George Russell delivered a spectacular performance under the lights of Marina Bay to secure pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, outpacing Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in a thrilling Qualifying session.
After setting the pace in Q2, Russell maintained his momentum into the final shootout. His first flying lap clocked in at 1m 29.165s, with the Mercedes driver brushing the concrete walls as he pushed to the limit. He then improved by seven thousandths of a second on his final attempt, lowering the benchmark to 1m 29.158s. That was enough to clinch his second pole of the season following his success in Canada.
Verstappen expressed his frustration over the radio after finishing 0.182s adrift in second, having encountered traffic on his final lap. Piastri secured third place for McLaren, ahead of Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes and team mate Lando Norris.
Ferrari were unable to join the pole fight, finishing sixth and seventh, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque had a nervous moment in Q2 when he briefly sat in the drop zone before a late push secured progression.
Isack Hadjar was one of the stars of the session, putting his Racing Bulls car in eighth place, while Ollie Bearman impressed again for Haas in ninth. Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten for Aston Martin.
Nico Hulkenberg led the Kick Sauber charge in 11th, putting recent struggles behind him. He edged out the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in 14th after recovering from crashes in practice. Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 15.
Gabriel Bortoleto narrowly missed Q2, ending up 16th ahead of Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin. Alpine endured another difficult outing, with Franco Colapinto 18th and Pierre Gasly 20th. Gasly stopped out on track late in Q1, bringing out yellow flags and causing disruption for several drivers. Esteban Ocon could do no better than 19th in the other Haas.
The Qualifying hour followed three competitive practice sessions, each topped by a different driver. Just 0.089s had separated Verstappen, the McLarens and the Mercedes in FP3, setting up a hotly anticipated showdown.
At the start of Q1, drivers wasted no time heading out on the soft tyres. Hamilton had an early moment at Turn 1, going wide and aborting his first run. Verstappen led the initial timings with a 1m 30.317s, ahead of Bearman and Russell. Hamilton later recovered to go fourth, with Norris slotting in behind.
Piastri had to abandon his first flying lap due to a yellow flag, prompting frustration on the radio. He bounced back with a time good enough for the top 10, while Hadjar went fastest briefly with a 1m 30.214s before Norris lowered the mark to 1m 29.932s.
There was a brief incident between Antonelli and a slow-moving Sainz during the session, but stewards decided no further action was necessary. Antonelli responded by going second shortly after.
Hamilton then thrilled the crowd by going quickest with a 1m 29.765s, just ahead of Russell. The pair were followed by Norris, Verstappen, Antonelli and Hadjar. In a last-minute twist, Gasly’s stoppage brought out yellow flags, affecting several drivers still on hot laps.
Despite the late disruption, Piastri advanced in seventh, along with Leclerc, Bearman and Tsunoda. Those eliminated in Q1 included Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon and Gasly, who will start from the back of the grid.
