Singapore - Qualifying

Last year's Sunday in Singapore brought with it one of the most thrilling races of the season, as it became the only race in 2023 not to be won by a Red Bull driver. This season the situation is quite different. We have alrready had multiple race winners and Red Bull hasn't been the dominating team for quite a few seasons. Can Singapore still bring us the exciement we've come to expect from it? 

All throught the three practice sessions, the drivers have been squeezing everything they could out of their cars and the strategy carried over to qualifying, where they left little to no room between themselves and the walls. Based on the three sessions, Norris and Leclerc seemed to be the ones in contention for pole. Leclerc set a rapid first lap, but Norris was even quicker, setting the first benchmark time. The top four consisted of McLarens and Ferraris, until Verstappen slipped into P2. He didn't stay there for long as Leclerc answered with a flyer of his own, reclaiming the spot. The track evolution was massive, so even the top 5 needed to be careful if they wanted to secure a spot in the rest of qualifying. It was so massive, in fact, that Norris' second try was 0.7s quicker than his first. Ricciardo, the man fighting for his seat, just missed out on moving through to Q2, as did Stroll, Gasly, Bottas, and Zhou. 

The Red Bulls were the first on track and almost disrupted the session for everyone when Verstappen barely avoided crashing as he went wide on turn 19. He managed to keep the car on track but his lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits. As the other drivers put in times of their own, Albon and Russel complained about the lack of grip. They weren't the only ones struggling. No car looked perfectly dialed in to the track. In the end it was Piastri who did the best out of the bunch. The two Williams fought with all their might but finished in P11 and P12. It was yet another impressive performance from the rookie, Colapinto, who finished only 0.007s behind Albon. After his impressive performance in Baku, many Red Bull fans expected Perez to fight for the front row in Singapore, but the driver finished the session in P13. Magnussen, back behind the wheel of his Haas, and Ocon closed out the Q2 elimination zone.

No one expected the trajectory Q3 would take. Rigght after Piastri and Hulkenberg put the first lap times on board, Carlos Sainz, who was still on his out lap, put his Ferrari into the wall. He wasn't hurt, but his day ended much earlier than anyone had expected. The accident brought out a red flag just as Verstappen was finishing his lap. His lap time was deleted. 

After the marshalls cleaned up the track, the session was resumed. All 9 cars waited in their garages, decicing to put all their hopes into one quick lap. With four minutes left on the clock, they drove out the pits. The fight was as close as it was nerveracking and, in the end, it was Norris who took the pole. Verstappen will be starting the race from the front row too. The biggest loser of the interrupted session was Leclerc, who finished the day in P9, as his last lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. 

For the first time in a few races, the fight for the win will once again be between the top two of the constructor's championship. Who will come out on top?

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lewis Hamilton

4. George Russel

5. Oscar Piastri

6. Nico Hulkenberg

7. Fernando Alonso

8. Yuki Tsunoda

9. Charles Leclerc

10. Carlos Sainz

11. Alex Albon

12. Franco Colapinto

13. Sergio Perez

14. Kevin Magnussen

15. Esteban Ocon

16. Daniel Ricciardo

17. Lance Stroll 

18. Pierre Gasly 

19. Valtteri Bottas

20. Zhou Guanyu