Marina Bay, Sep 21 (IANS): 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 29.525 seconds 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 teammate 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.
Before 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 could only put him 16th – just over a tenth away from the Q2 cut-off.
Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly could not match the pace of their Aston Martin and Alpine teammates, taking respective P17 and P18 grid slots, with the Kick Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu bringing up the rear once more.