Qualifying report
Formula 1 Singapore GP
F1 Singapore GP: Max Verstappen overcomes Ferrari challenge for pole
Lewis Hamilton dominated Q1 and Q2 at Marina Bay, but Verstappen was quicker when it mattered
Ben Vinel
Edited: Oct 10, 2026, 2:55 PM
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Lillian Suwanrumpha / AFP via Getty Images
Max Verstappen clinched pole position for Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix, outpacing the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes struggled.
The four-time champion set a best effort of a 1m31.373s to finish just 0.054s faster than Leclerc and secure his second pole of the weekend, having done so for the sprint.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes team-mate George Russell finished just fourth and sixth - the Briton knowing he will be at the back of the grid with an overhanging engine penalty, while the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar will also start from the back following issues in Q1.
Q1 – Hadjar failed by his Red Bull
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images
The first qualifying segment got off to a poor start for Esteban Ocon, who locked up and appeared to graze the wall in Turn 13. Moments later, Lance Stroll suffered a similar fate in Turn 7. Both seemingly escaped those errors without damage.
Isack Hadjar also had an off but ended up stopping out on track. “The engine is off,” he reported; the Red Bull driver eventually managing to restart his car and pitted without a time on the board.
Hours after colliding with Oscar Piastri in the sprint race, Lando Norris set the early pace in 1m33.047s, 0.029s quicker than his team-mate. Verstappen and Hamilton were 0.194s and 0.264s down respectively, with the Mercedes cars over half a second adrift.
With five minutes remaining, Arvid Lindblad, Alexander Albon, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Gabriel Bortoleto and Hadjar were the bottom six drivers; Lance Stroll was just 0.04s clear of the 17th-placed Racing Bulls. Things weren’t going any better for Hadjar: “Same issue, I lost the gears,” he said. The Frenchman returned to the pitlane and never emerged back out.
As Hamilton took the lead with a 1m32.680s and improved upon it in 1m32.429s, three tenths faster than Leclerc and Norris after their respective improvements, the Silver Arrows ended up 12th and 13th, nearly 1.2s adrift.
Further down the classification, major progress from Lindblad and Bortoleto kicked both Aston Martins out of the top 16; Fernando Alonso’s and Lance Stroll’s day ended right there.
Q2 – Hamilton on top, albeit challenged by Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Hamilton maintained a similar advantage on the opening runs of Q2, with his 1m31.766s putting him four tenths clear of Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen was over half a second adrift, complaining of “insanely bad” gear shifts, followed by George Russell, Norris, Piastri and Leclerc – those five drivers within one-and-a-half tenth.
There were theoretically three Q3 spots for midfield teams, and with five minutes remaining, those were occupied by Liam Lawson, Lindblad and Nico Hulkenberg; Pierre Gasly was two tenths away from the German, in 11th.
Gasly actually improved by six tenths on his final attempt, jumping ahead of all his main rivals; the Racing Bulls managed to regain their advantage over the Alpine, but the Frenchman still clinched the final spot for the top-10 shootout, as Hulkenberg gained an insufficient two tenths late on.
Having clipped the wall in Turn 17, Franco Colapinto ended up down in 16th, a whopping 1.2s down on his team-mate.
Meanwhile, Hamilton perpetuated his dominance with a 1m31.529s, which only Verstappen came close to, in 1m31.639s. Norris and Leclerc were 0.366s and 0.424s down respectively. Antonelli and Russell, again, were more than half a second adrift.
Q3 – Verstappen prevails in the final phase
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images
It was actually Verstappen who set the pace early on in Q3 with a 1m31.373s, with Hamilton registering a 1m31.496s despite being nearly three tenths faster than the Dutchman in sector two.
Antonelli was up to an encouraging third place in 1m31.562s, with Leclerc, Norris and Russell all within four tenths of the leader. Piastri, however, was 0.820s adrift, having been slower than anyone but Lindblad in the final sector.
Both Verstappen and Hamilton failed to improve on their final attempts; the Briton was jumped by Ferrari team-mate Leclerc for second place, with the Monegasque 0.054s slower than Red Bull’s polesetter.
Piastri was the only other top team driver to improve, by some margin – over three tenths – but that was not enough for him to gain a position; he took seventh behind Antonelli, Norris and Russell.
Gasly was best of the rest for Alpine with a 1m32.225; Lawson and Lindblad ended up 0.144s and 0.556s slower respectively.
Photos from F1 Singapore GP - Saturday
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Singapore GP - Saturday, in photos
Formula 1
40
F1 Singapore GP Qualifying Results
All Stats
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h 1 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3
Red Bull Red Bull 15
1'31.373
S 194.118 2 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari 25
+0.054
1'31.427
0.054 S 194.003 3 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
Ferrari Ferrari 25
+0.123
1'31.496
0.069 S 193.857 4
A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
12 
Mercedes Mercedes 23
+0.189
1'31.562
0.066 S 193.717 5 L. Norris McLaren 1
McLaren Mercedes 24
+0.339
1'31.712
0.150 S 193.401 6 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes 23
+0.374
1'31.747
0.035 S 193.327 7 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes 22
+0.487
1'31.860
0.113 S 193.089 8 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Mercedes 22
+0.852
1'32.225
0.365 S 192.325 9 L. Lawson Racing Bulls 30
RB Red Bull 21
+0.996
1'32.369
0.144 S 192.025 10 A. Lindblad Racing Bulls 41
RB Red Bull 21
+1.408
1'32.781
0.412 S 191.172 11 N. Hulkenberg Audi 27
Audi Audi 19
+1.411
1'32.784
0.003 S 191.166 12 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
Haas Ferrari 12
+1.535
1'32.908
0.124 S 190.911 13 E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31
Haas Ferrari 15
+1.950
1'33.323
0.415 S 190.062 14 C. Sainz Williams 55
Williams Mercedes 15
+2.153
1'33.526
0.203 S 189.649 15 G. Bortoleto Audi 5
Audi Audi 19
+2.285
1'33.658
0.132 S 189.382 16 F. Colapinto Alpine 43
Alpine Mercedes 14
+2.414
1'33.787
0.129 S 189.122 17 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
Aston Martin Honda 9
+2.850
1'34.223
0.436 S 188.247 18 A. Albon Williams 23
Williams Mercedes 10
+2.916
1'34.289
0.066 S 188.115 19 L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18
Aston Martin Honda 8
+3.573
1'34.946
0.657 S 186.813 20 S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team 11
Cadillac Ferrari 8
+3.750
1'35.123
0.177 S 186.465 21 V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team 77
Cadillac Ferrari 10
+4.611
1'35.984
0.861 S 184.793 22 I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing 6
Red Bull Red Bull 3
S View full results
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