The McLaren driver secured first place on the grid in qualifying on the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Saturday. With a time of 1:29.525 minutes, the Englishman relegated world champion Max Verstappen to second place (0.203 seconds), meaning the race will be a direct duel between the top two in the world championship rankings. The qualifying was overshadowed by the accident of last year’s winner Carlos Sainz.
The Ferrari driver lost control of his Ferrari in Q3 and crashed backwards into the track barrier. The Spaniard was uninjured – unlike his car. After the accident-related interruption, the drivers only had time for one fast lap, which is why there was a lot of traffic on the street circuit at the finish.
Norris kept his nerve under floodlights and proved that he and his car are a hot bet to win the night race (2 p.m./live ORF 1, Sky) in Singapore. The Englishman took his sixth pole position ever, and his fifth this year. “I’m happy. Pole position is important, especially here in Singapore,” said the 24-year-old, referring to the poor overtaking opportunities in the city state. “The car is good, I feel good. I have confidence because we are fast and there is more to the car.”
“The car is much better”
Things went much better for Verstappen on Saturday than in Friday’s practice, and the world championship leader managed to make it to the front row. “Qualifying went really well for us. I’m really happy about the front row when I see where we were yesterday,” said the Dutchman, who was pleased with a significantly improved car. He did not dare to make any predictions about the race. “Anything can happen in Singapore, but at least we have a chance.” The course is not one of Verstappen’s favorite tracks, and he has never won here.
In row two are the British Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton (+0.316) and George Russell (+0.342). Behind them is Oscar Piastri in the McLaren (+0.428). “Up until now, qualifying has always been a disaster for me this year. You put in so much work and so little comes out of it. But this time the car delivered,” explained record world champion Hamilton.
Qualifying did not go as planned for Ferrari. In addition to Sainz, who had an accident, Charles Leclerc also failed to set a time in Q3 as his lap was cancelled due to a penalty. The duo now has to make do with the fifth row of the grid. The second Red Bull driver was also disappointed. Sergio Perez was eliminated in Q2 in 13th place. The Mexican, who won in Singapore in 2022, spoke of tire problems afterwards. “It will be a pretty difficult race tomorrow, we have to think about something with the strategy.”
Red flag because of lizard
In the World Championship standings, Verstappen defended a 59-point lead over Norris on Sunday. In the constructors’ championship, McLaren has been in the lead since Baku, and the traditional British racing team has a 20-point lead before the 18th of 24 races of the season.
Before qualifying, a lizard caused red flags and a stoppage in the final practice session because the animal crawled across the race track. Track marshals chased the reptile off the asphalt. In the past, free-roaming reptiles on the route in Southeast Asia have caused delays in the process.
This article was last updated on September 21st at 5:39 p.m.
