Max Verstappen starts Singapore’s first Formula 1 Sprint from pole position at 5pm on Saturday, 10 October, after a late lap of 1:31.156 on Friday night left him 0.120 seconds clear of George Russell. He had never started from pole at Marina Bay before, and it comes on the weekend he starts his 250th Grand Prix.
The 29-year-old Red Bull driver switched from Medium to Soft tyres for the final part of Sprint Qualifying and found the time in the closing moments. Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari.
“It’s always close here in Singapore,” Verstappen said. “But once we bolted on the Soft tyres it felt as if the car was coming alive a bit more. Being in the cockpit here is just like a sauna.”
The yellow flag that did not cost him
The pole was only confirmed after a stewards’ hearing later that night. Sergio Perez hit the barriers in his Cadillac early in SQ1, bringing out yellow flags and then a red, and Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari before Turn 8 while both cars were still in the yellow sector.
The stewards found that Verstappen had breached the yellow flag rule. They also found that he had lifted fully off the throttle within 40 metres of the yellow sector, that Hamilton had slowed to under 60km/h, and that the pass was “an unfortunate consequence of the significant closing speed differential”. No penalty was imposed.
Russell’s best chance of the weekend
Russell will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from the back of the grid because of engine-related penalties, which makes the 21-lap Sprint his one real shot at a strong result this weekend. He has won three of the five Sprints held this season.
“We’ve been competitive all day,” Russell said, before turning to the upgrades Mercedes have brought in recent rounds. “The sport is driven by the stopwatch and so far, the stopwatch hasn’t been great.”
He also topped the only practice session, with a 1:32.274 on Soft tyres.
Antonelli searching for pace
Kimi Antonelli arrived 84 points clear in the championship and starts the Sprint seventh. His team changed his front wing between sessions, and his final lap of 1:31.849 was 0.573 seconds slower than Russell’s.
“The car is very unpredictable, it’s very difficult to put a lap together,” the 20-year-old Italian said. “I don’t see where we can find so much time.”
The rest of the Sprint grid
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris start fourth and fifth, with Hamilton sixth in the second Ferrari. Liam Lawson is eighth for Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar ninth for Red Bull and Pierre Gasly 10th for Alpine.
Only the top eight score points in the Sprint. Arvid Lindblad, at 19 the youngest driver in the field and the only rookie at this race, starts 17th after a moment braking for Turn 13.
Saturday and Sunday times
The Sprint runs from 5pm to 6pm on Saturday. Qualifying for the Grand Prix follows from 9pm to 10pm, and the 62-lap race starts at 8pm on Sunday, 11 October.
