Russell beats Verstappen for surprise Singapore pole position

George Russell claimed pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri will start behind them in second place while his team mate Lando Norris could only manage fifth behind the second Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Q1

A frustrated Oscar Piastri had to use two fresh sets of tyres to get through the first round of qualifying after he was forced to abandon his first flying lap. A car drove onto the run-off area ahead of him at the first corner in order to yield to the McLaren driver, but this triggered yellow flags which meant Piastri had to back off.

He managed to secure progression with his second run but it cost him a second set of soft tyres. Lando Norris also had to use a second set of softs as his first run wasn’t quick enough.

There were no such problems for Max Verstappen. After his first run race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told him he had already done enough to secure a place in Q2. He went out for another run on his original set of tyres anyway and managed to improve his time. Only one other driver managed to secure progression without using a second set of soft tyres: Isack Hadjar in his Racing Bulls.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli left it until late in the session to set his first time, having abandoned his opening lap when he encountered Carlos Sainz Jnr at the apex of turn three. The stewards ruled he hadn’t been impeded.

A problem for Pierre Gasly at the end of the session created a headache for those following him. Gasly pulled his Alpine to a stop at turn 11, which triggered more yellow flags. These were briefly withdrawn, then put out again.

Several cars passed the scene and subsequently improved their lap times. The stewards quickly cleared Lance Stroll, who had not made the cut for Q2, of breaking the rules.

However they chose to investigate whether George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto had breached the rules after Q2 began, notwithstanding the fact all but the latter had progressed from Q1. This was potentially a blow for the cleared Stroll in 17th place, plus Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon behind him. Gasly dropped out in last place.

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Q1 result

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Q2

Verstappen was anxious to get started as he sat at the pit lane exit before Q2 began. Though the pit exit light shone red, he told his race engineer he could see a green flag being waved. Lambiase told his driver to stay put until the signal changed.

Once out on track, Verstappen banged in another benchmark time, and Red Bull again immediately told him he’d done enough to reach Q3. But with plenty of soft tyres spare, he was able to take another set to refine his time at the end of the session.

He didn’t set the quickest time, however: George Russell pipped him by a hundredth of a second. He also received the welcome news that the stewards had cleared him of failing to comply with the yellow flags in Q1.

Antonelli joined him in the final 10 despite his first lap in Q2 being deleted for exceeding track limits at turn two. Both Ferrari drivers made it through as well, though it was a nervy session for Leclerc, who clipped the wall at turn 14 on his first run.

The Ferrari driver secured his place in Q3 at the expense of Nico Hulkenberg, who dropped out in 11th. Neither of the Williams drivers progressed any further either. Liam Lawson failed to accompany team mate Isack Hadjar into Q3, but had the consolation of out-qualifying Tsunoda in the Red Bull.

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Q2 result

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Q3

Russell was the first of the front-runners to set a time in Q3, but if missing the opportunity to benefit from track evolution hurt him, it didn’t show. Through turns 16 and 17, where he crashed yesterday, he was fabulously committed, skimming the barriers on the way in and out.

The result was a 1’29.165, more than a third of a second faster than his team mate could manage when he crossed the line shortly afterwards. The McLaren pair fell short too, though Piastri split the Mercedes pair. That left Verstappen, who beat Russell’s time in the final two sectors, yet still fell short by 0.175 seconds at the line.

Russell again made sure he was among the first to run at the end of the session while Verstappen went out last after the McLaren drivers. While Russell couldn’t improve on his time through the first sector, he gained in the second. He reached the line just seven thousandths of a second quicker than he did on his first lap however.

Neither McLaren driver was able to capitalise on that modest improvement, though Piastri tightened his grasp on third place. That left Verstappen as the only driver left who could beat Russell.

His lap didn’t start well, and he lost time in the middle sector. Heading into turns 16 and 17 Verstappen could see Norris ahead who was heading to the pits. Verstappen backed off at the exit of the corner, conceding pole to Russell, and gestured at the McLaren driver with his hand as he passed by.

Neither Ferrari driver was able to get into the top five, Hamilton taking sixth ahead of his team mate. Singapore newcomers Hadjar and Bearman impressed with eighth and ninth respectively, while Fernando Alonso completed the top 10.

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Q3 result

2025 Singapore Grand Prix

• McLaren just one-thousandth of a second faster than last year: Lap time data
• Half of 2025’s qualifying team mate battles have been won after Singapore
• Singapore was one of bottom three circuits I thought we’d take pole at – Russell
• Norris denies deliberately holding Verstappen up in qualifying
• Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Bortoleto cleared of yellow flag infringement in Q1

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