Norris beats Verstappen to Singapore pole after Sainz crashes out · RaceFans

Lando Norris secured pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen in a dramatic qualifying session.

The McLaren driver beat his rival by two tenths of a second to take the top spot on the grid for Sunday’s race. The two Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, will start third and fourth.

It was a difficult end to qualifying for Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz Jnr crashing out at the start of Q3, while Charles Leclerc will start ninth after his only timed lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Q1

It was a clear night in Singapore, free from rain as well as reptiles, as the opening session of qualifying began.

Ferrari wasted no time getting their cars out on track. Charles Leclerc was the first driver of the top teams to set a lap time with a 1’30.896. To begin with, that was beaten only by Lando Norris, to the tune of just under two tenths of a second, as all 20 drivers chose soft tyres from the start of qualifying.

The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were both well down the order, albeit safe, in 11th and 13th place, respectively. Sergio Perez was also perilously close to being eliminated in 14th place with drivers almost certain to improve on their final runs.

Only the McLaren drivers did not take a fresh set of softs for their final flying lap at the end of the session, but they looked to have more than enough pace to do so as they both improved to go quickest with Norris as team mate Oscar Piastri went second.

When the chequered flag flew, all five drivers in the drop zone were improving their lap times. Daniel Ricciardo had already set his final lap and sat on the bubble of elimination in 15th and his qualifying ended when Esteban Ocon completed his lap and took the place from him, eliminating the RB driver.

Lance Stroll also failed to join Aston Martin team mate Fernando Alonso in Q2, with Pierre Gasly eliminated in 18th. As has often been the case this year, the slowest two drivers were Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in the Saubers.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q1 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2

McLaren were the only team to reach Q2 using just a single set of soft tyres, giving them a crucial advantage over their rivals for the remainder of qualifying.

Perez set the initial benchmark with a 1’30.653 on a fresh set of softs, with team mate Verstappen directly behind him on a used set. Verstappen ran wide at the final corner with a snap of oversteer and crossed the outside white line with all four wheels, as a result of which his first effort was deleted.

Norris used a new set to go quickest with a 1’30.007, two tenths ahead of Leclerc. The Mercedes duo were the last drivers out to complete an attempt, with Hamilton jumping to the top of the order ahead of Norris as Russell moved up to third.

With five minutes remaining, Verstappen was the only of the 15 drivers yet to set a legitimate lap time. Red Bull sent him out onto a clear track with a new set of softs to rectify that, and he took full advantage to go quickest of all by two tenths, ensuring his passage into Q3.

Verstappen’s lap meant that as the chequered flag approached, the five drivers at risk of being eliminated were Kevin Magnussen Alonso, Albon and Colapinto with Ocon the slowest of the 15 drivers. Ocon improved but missed the top ten.

Alonso moved up into ninth with his final attempt, moving Perez into danger of elimination. The Red Bull driver had to improve significantly in order to secure a place in Q3 but while he did gain time with a second set of new tyres, he only managed 13th place which ensured his elimination.

The two Williams just missed out on Q3 in 11th and 12th with Albon and Colapinto, while Magnussen was also knocked out in 14th. Ocon fell to the rear of the field in 15th, becoming the final driver to be cut.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3

With so many possibilities and permutations, it was all shaping up to be a tense end to qualifying to decide the top positions on the grid.

Nico Hulkenberg won the race out of the pit lane to lead the field of ten cars onto the track. Piastri was behind the Haas driver, with Verstappen third in the queue. Hulkenberg set an initial lap time with Piastri going quickest with a 1’30.037.

However Piastri had passed Sainz as he ended his lap, and as the Ferrari driver made to begin his, the SF-24 snapped out of his control at the penultimate corner. Sainz spun backwards into the outside barrier at the final corner.

Verstappen was seconds behind Sainz at the time and completed his lap before the red flag came out to stop the session. However, as Verstappen passed the scene of the accident, a double yellow flag was triggered in the final corner. Although the world champion lifted through the sector, a double yellow flag meant that his lap was automatically deleted by rule.

After a delay, the session resumed with eight minutes remaining. The nine remaining drivers waited until the closing minutes to emerge on their final runs. Piastri improved on his own provisional pole with before Norris went four tenths faster to go to the top of the times by four tenths of a second.

That would prove to be the pole-winning lap for the McLaren driver as no one could get within two tenths of his time. Verstappen was closest, securing the other front row position in second, with the two Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell in third and fourth. Piastri will start fifth ahead of Hulkenberg a surprise sixth, with Alonso and Tsunoda behind them.

The two Ferraris will start ninth and tenth with neither registering a lap time in Q3. Leclerc’s only timed lap of the session was deleted for exceeding track limits at turn two, with Sainz failing to set a time after crashing on his out-lap.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3 result