerged as the favourites. However, the battle for pole position promises to be fierce, as three other teams have shown comparable pace to McLaren from FP1 through FP3.
Mercedes, particularly George Russell’s car, have appeared increasingly quick as the weekend progressed, and the Ferraris were strong during Friday’s sessions before a drop-off in performance in FP3. Nonetheless, they remain contenders for pole position.
Despite some early issues, Max Verstappen has shown he can compete at the front, although his teammate Sergio Pérez has been somewhat off the pace.
Charles Leclerc was summoned to appear before the stewards with Ferrari before qualifying. The issue involved altering tyre pressures in the pit lane in a manner not compliant with the regulations. Given that it had no bearing on the remainder of the weekend and occurred during free practice, the stewards opted for a previously seen penalty of a €5000 fine.
Q1 – 18 minutes
Esteban Ocon and Guanyu Zhou set times, followed by Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas, but it was Charles Leclerc’s 1’30″896 that set the initial benchmark. Sergio Pérez completed his lap seven-tenths behind the Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz aborted his fast lap after a mistake at the first corner, while the McLaren F1 drivers posted fast laps. Lando Norris led with a time of 1’30″724, and Oscar Piastri took third position.
Sainz managed a quick lap and placed fourth. Alex Albon was fifth at six-tenths off, and Franco Colapinto seventh at 1.8 seconds back following a mistake. The Mercedes drivers then completed their fast laps, while the RB F1 drivers, including Max Verstappen, exited the pits.
Lewis Hamilton was fifth and Russell seventh, around Albon. Pérez could only manage eighth. Yuki Tsunoda set the fifth-fastest time, immediately bested by Fernando Alonso, with Daniel Ricciardo tenth. Lance Stroll was 15th, and Verstappen posted the second provisional time.
Leclerc bettered Verstappen, closing to within 0.062 seconds of Norris. Nico Hülkenberg moved up to fifth. Esteban Ocon recorded the eighth-fastest time and Kevin Magnussen ninth, pushing Mercedes and Williams outside the top 10.
Albon clocked the fastest time at 1’30″679, but Norris immediately bettered it with a blistering 1’30″002. Piastri recorded a time of 1’30″258. Hamilton secured the third-fastest spot ahead of Albon, while Russell only managed sixth.
Pérez moved up to fourth, while Verstappen slotted into second. Ricciardo, however, only improved to twelfth—a disappointing performance following strong showings in FP1 and FP2. Magnussen claimed the tenth position.
Tsunoda outperformed Ricciardo to claim eighth place, with Colapinto also reaching eighth! Russell expressed frustration, saying, “I have absolutely no bloody grip; the tyres are totally different from FP3.” Stroll made insufficient gains and remained in 16th, while Ocon improved to 14th. Zhou did no better than 19th, with Bottas advancing to 18th. Gasly also failed to improve beyond 18th. Sainz reassured himself with a sixth-place finish.
The eliminations included Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly, Bottas, and Zhou.
Q2 – 15 minutes
With RB F1 considering an immediate replacement by Liam Lawson, Ricciardo’s underperformance after a promising start to the weekend is decidedly bad news for the Australian. As we wait for further developments, Q2 gets underway.
Pérez set the initial Q2 time at 1’30″653, quickly beaten by Verstappen with 1’30″371, although he crossed the line off-track after a mistake in the last corner. His time was subsequently annulled by race direction.
Nico Hülkenberg claimed the top spot with 1’30″374, but Norris did even better with 1’30″007. Leclerc moved into second and Sainz into fourth, while Magnussen logged the sixth-fastest time ahead of the Williams. Piastri moved up to third. And Albon, like Russell in Q1, complained about his tyres.
Tsunoda positioned himself fifth, and Hamilton surprised everyone by taking the lead with 1’29″929, while Russell posted the third provisional time. The tyre issues seem to have vanished on the W15, showing immediate speed.
Verstappen re-entered the track alone to avoid traffic. This time, the Red Bull driver made no mistakes and clocked the best time at 1’29″680, securing his spot in Q3, unlike last year.
Piastri took the lead with 1’29″640, and Ocon recorded the 11th time. Leclerc was third, and Sainz sixth. Alonso improved but could only manage ninth. Magnussen was 12th, Albon improved to tenth, and Colapinto was a mere seven milliseconds behind Albon in 11th! Tsunoda clinched the eighth spot, eliminating the Williams. Pérez could do no better than 13th.
The eliminated drivers were Albon, Colapinto, Pérez, Magnussen, and Ocon.
Q3 – 12 minutes
Hülkenberg set the initial benchmark as the first to hit the track, but it was Piastri who clocked the first serious pole position contender with a time of 1’30″037. Verstappen took the lead just as Sainz crashed at the final corner! Fortunately, the Ferrari driver was unharmed, though the rear of his car met its demise against the TecPro barriers.
This rear-end collision occurred as the Spaniard was launching into his first flying lap, even before he could set a competitive time. However, Verstappen’s lap was negated as he passed through a yellow flag zone, prompting his lap to be cancelled despite having set the fastest sectors. Understandably, a red flag was waved.
Verstappen was baffled by the cancellation of his lap, asserting he crossed the finish line before the session was officially halted. Nonetheless, his improvement while passing through a double yellow flag zone was enough to annul his time.
16:05: The session is set to resume at 16:07 after track clear-up operations.
As the lights went green, no driver ventured onto the track. With insufficient time for two flying laps, everything hinged on a single attempt, and timing the exit was crucial as track conditions improved.
Three minutes passed without any action, until Piastri and Norris ventured out first, with less than four minutes remaining. They were followed by Hülkenberg, Alonso, and Leclerc, then the Mercedes pair and Tsunoda. Verstappen was the last to leave the pits.
Tsunoda’s engineer informed him that should the driver ahead “play games”, he was authorised to overtake after exiting the pits to avoid losing time on track. Meanwhile, Verstappen’s engineer urged him to overtake others, clearly worried about running out of time.
Russell’s engineer instructed him not to let Verstappen pass, but the Dutchman ultimately did. Piastri improved to 1’29″953, while Norris clinched an even faster 1’29″525, outpacing his teammate by four-tenths.
Hülkenberg was just a tenth shy of Piastri. Alonso secured the fourth provisional spot, and Leclerc could do no better than fifth. Hamilton slotted in between the McLarens! Verstappen improved to take the provisional second place, with Russell fourth. Tsunoda recorded the eighth-fastest time.
Thus, Norris will start on pole, ahead of Verstappen, with the two Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell next. Piastri will start fifth, ahead of Hülkenberg, then Alonso and Tsunoda, with the Ferraris potentially rounding out the fifth row, assuming Sainz escapes a penalty after Leclerc’s time was also cancelled.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:30.002 | 1:30.007 | 1:29.525 |
| 02 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:30.157 | 1:29.680 | 1:29.728 |
| 03 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W15 | 1:30.393 | 1:29.929 | 1:29.841 |
| 04 | George Russell | Mercedes W15 | 1:30.811 | 1:30.153 | 1:29.867 |
| 05 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:30.258 | 1:29.640 | 1:29.953 |
| 06 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:30.724 | 1:30.150 | 1:30.155 |
| 07 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:30.684 | 1:30.450 | 1:30.214 |
| 08 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:30.716 | 1:30.289 | 1:30.354 |
| 09 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:30.786 | 1:29.747 | – :—.— |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:30.670 | 1:30.108 | – :—.— |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 11 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:30.679 | 1:30.474 | |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:30.704 | 1:30.481 | |
| 13 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:30.624 | 1:30.579 | |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:30.829 | 1:30.653 | |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:30.958 | 1:30.769 | |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:31.085 | ||
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:31.094 | ||
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:31.312 | ||
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:31.572 | ||
| 20 | Guanyu Zhou | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:32.054 |
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