SINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Askume) – Lando Norris powered McLaren to the top of the table at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, while Red Bull Racing leader Max Verstappen dramatically joined the queue under the floodlights.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished third, his Mercedes teammate George Russell fourth and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri fifth. The penalty shootout for the top 10 was temporarily suspended after last year’s winner Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari crashed.
It was Norris’ fifth pole position of the season, the sixth of his career and his third in the last four races.
Norris, who was fastest in practice on Friday and Saturday, said: “The car feels good and when you have a good-looking car and you’re confident you can go ahead and get the lap times.
“So I did the work I had to do today and it’s exciting to see what we can do tomorrow.”
Verstappen leads Norris by 59 points with seven rounds remaining and the start is crucial as overtaking is difficult at the Marina Bay Circuit.
Qualifying was stopped in the closing stages, with only Piastri and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg able to set times after Sainz moved to the back as he prepared to begin his flying lap at the final corner.
“I don’t know if it was because of the cold tyres, or the dirty air, or… the heavy vibrations,” the Spaniard said over the team radio.
The incident meant Verstappen’s flying lap was cancelled under yellow flag rules, leaving seven drivers with no time to complete a lap with just eight minutes left.
With less than four minutes remaining, both McLarens made the first move.
Norris won the championship with a lap time of 1 minute 29.525 seconds, with Hamilton second and Verstappen faster but still 0.203 seconds behind the McLaren.
“If you look at where we started yesterday, I was happy to be on the front row,” said Verstappen. Verstappen was only 15th in the second practice session and is yet to win in Singapore.
“I’ll be second. I’m happy about that… a lot can happen in Singapore, but at least we have that chance.”
Hulkenberg will start sixth on the grid, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso seventh and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda eighth.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out within one lap and dropped from seventh to ninth, while Sainz finished 10th in a disappointing performance for McLaren and, as a result, they are the main rivals for the weekend.
Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez started 13th, the same place he started in last year in Singapore and finished eighth, an achievement for a driver with his best results on street circuits.
Williams drivers Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto will start from 11th and 12th positions.
Daniel Ricciardo failed to make the cut in his final career qualifying session.
New Zealander Liam Lawson will replace the 16th-placed Australian at the next round in Austin, Texas, as Red Bull assesses its options for 2025.
