F1 Singapore GP qualifying: brilliant Russell takes surprise pole as Ferrari struggle
George Russell produced a sensational lap to claim pole position against all odds, ahead of Max Verstappen. Ferrari once again fell short, emerging as only the fourth-fastest team in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix. Here’s the full summary and results from the eighteenth qualifying session of the season.
Q1
The green light signaled the start of Q1, with all drivers heading out on the softest tire compound available. The first runs went smoothly for everyone, with Max Verstappen setting the fastest time ahead of Oliver Bearman, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and Isack Hadjar. As more cars ran, the track improved quickly, allowing drivers to lower their lap times significantly.
On their second flying laps, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc moved up to third and fourth respectively, while Hadjar briefly went fastest. Oscar Piastri, who had to abort his previous attempt, completed his lap and took sixth place. Norris then improved to move to the top of the timesheets, followed closely by Kimi Antonelli in second position.
In the final moments, Pierre Gasly stopped on track, bringing out a yellow flag that forced many drivers to abort their final laps. At the end of Q1, Hamilton finished first, followed by Russell and Norris.
Q2
Q2 began under tension, with several drivers under investigation for failing to slow under yellow flag conditions. Verstappen set the early benchmark with a time of 1:29.747, followed by Piastri, Hamilton, Norris, and Hadjar. Charles Leclerc, however, struggled to find pace and was only thirteenth after his first attempt.
The two Mercedes drivers then went out and took the top two positions on the timing screens, although Verstappen improved again to split the pair from Brackley. Charles Leclerc managed to escape the elimination zone on his final lap after a risky start to the session. The standout performance came from a strong Mercedes team, while McLaren appeared less dominant than expected.
Q3
As Q3 began, tension mounted with drivers heading out immediately for their first runs. Russell delivered an incredible lap, smashing the track record to go fastest, followed by Verstappen, Piastri, and his teammate Antonelli. Norris placed fifth, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc.
In the second and final runs, Lando Norris remained fifth and Charles Leclerc was unable to improve in the Ferrari SF-25 car. George Russell, however, went even quicker to consolidate his provisional pole position. Antonelli held on to fourth, while Lewis Hamilton also failed to improve. Max Verstappen was the only one left who could challenge for pole, but a small mistake forced him to lift off, ending his hopes. It was a stunning and unexpected pole position for George Russell, who defied all predictions heading into the weekend.
Singapore GP qualifying results
George Russell (Mercedes) 1m29.158s
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m29.340s
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1m29.524s
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1m29.761s
Lando Norris (McLaren) 1m29.586s
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1m29.688s
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1m29.784s
Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1m29.846s
Ollie Bearman (Haas) 1m29.868s
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1m29.955s
Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m30.141s
Alex Albon (Williams) 1m30.202s
Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1m30.235s
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1m30.320s
Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1m30.353s
Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) 1m30.820s
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1m30.949s
Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1m30.982s
Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1m30.989s
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1m31.261s
