Norris beats Verstappen to pole for Singapore GP after Sainz crashes out

Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix after getting the better of championship rival Max Verstappen in Saturday night’s qualifying session at Marina Bay, which included a crash for Carlos Sainz at the start of Q3.

McLaren driver Norris produced a blistering time of 1m 29.525s in what was effectively a one-lap shootout following Sainz’s shunt, finishing a couple of tenths clear of Verstappen’s Red Bull and another tenth ahead of the Mercedes drivers.

Lewis Hamilton bounced back from some recent qualifying struggles – and balance issues throughout practice – to pip team mate George Russell to third, with the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri having to settle for fifth position.

Ferrari endured a disastrous end to qualifying when Sainz hit the wall at the final corner as he prepared to start a lap, putting him 10th, with Charles Leclerc only ninth thanks to his time being deleted for exceeding track limits.

Nico Hulkenberg was a fine sixth for Haas in another trademark qualifying performance from the German, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda also capitalised on the Scuderia’s troubles to finish P7 and P8.

Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto came close to another double Q3 showing as Williams continued their encouraging trend, ending up 11th and 12th respectively, even if the Thai-British racer expressed frustration at a puzzling lack of grip when it mattered most.

Prior to Sainz’s crash, there was drama for Sergio Perez when he failed to make it past Q2 in the other Red Bull, leaving him a disappointing 13th on the grid for Sunday’s race – ahead of returning Haas driver Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon in the lead Alpine.

Daniel Ricciardo had looked set to hit back against the speculation over his future after RB’s high-flying practice performance, but a compromised final Q1 lap left him 16th – just over a tenth away from the Q2 cut-off – and heading into an early qualifying ice bath.

Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly could not match the pace of their Aston Martin and Alpine team mates, taking respective P17 and P18 grid slots, with the Kick Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu bringing up the rear once more.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Norris leads Verstappen

After three practice sessions for the drivers to reacclimatise to the heat and humidity and get their cars dialled in, attention turned to the all-important qualifying hour – the Marina Bay Street Circuit looking resplendent as the sun set and the floodlights took over.

Unsurprisingly, soft tyres were bolted on across the board at the start of Q1, with some tentative out-laps – to avoid putting too much energy through the red-marked rubber and using up any crucial performance – paving the way for the first round of lap times.

While Verstappen and the Mercedes drivers spent the first few minutes in the pits, Ferrari and McLaren immediately got down to business, bringing an initial benchmark time of 1m 30.724s from FP3 pace-setter Norris – 0.172s faster than Leclerc.

Meanwhile, an error from Sainz under braking for Turn 1 saw him take to the run-off area and lose the subsequent lap time over track limits, while also being noted for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions when rejoining the circuit.

Norris still led the way after all 20 drivers had posted a lap, but Verstappen – just over a tenth slower – was now his nearest rival, followed by Leclerc, Piastri, Hulkenberg and Sainz, with Alonso, Ocon, Magnussen and Tsunoda also featuring inside the top 10.

It was another tricky start for Hamilton, who reported that “the rear is sliding a lot” en route to a provisional P11, while reigning world champion Verstappen was also seen displaying some lightning-fast reactions to hold onto his Red Bull and keep it out of the wall.

At the other end of the timesheets, Gasly’s Alpine, the Kick Saubers of Bottas and Zhou, Williams rookie Colapinto – via a moment through the Turn 16/17 complex – and Stroll’s Aston Martin filled the drop zone, meaning the pressure was on for the second runs.

As the clock ticked down and drivers delivered their final Q1 efforts, Norris remained P1 with an improvement to 1m 30.002s, putting him a tenth-and-a-half clear of Verstappen, with Piastri, Hamilton, Perez and Sainz rounding out the top six positions.

Elsewhere, Leclerc abandoned his final lap and wound up 12th, while 13th-placed Russell swore over the radio about a lack of grip – the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers slotting behind Williams team mates Albon and Colapinto, Alonso, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg.

Magnussen and Ocon were the last to make the Q2 cut, with a scruffy final lap from Ricciardo – after such a promising start for himself and RB on Friday – meaning he agonisingly missed out in 16th, alongside Stroll, Gasly and the Saubers.

Knocked out: Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly, Bottas, Zhou

Q2 – Piastri fastest, Perez knocked out

Norris picked up where he left off in Q1 by posting a 1m 30.007s in the early stages of Q2, a few tenths up on Leclerc and team mate Piastri, while Hamilton, Perez and Verstappen – the latter experiencing a wild moment at the final corner – all had lap times deleted.

Hamilton made up for it next time around, breaking the 1m30s mark on a 1m 29.929s, with Russell going third to put Norris in a Mercedes sandwich – the Silver Arrows appearing to come alive despite further complaints from Russell over the radio.

Hulkenberg was up in sixth at this point, from Tsunoda, Sainz, Perez and Magnussen, leaving Alonso, Albon (who was another to complain about grip levels disappearing), Colapinto, Ocon and Verstappen in the drop zone ahead of the decisive second runs.

Verstappen and then Piastri – on a 1m 29.640s – moved to the fore when the Q2 climax approached, placing ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris and Sainz, as Hulkenberg, Russell, Tsunoda and Alonso ultimately secured the final spots in the pole position shootout.

It meant another painful, early qualifying exit for Perez, who struggled to P13 behind Albon and Colapinto, with Magnussen 14th on his return to action – having been hit with a ban for last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix – and Ocon completing the Q2 order.

Knocked out: Albon, Colapinto, Perez, Magnussen, Ocon

Q3 – Norris makes his mark, Ferrari hit trouble

Drama struck almost immediately in Q3 when Sainz slammed rearward into the wall at the final corner and brought out the red flags. “I don’t know if it was cold tyres, dirty air… It was a big snap,” said the Spaniard, who had moved aside for Piastri and was just about to start a lap.

Only three drivers had posted a time before that crash, with Verstappen provisionally leading until his effort got deleted due to the double yellow flags. Piastri therefore held provisional P1 on a 1m 30.037s, with Hulkenberg a tenth back and everyone else yet to get on the board.

Given that only eight minutes remained on the clock, and sets of soft tyres were in any case being used up before Race Control threw that red flag, it was an effective one-lap shootout when the session resumed.

A blur of green and purple sector times followed as corner entries and braking zones were pushed to the absolute limit at the end of Q3, leading to a superb 1m 29.525s from Norris – two-tenths up on Verstappen and another tenth clear of the Mercedes drivers.

Hamilton and Russell’s continuous improvements – in spite of those earlier radio complaints – put them ahead of Piastri’s McLaren, as a deleted time for Leclerc consigned him to P9 from sidelined team mate Sainz. Hulkenberg, Alonso and Tsunoda all took advantage in P6-P8.

Key quote

“It was tough,” said pole-sitter Norris. “I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and to get a lot of lap time, and more of the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker, so that put me under a bit more pressure, especially with just one lap at the end. But it was good enough for pole and I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore. A good feeling, I felt good all weekend, I felt confident, maybe not so much in quali, but we got the job done.”

What’s next

The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix is set to begin at 2000 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from the Marina Bay Street Circuit.