
George Russell delivered a virtuoso performance under the lights to claim a stunning pole for Mercedes for the Singapore Grand Prix as second-placed Max Verstappen also outqualified the title-leading McLaren drivers.
Claiming just Mercedes’ second pole of the season and first since June, Russell delivered two laps in the Q3 shootout that were good enough for top spot – with his first even including a whack against the wall at the penultimate corner.
Russell’s final time of 1:29.158 proved to be enough to see off Red Bull’s Verstappen, who can take solace from the fact he outqualified both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as McLaren failed to match their rivals’ speed in third and fifth places respectively.
But Verstappen was left frustrated by Norris, who he accused of compromising his final attempt at pole when the McLaren was running slower ahead through the final sector on his in-lap to the pits.
“You can thank your mate for that,” said Verstappen’s engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over team radio in reference to Norris, while the Dutchman said in his interview after the session: “That’s noted, it will be remembered as well.”
Title leader Piastri will start at the head of the second row next to Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes but Norris will be disappointed to be only fifth on a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
Although they showed early promise to set the Q1 pace with Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s challenge faded when it mattered most and they qualified half a second off pole in sixth and seventh positions.
Hamilton will start as their lead car for just the fifth time this year as he outqualified Charles Leclerc, who nearly dropped out in Q2, but neither driver will be particularly happy with their underwhelming starting berths
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10.
But after an apparent step forward to qualify and finish in the top 10 last time out in Baku, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda’s woes returned as he dropped out in Q2 in 15th place. Tsunoda is also one of three drivers – Sauber team-mates Nico Hulkenberg (11th) and Gabriel Bortoleto (16th) being the others – facing post-race investigations for alleged yellow-flag infringements in Q1.
Williams drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz qualified 12th and 13th respectively in a double Q2 elimination for the team but both cars are at risk of disqualification and back-of-the-grid starts due to a non-compliant DRS wing.
More to follow…
Sky Sports F1’s Singapore GP schedule
Sunday October 5
8.20am: F1 Academy Race 2
11.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook
The 2025 Formula 1 title fight continues under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
This news was originally published on this post .
Be the first to leave a comment