Singapore GP: Russell on pole, Verstappen trails, Williams disqualified – What all happened
George Russell claimed pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, delivering a stunning 1m 29.158s lap to edge out Max Verstappen by less than a tenth of a second. The Mercedes driver set a new track record under the Marina Bay lights, securing his seventh career pole and his team’s first since 2018.
Russell’s lap marked a return to form for Mercedes, with the Briton now eyeing victory from the front row — a position that has historically favoured race winners at this circuit. “We’ve been building up to this,” Russell said after qualifying. “It feels great to get everything right on a street track like this.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start alongside him in second after narrowly missing out on pole. The Dutchman’s consistency saw him out-qualify both McLaren drivers for the third consecutive race, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri continued his fine run with a career-best third in Singapore.
Rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed again, qualifying fourth for Mercedes, marking back-to-back top-four starts. Lando Norris will start fifth for McLaren, followed by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in sixth — the first time the seven-time champion has started outside the top five in Singapore.
Charles Leclerc lines up seventh ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, who secured his 11th Q3 appearance of the season. Haas rookie Ollie Bearman delivered a standout performance with ninth — his best-ever qualifying result — while Fernando Alonso completes the top ten for Aston Martin.
Further back, Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed Q3 by just 0.065s, qualifying 11th for Kick Sauber. Liam Lawson will start 12th after being promoted due to penalties for others.
However, drama unfolded post-session when both Williams cars — driven by Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz — were disqualified for breaching DRS regulations. FIA scrutineers found the rear wing flaps on both cars exceeded the maximum allowable opening of 85mm during deployment.
In an official statement, the FIA confirmed that “both cars exceeded the maximum limit of 85mm on both sides of the rear wing outer area.” Williams accepted the findings, with team principal James Vowles calling it “bitterly disappointing” and insisting there was no intent to gain an advantage.
“During FIA scrutineering after Qualifying, the rear wings on both our cars failed DRS slot gap checks,” said Vowles. “We fully accept the FIA ruling. This is bitterly disappointing for the team, but we’ll do everything we can to fight from the back tomorrow.”
Both Albon and Sainz will be allowed to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid.