At the Singapore Grand Prix, Lando Norris maintained his dominant run, earning his fourth pole position in as many races.
If the McLaren star wants to maintain his title chances, he must continue to outpace Max Verstappen by as much as possible. And he gave himself a terrific chance of reducing the deficit again by ensuring he will start from the front on Sunday.
After having difficult practices, both Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton expressed worries about their ability to finish in the top 10. Despite being two and three tenths behind the pace, respectively, they were the ones who were able to come the closest to Norris.
Despite having no issues putting both cars into Q3, it was a terrible day for Ferrari. First, Charles Leclerc was the slowest of the nine cars as he struggled to achieve his typical one-lap pace, then Carlos Sainz crashed at the last curve as he was about to start his first flying lap of that latter portion of the session.
Daniel Ricciardo’s second Q1 exit did little to help his chances of maintaining his VCARB slot. He and teammate Yuki Tsunoda both had fast times during Friday practice, but he struggled in qualifying and will begin Sunday’s race in 16th place.
Lance Stroll did not fare well either, exiting the Marina Bay Circuit’s qualifying round for the fifth time in six tries. While Sauber will not have been shocked to see Valtteri Bottas finish in 19th place, ahead of only teammate Zhou Guanyu at the very bottom, Pierre Gasly will have been disappointed to have fallen into the bottom five with them.
After finishing his first flying lap of Q2, Verstappen experienced a terrifying moment when the car aggressively slammed to the left after he hit the curb. Though he was able to keep himself from driving outside the track limits and securing a Q3 berth, his deft hands saved him from a spin and collision.
However, his subsequent exertion was sufficient to place him second overall, and his teammate was quickly put under duress. In the 2023 Singapore race, Tsunoda finished in the top 10 in the junior VCARB car, whereas Sergio Perez began the race from 13th on the grid and could only manage the same result.
Alex Albon was enraged during his tire warming process and was probably blaming himself for almost missing out on Q3. Franco Colapinto, his rookie teammate, continued his impressive F1 debut by finishing 12th fastest, but he instantly apologized over the radio to his Williams team, obviously feeling that he might have performed better.
Although Kevin Magnussen outperformed Esteban Ocon, his lap was only good enough for fourteenth place, and Nico Hulkenberg, his teammate, qualified for the third time. Verstappen and Hamilton were also to join him in the top 10, despite their respective doubts about their chances of making it there.
