Verstappen Reaches 50 Pole Positions in Formula 1 and His First in Singapore

Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix in Formula 1 left Max Verstappen on the 50th pole of his career, the first he has taken at Marina Bay, with Charles Leclerc second and Lewis Hamilton third, and George Russell at the back of the grid due to an engine penalty.

Hamilton topped Q1 and Q2, so Ferrari reached the final phase as the team that looked best. In the first phase, those eliminated were Fernando Alonso, in 17th, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, Sergio Pérez, and Valtteri Bottas, along with Isack Hadjar, who returned to the pits with a gearbox failure in his Red Bull, could not set a time, and will start from the back of the grid. Laurent Mekies, Red Bull's director, said the mechanical problem prevented him from completing a lap, and the team was left without a second car to compare performance with Verstappen's. Esteban Ocon and Stroll had to abort laps after running over the limit in the braking zones, although both set times before being eliminated.

Photo By Red Bull Content Pool

In Q2, those eliminated were Nico Hülkenberg, 11th by a minimal margin from the top ten, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Franco Colapinto, who hit the wall on his final attempt. In that same session, Verstappen complained that the downshifts in his Red Bull were working very poorly, a gearbox problem that affects downshifts when braking for each corner and that weighs more heavily at a circuit with as many braking zones as Marina Bay. Red Bull could not eliminate it completely, but Verstappen advanced to Q3.

Verstappen settled pole on his first Q3 attempt

Verstappen settled pole with his first lap in Q3 and did not need to improve on the second. Hamilton had provisionally moved into second, but could not lower his time on the final attempt, and Leclerc did find what he needed to pass him and finish 54 thousandths off pole, with Hamilton just over a tenth back. Kimi Antonelli was fourth, followed by Lando Norris, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri.

It is Verstappen's 50th pole in 250 Formula 1 starts and the first he has taken at Marina Bay, a circuit where he has not yet won. When asked about the number, he responded with humor that it was "better than 49, not as good as 51." With four world titles, he joins a very small group of drivers who have reached that figure. His previous Grand Prix pole was at Sepang, in the Bahrain race, which he also won, and with the Sprint victory and this pole, Red Bull has strung together strong results at very different circuits since the upgrades it brought to Baku.

Ferrari had speed and finished 54 thousandths short

Leclerc suffered brake problems in Q1 and Q2, with the car pulling to one side under braking, something that drains confidence on a street circuit where the walls are close, and even so he found a competitive lap in Q3. He acknowledged mistakes in that phase and said the wing adjustment was not the best either, and pointed to turns 13, 16, and 17 as where the time he needed to catch Verstappen was lost.

Hamilton had had the more comfortable car in the first two phases, but after the team's adjustments the Ferrari lost stability on the entry to turns 1 and 3, and he estimated that loss cost him about two tenths. A four-time winner at Singapore, he said Ferrari could work together during the race to pressure Verstappen, and his third place puts him in position to chase the fifth victory.

Photo By Red Bull Content Pool

Verstappen is more worried about starts than the gearbox

Verstappen is more concerned about the starts than the transmission problem. In the Sprint, Russell passed him at the start despite starting from pole, and Verstappen himself admitted the team must understand why the problem keeps recurring in recent races before Ferrari beats him in the opening meters. He also said no team has a complete reference for pace in long runs, because the rain and the short race reduced the information about tire wear.

Mercedes tried two specifications and Russell starts from the back

Antonelli was fourth, nearly two tenths off pole, and Mercedes arrived at Singapore with two different configurations, since Antonelli kept the most recent aerodynamic package and Russell returned to an earlier specification after the update brought to Sepang failed to deliver the expected results. Russell accepted because he already knew the engine penalty would send him to the back of the grid, so he had little to lose by serving as a reference.

Russell was sixth in qualifying, but will start from the back of the grid, because the power unit change that followed his retirement in the previous Grand Prix exceeded the permitted allocation. Antonelli, the championship leader with more than 80 points over Russell, will start from the second row and can score without having to fight back, at a circuit where losing positions at the start costs dearly and where the gap between the two Mercedes cars could weigh on the standings.

McLaren repaired both cars in time

McLaren's mechanics got the cars of Norris and Piastri ready, after they had crashed on the final lap of the Sprint, and both were able to take part in the full qualifying session. Norris was fifth, just over three tenths off Verstappen, and Piastri seventh, although with Russell's penalty he will move up to sixth place, as will Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson, and Arvid Lindblad, who were eighth, ninth, and tenth. The stewards had decided not to apply penalties for the contact, so qualifying was McLaren's first opportunity to respond on track.

Verstappen defends pole against two Ferraris at the first corner

Marina Bay offers few overtaking opportunities, so starting position weighs heavily. If Verstappen keeps the lead at the first corner, he will be able to control the race from the front, and if Leclerc or Hamilton passes him, Red Bull will have to rely on pit stops or wait for a neutralization to recover the position. Ferrari starts with two cars in the top three and with speed in all three phases of qualifying. Verstappen is chasing his first victory at Marina Bay, Hamilton is aiming for his fifth, and Leclerc starts with a pole that slipped away by 54 thousandths.

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	driver	team	Q1	Q2	Q3
1	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:33.241	1:31.639	1:31.373
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:32.774	1:31.953	1:31.427
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:32.429	1:31.529	1:31.496
4	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:32.818	1:32.079	1:31.562
5	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:32.775	1:31.895	1:31.712
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:33.617	1:32.212	1:31.747
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:33.076	1:32.245	1:31.860
8	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:33.182	1:32.602	1:32.225
9	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:32.885	1:32.319	1:32.369
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:33.288	1:32.498	1:32.781
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:33.147	1:32.784
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:33.356	1:32.908
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:33.803	1:33.323
14	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:33.774	1:33.526
15	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:34.169	1:33.658
16	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:33.261	1:33.787
17	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:34.223
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:34.289
19	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:34.946
20	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:35.123
21	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:35.984
RT	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing