SingaporeGP: Verstappen Beats the Clock to Grab Sprint Pole

Red Bull star finds 1:31.156 on his final run to edge Russell by 0.120s, with Leclerc third and a Perez crash shaping a frantic session at Marina Bay

Max Verstappen timed his last lap to perfection under the Singapore lights to take pole position for Saturday's Sprint, setting a 1:31.156 that nobody could answer.

The Red Bull driver's effort on soft tyres was the fastest lap of the entire session, averaging 194.580 km/h according to the official timing sheet. Mercedes' George Russell was 0.120s adrift in second, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc a further 0.123s back in third.

Verstappen's pole was briefly in doubt after the stewards looked into a possible yellow-flag infringement in SQ1. No penalty followed, and he will lead the field away for the 21-lap Sprint.

McLaren took the next two places. Oscar Piastri was fourth with a 1:31.454, only 0.055s behind Leclerc, while Lando Norris was fifth on 1:31.587, 0.431s from pole.

Lewis Hamilton took sixth in the second Ferrari with a 1:31.702, roughly half a second off the pace. Kimi Antonelli, the Drivers' Championship leader, was seventh for Mercedes on 1:31.849, and Liam Lawson was the leading Racing Bulls driver in eighth with a 1:32.341.

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar and Alpine's Pierre Gasly completed the top 10 in ninth and tenth. Both had their SQ3 laps deleted, and the official classification lists neither with a time in the final segment.

Every car ran the mandatory medium tyres in the opening segment, but the session was halted with six minutes left when Sergio Perez hit the tyre barrier at Turn 4. The Cadillac's front wing was damaged, and as he tried to get back to the pits he dragged it under the car, scattering debris across the racing line and bringing out the red flag.

Very few drivers had banked a representative lap by then. Hamilton led on 1:33.748, around 1.5s slower than Russell's best in FP1, which meant the restart became a one-shot dash for the cut-off.

Replays showed Verstappen passing Hamilton under yellow flags, but the stewards judged it an “unfortunate consequence” of the cars' different closing speeds and took no action.

Verstappen finished SQ1 on top with a 1:33.477, just 0.018s clear of Leclerc (1:33.495), with Russell (1:33.573) and Hamilton (1:33.748) next. Piastri survived a nervous wait near the drop zone after abandoning his first attempt.

The six drivers eliminated were Arvid Lindblad (P17, missing the cut by 0.088s), Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz. Albon said his Williams felt “completely different to practice”.

With the mediums fitted again, Leclerc topped the segment with a 1:32.246. Hamilton (1:32.562) and Norris (1:32.572) followed, although Hamilton reported “a couple of big snaps” late in his lap and suggested there was more to come.

Verstappen could manage only fifth (1:32.701), and Russell had the most anxious moment. A lock-up left him down in P8 on tired tyres, but he went again and climbed to fourth with a 1:32.614. That pushed Alpine's Franco Colapinto out of the top 10, 0.094s shy of Gasly.

Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon were eliminated. Hulkenberg (1:33.420) and Bearman (1:33.423) were separated by just 0.003s.

Ferrari, Red Bull, Lawson and Gasly stayed in their garages while the others went out, which gave Norris clear track to put the softs to work and go top with a 1:31.587. Piastri was close behind, and neither Mercedes could threaten McLaren at that stage.

Leclerc moved ahead of Norris by 0.019s on his run, and Hamilton could not hold on to his time as the lap slipped away from him in the final sector. Then came Verstappen. He was quickest through the first sector and kept it going all the way round to record 1:31.156, which was 1.545s faster than his SQ2 best. The timing sheet logs the lap just eight seconds after Leclerc's.

Russell came closest, followed by Leclerc, Piastri and Norris.

Colapinto starts 11th, ahead of Hulkenberg, Bearman, Bortoleto, Alonso and Ocon. Lindblad and Stroll are 17th and 18th, with Albon 19th, Perez 20th and Bottas 21st. Sainz will start from the back in 22nd after setting the slowest time in SQ1.

Provisional Sprint starting grid

Credit Photo : Red Bull Racing