SINGAPORE GP: QUALIFYING RECAP

Charles Leclerc took pole position at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in a thrilling, and damp, final qualifying session in Singapore, rising above Red Bull’s last lap confusion to start on the front row. 

Mercedes were the first out in Q1, testing the conditions of the damp Singapore track, with all drivers cautiously initiating the session on intermediate tyres. 

In the opening 18-minute qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell held the top 2 positions, only to be accompanied by the re-energized Ferrari outfit. 

Miscommunication saw Max Verstappen hold up Sergio Perez on his flying lap, with the assumption Perez had aborted his Q1 attempt, however, the teammates eventually finished the opening session in second and third fastest. 

Despite the tedious weather conditions, Qualifying 1 was free of any major incidents with only a few lockups from the likes of Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll and Leclerc. 

Williams drivers Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi were knocked out in P19 and P20 respectively, joining Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas in their early exit from the Saturday session. 

Standing water at Turn 8 and Turn 18 of the Marina Bay Street Circuit left the remaining 15 runners opting to take to the track on intermediate tyres for Q2. 

The top 5 looked reminiscent of Q1, with Leclerc leading both Red Bulls, even gaining enough confidence to request slick tyres, however, the team opted for a fresh set of intermediates midway through the session. 

With four minutes remaining in the session, Aston Martin was the first team to risk running on the slick soft tyres, a choice that would self admittedly prove premature when Stroll and Sebastian Vettel failed to set any personal best sectors on their final flying lap efforts. 

Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Perez and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 5 in Q2. 

After running what looked to be a strong Q1 and Q2, Russell failed to make the Q3 shoot out by a mere 0.006 secs. The Englishman will line up in P11 for the Singapore Grand Prix. 

The Mercedes driver was accompanied by both Aston Martins, with Stroll qualifying in P12 and Vettel in P14, along with Singapore newcomers Mick Schumacher in P13 and Zhou Guanyu in P15. 

The final Qualifying 3 session in Singapore was one which made its mark on the season, easily becoming one of the most thrilling sessions of the year with track and tyre evolution, as well as shock calls from unlikely runners.

All but Yuki Tsunoda and Kevin Magnussen took to the track on soft tyres, with two drivers remaining on intermediates and initially recording faster times. 

Hamilton looked to have fired up his Mercedes, taking an early provisional pole with a time of 1:51.019 after setting the fastest middle sector. 

The 7-time world champion was joined closely on the provisional front row by Verstappen whose early attempts saw him 0.376 secs behind Hamilton with four minutes to go. The Dutchman was followed by his teammate and the two Ferraris before final pit stops were made. 

With two minutes to go, track evolution saw green and purple sectors being set on nearly every flying lap attempt. 

Charles Leclerc reclaimed provisional pole with a time of 1:49.412, a self-described “special” lap that would eventually secure the Monegasque his 18th pole position of his career. 

With 15 seconds left in Q3 Verstappen backed off his flying lap attempt, having a slim margin to cross the line and go again. 

A poor first sector in a squirrelly final run proved unfavourable but would have still been an improvement on his fastest time which saw him in P8, before completely aborting his final run into the pits. 

Red Bull data showed Verstappen had the more than likely possibility to take pole position, however, the FIAs requirement for a one-litre fuel sample put a means of an end to his pole campaign. 

An angry radio message from the current championship leader depicted his confusion as Verstappen was left to start the race out of position. 

Perez will line up alongside the Ferrari with Hamilton and Sainz completing the second row. 

Alonso and Norris will make up row 3 for the Singapore GP race start, as Pierre Gasly managed to get his Alpha Tauri into P7 ahead of Verstappen. Magnussen in P9 and Tsunoda in P10 round out the top 10. 

Currently, the threat of rain during the race is low, however, rain forecasted prior to the event could see strategies and predicted tyre choices thrown, as occurred in qualifying. 

For the first time since 2019, the lights will go out for the Singapore Grand Prix night race at 8:00 pm local time (11:00 pm AEST).

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