McLaren’s Lando Norris stunned the field to secure pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, edging out championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull in a dramatic qualifying session. Norris’s blistering lap of 1min 30.002sec was 0.155sec faster than Verstappen, marking a significant upset for the British driver.
Norris, who trails Verstappen by 59 points in the drivers’ championship, expressed his delight with the result. “It was good enough for pole and I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore,” he said. “A good feeling. I’ve felt good all weekend, I’ve felt confident, maybe not so much in qualy but we got the job done.”
The qualifying session was marred by a late crash involving Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who spun into the barriers on the final bend. The incident brought out the red flag with just over eight minutes remaining, leaving most drivers with only one shot at a qualifying lap.
Sainz’s crash proved costly for Ferrari, as his teammate Charles Leclerc had his only lap time deleted for breaching track limits. As a result, the Ferrari duo will start down in ninth and 10th on the grid, respectively.
Verstappen, who had struggled in practice, was pleased to secure a front-row start alongside Norris. “I’m happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday,” he said. “Tomorrow is a bit difficult to say, in Singapore a lot of things can happen, but at least we have a shot at it like this.”
Lewis Hamilton, who has endured a challenging season with Mercedes, managed to put together a strong lap to qualify third. “Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long and I’ve been working, working and working trying to get myself back up there,” said the seven-time world champion. “All of a sudden the car came alive for the first time in qualifying in a long time.”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg will start on the third row, while Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Yuki Tsunoda (RB) will occupy the fourth row. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez failed to make it to the shootout for pole position and will start from 13th on the grid.
The Singapore Grand Prix is known for its unpredictable nature, and with a tight field and several potential challengers, the race promises to be an exciting affair.
