GEORGE RUSSELL TAKES INCREDIBLE POLE UNDER THE LIGHTS OF SINGAPORE
George Russell has taken pole position after we have had three practice sessions topped by three different drivers, and just 0.089s separating Verstappen, the McLarens and the Mercedes cars in the final session, all eyes turned to qualifying under the lights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
When the pit lane opened at 9pm local time, most drivers went out straight away on Pirelli’s soft tyres to set early laps.
Hamilton was the first to have a scare, going too deep at Turn 1 and running onto the dusty part of the track. That forced him to back off and try again, while Verstappen quickly set the first benchmark with a 1m 30.317s. Haas rookie Bearman and Russell followed close behind, before Hamilton recovered to go fourth ahead of Norris.
There was frustration for Piastri, who had to abandon his first lap because of a car stuck in the run-off area. “Come on… you can’t give a yellow flag for that,” he complained on the radio.
Midway through Q1, lap times tumbled. Hadjar briefly went fastest with a 1m 30.214s, but Norris soon beat it with a 1m 29.932s. Piastri finally got a clean lap to move into the top 10.
Replays then showed Antonelli almost running into a slow Sainz, who had just left the pits. The stewards checked the incident but decided against punishment. Antonelli stayed focused and went second soon after.
In the final minutes, Hamilton delighted the crowd by going quickest on a 1m 29.765s, with Russell moving up to second, ahead of Norris, Verstappen, Antonelli and Hadjar. Gasly’s car failure caused late yellow flags, forcing several drivers to slow down.
Piastri managed to get through in seventh, joined by Leclerc, Bearman and Tsunoda. But Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon and Gasly were knocked out.
Q1 eliminated: Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon, Gasly
After a short delay, Q2 began. Verstappen led early on with a 1m 29.747s, ahead of Piastri, Hamilton and Norris. Hadjar continued to impress in fifth, with Alonso, Russell, Sainz, Hulkenberg and Bearman rounding out the top 10. Leclerc brushed the wall and could only manage 13th at first.
Lawson was just outside the cut in 11th, with Tsunoda, Albon and Antonelli also under pressure. Antonelli then delivered a superb lap to go fastest with a 1m 29.649s, before Russell beat him with a 1m 29.562s. Verstappen slotted into second, while the McLarens could only manage fourth and fifth.
In the final runs, Leclerc recovered to sixth, followed by Hamilton and Hadjar. Alonso and Bearman also improved to reach Q3, which pushed out Hulkenberg, Albon, Sainz, Lawson and Tsunoda.
Q2 eliminated: Hulkenberg, Albon, Sainz, Lawson, Tsunoda
Then it was time for Q3 and the fight for pole. Russell struck first with a 1m 29.165s despite brushing the wall at Turn 17. Verstappen was next best, 0.175s slower, with Piastri third.
On his second run, Russell went even quicker with a 1m 29.158s. None of his rivals could beat it, leaving him on pole. Verstappen had to settle for second, frustrated by traffic from Norris, while Piastri completed the top three.
Antonelli impressed again with fourth, ahead of Norris. The Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc followed, while rookies Hadjar and Bearman and veteran Alonso rounded out the top 10.
Both Williams are set to be disqualified due to a DRS infringment found by the stewards after the session.
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