Marco Rossi · F1 Correspondent
Following his sprint victory, Max Verstappen backed it up with pole position at Singapore and is on track to dominate the entire weekend at this demanding street circuit.
Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday with his first-ever qualifying win at Marina Bay Street Circuit. The Red Bull driver clocked 1:31.373 minutes, edging out Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton for second and third, just hours after he had already won the rain-affected sprint race.
A circuit that long eluded him is suddenly his playground
Marina Bay had been a tough track for Verstappen: he had never won here before this weekend, with two second-place finishes his best previous results. What makes his weekend performance so remarkable is the consistency he has shown: he was fastest in Friday's sprint qualifying, won the sprint itself after moving to the front following Russell's exit, and now capped the day with his first career pole position at this circuit.
His margin over Leclerc was razor-thin at 0.054 seconds, with Hamilton following as third just 0.123 seconds back. For Ferrari, the result is two-edged: Leclerc sits directly alongside Verstappen on the front row at a track where overtaking is traditionally difficult, and his proximity to the Red Bull driver shows that the gap is far from insurmountable.
Mercedes: Antonelli up front, Russell headed to the rear
Andrea Kimi Antonelli delivered Mercedes' best result of the day with fourth on the grid, building on the solid form he showed in the sprint with a fourth-place finish.
The situation looks more complicated for George Russell. After his sprint exit, when he lost control of his Mercedes at the exit of the first-corner complex following a brilliant start and hit the wall, he bounced back with sixth in qualifying, a solid response to that setback. For Sunday's race, though, it offers little consolation: the FIA handed him a 40-position penalty for introducing four new power unit elements, sending Russell to the back of the grid at a circuit where overtaking opportunities are limited.
McLaren bounces back after teammate collision
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri touching during an overtaking attempt at Turn 5 in the sprint's final lap, with Piastri sidelined, had set tongues wagging in the paddock. The race stewards saw it as a racing incident both drivers contributed to and opted against penalties.
In qualifying, the McLaren pair showed remarkable composure: Norris lined up fifth, Piastri two spots further back in seventh, though he moves up to sixth on the grid thanks to Russell's penalty. For the championship, that means one thing above all: both remain in the thick of it alongside Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers, with a shot at scoring points in the front half of the field on Sunday if they avoid a repeat of Saturday's mistakes. Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto turned heads by fighting his way to fifteenth in qualifying after his sprint retirement, while Isack Hadjar's session ended prematurely when his engine cut out in the opening qualifying segment, leaving him to charge from the rear. Sunday will reveal whether Verstappen can convert his pole into a cruise to victory or whether Ferrari and McLaren will have other ideas heading into the first corner.
