Max Verstappen took sprint pole in Singapore with a 1:31.156, over a tenth clear of George Russell and nearly two and a half tenths up on Charles Leclerc, who completed the virtual front three in third. It was a clean, committed lap on a track with almost no room for error, but the celebrations at Red Bull came with an asterisk: the stewards opened an investigation into whether Verstappen passed Hamilton under yellow flags during SQ1, after Hamilton himself raised the complaint. As of this report, no verdict had been issued.
That’s not a small detail. A grid penalty would change the entire complexion of the sprint, in a weekend where Verstappen is chasing back-to-back wins after picking up his first victory of the season at the previous round.
The crash that stopped the sessionSQ1 had its moment of chaos when Sergio Perez hit the wall at Turn 4, breaking his front wing. Rather than pulling over immediately, he kept going while dragging the broken piece until the stewards called for a red flag to clear the debris before Turn 8. The session resumed with just six minutes left on the clock, with Hamilton holding the fastest time at the moment of the stoppage. Perez ended up down in 20th on the grid, nowhere near where the team needed to be on a track this punishing for overtaking.
As if that weren’t enough, SQ2 started late because of a technical issue: several SQ1 lap times hadn’t registered correctly, and officials had to sort it out before the next session could get underway.
Russell recovers from a big lock-up to take second
George Russell had a scare in SQ2 with a serious lock-up that had even F1’s own official channels wondering if he’d be able to recover in time. He did, and then some: he finished fourth in that session and grabbed second in SQ3 with a 1:31.276, just 0.120s behind Verstappen. For a driver who already knows he’s starting Sunday’s race from the back of the grid due to his engine penalty, locking down a strong spot on the sprint grid is close to the only payback available this weekend.
Leclerc rounded out the virtual podium in SQ3 with a 1:31.399, ahead of Piastri and Norris in fourth and fifth. Hamilton, who had been fastest during the red flag stoppage, ended up sixth, and Antonelli seventh, a quietly solid session for the championship leader, who doesn’t need to take extra risks while he’s sitting on top of the standings.
Eliminations and the rest of the grid
SQ2 claimed Alonso, Ocon, Bearman, Bortoleto, Colapinto and Hulkenberg, who will line up between 11th and 16th for the sprint. Before that, SQ1 eliminated Lindblad, Stroll, Albon, Perez, Bottas and Sainz. Lindblad missed the SQ2 cut by just 0.088s, a gap that stings even more on a track where every metre matters. Sainz, meanwhile, was the slowest of the entire first session and will start the sprint from dead last.
Hadjar and Gasly rounded out the SQ3 top 10 without setting a time in that final session, slotting into ninth and tenth based on their SQ2 pace.
The context worth keeping in min
Antonelli arrives at this weekend leading the championship by 84 points after finishing second at the previous round, while Mercedes chose to split the recent upgrade parts, fitting them only to his car and leaving Russell on the older package. It’s a call that’s starting to make more sense as the weeks go on. Russell’s retirement in the last race effectively closed the door on his title chances, and the team is now putting its full weight behind sustaining its younger driver’s lead.
With Verstappen on pole but under investigation, Russell up front after a gutsy recovery, and Antonelli content to play it safe, the Singapore sprint looks set to be a lot more than a formality ahead of Sunday’s main event.
What do you make of Verstappen’s pole coming under investigation before the sprint even starts, does a yellow flag pass like that deserve a penalty or was Hamilton just looking for an edge?
Let us know your prediction for the sprint race in the comments.
Source: Formula1.com, PitDebrief, GrandPrix247, Motorsport.com, Autosport, The Race, Crash.net
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