Lando Norris took pole in a thrilling qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday.
He edged out championship leader Max Verstappen and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in Asia.
Norris posted a lap time that was 0.203 seconds faster than Verstappen’s after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz crashed at the final corner, cutting short the Q3 session and leaving drivers with only one flying lap to set their times.
However, McLaren’s Norris had been on track for pole even before the red flag caused by Sainz’s crash.
Verstappen, despite Red Bull’s expectation of struggling on this circuit, managed to qualify second, while Hamilton, who had faced difficulties in practice, found his rhythm in Q3 to take third, narrowly beating his Mercedes teammate George Russell by just 0.026 seconds.
Oscar Piastri, Norris’s McLaren teammate, will start from fifth, while Nico Hulkenberg of Haas and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin follow in sixth and seventh.
Bring. It. On. 👊#F1 #SingaporeGP PIC.TWITTER.COM/SUWXVZ41JS
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2024
Ferrari endured a frustrating qualifying session. Charles Leclerc initially secured seventh but had his lap time deleted due to a track limits violation, pushing him to ninth.
Sainz, who crashed early in Q3, will start in 10th.
What the drivers said
Norris admitted that the intense pressure made the session more challenging. “It was tough, especially through qualifying,” he said.
“The guys around were getting quicker, and it put me under more pressure. But we managed to get the job done, and I’m really happy with that, especially here in Singapore.”
Hamilton, who had been struggling throughout the season, was thrilled with his performance.
It was a stunning lap from Lando Norris to take pole 💪
Watch every twist and rapid turn from onboard with the McLaren ace 🤩#F1 #SINGAPOREGP @PIRELLISPORT PIC.TWITTER.COM/AD3QMOKQJG
— Formula 1 (@F1) SEPTEMBER 21, 2024
“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long,” he admitted.
“But the car finally came alive, and I’m grateful for that. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this good in qualifying.”
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez will have a challenging race starting from 13th after being knocked out in Q2.
Despite improving his time during the session, he couldn’t break into the top 10, missing out on Q3 by 0.180 seconds.
“We tried a lot of things with the car this weekend,” Perez said, “but I struggled to get the tires in the right window.”
Top 10 Starting Grid for Singapore Grand Prix:
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
