Singapore - Qualifying

After the excitement of Baku, Formula One moved to another tight, street circuit, this one in Singapore. Under the dark night sky, the twenty drivers were ready to put their all into the qualifying hour. Which one of them came out on top?

While the first attempts of the Q1 under the stars meant relatively little due to how drastically the track was improving with every passing minute, it was still important for the drivers to secure a time on the leaderboard. Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli, both of whom hadn't managed to do so, were acutely aware of that fact. Piastri's first attempt was interrupted by a yellow flag, while Antonelli had a moment with Sainz that forced him to abandon his flyer. To the relief of their fans, both managed to rectify their situation before the clock ran out. 

The first session of the day got tense when, with only a few seconds left on the clock, a yellow flag waved over one of the sectors. It was caused by Pierre Gasly, who went off track after suffering a mechanical failure. Before losing power, he managed to get his car right by one of the walls, causing relatively little disturbance on the circuits and allowing the other drivers to finish their last attempts. He himself fell to the very bottom of the elimination zone. Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, and Esteban Ocon shared his fate. 

Q2 brought more issues for Mercedes' rookie driver. Antonelli was, once again, left without a lap after having his first attempt deleted due to exceeding track limits. Just like before, he wasn't the only one in a tough spot, although this time his friend in misery was not Piastri, but Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who made contact with the wall during his first flyer and fell all the way to P13. With only a few minutes on the clock, they both had to deliver great laps when it mattered. Antonelli almost lost the car at turn four, but managed to recover so well in sectors two and three that his final time put him at the very top of the leaderboard. Leclerc didn't do quite as well, but his last-minute lap did allow him to move through to Q2. Nico Hulkenberg, Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda weren't as lucky. 

The most important session of the day began with a truly incredible lap by George Russell. The Mercedes driver flew through the track and was quickest in all three sectors. It quickly became clear that taking the provisional pole away from him wouldn't be an easy task. All drivers attempted to match his time during their first attempts, but none succeeded in beating him. With only a few minutes on the clock, the McLarens tried again. Both of them failed to snatch the pole away from the Brit, leaving Max Verstappen as the only man who stood a chance of beating him. To make things harder for the Dutchman, on his second attempt, Russell improved his already impressive time. Verstappen tried to put together a lap good enough for pole, but fell short and, content with his P2, backed off before crossing the finish line. For the second time this season, and the first time in Singapore, Russell will be the driver lining up at the very front of the grid. 

Order of the grid:

1. George Russell

2. Max Verstappen

3. Oscar Piastri

4. Kimi Antonelli

5. Lando Norris

6. Lewis Hamilton

7. Charles Leclerc

8. Isack Hadjar

9. Oliver Bearman

10. Fernando Alonso

11. Nico Hulkenberg

12. Alex Albon

13. Carlos Sainz

14. Liam Lawson

15. Yuki Tsunoda

16. Gabriel Boroleto

17. Lance Stroll 

18. Franco Colapinto 

19. Esteban Ocon

20. Pierre Gasly