Max Verstappen took pole for the Singapore Grand Prix with a 1:31.373 lap, 0.054 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc and 0.123 clear of Lewis Hamilton. It is his 50th career pole and his first for the race at Marina Bay, while George Russell must start from the back.
Singapore: Marina Bay had given Max Verstappen podiums and never a pole for the race itself. On Saturday night, with the Sprint already in his pocket and a delayed start to qualifying behind him, he set the pace on his first Q3 run and then watched the Ferraris fail to take it from him.
One lap the Ferraris could not beat
Verstappen’s 1:31.373 came early in the final shoot-out, and he never improved on it. He did not have to. Leclerc ended 0.054 seconds slower in second, Hamilton 0.123 back in third, and the whole top three sat inside a quarter of a second.
The lap carries weight beyond Sunday’s grid. It was the 50th pole of his career, a figure only Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Sebastian Vettel had reached before him, and it gave Red Bull their first pole for the Singapore Grand Prix since Vettel in 2013. Verstappen said the 2026 regulations had changed where the car is strong through corners, helping at a circuit that has resisted him in earlier rule cycles, and that the car had looked quick all weekend.
Hamilton led twice, then lost out
For most of the evening, the first Ferrari pole of Hamilton’s career looked on. He topped Q1 and Q2 and arrived in Q3 as the driver to beat. Verstappen struck first, though, and Hamilton could not find an improvement on his second attempt. Leclerc then edged past him for second, leaving Ferrari with a front-row start but not the top spot.
Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, qualified fourth for Mercedes, with Lando Norris fifth for McLaren and Oscar Piastri seventh-fastest.
Russell sent to the back
Russell had set the sixth-quickest time of the session, 1:31.747, but an engine penalty drops him to the back of the grid. That promotes Piastri, who crashed out of the Sprint after contact with Norris on the final lap, to sixth. Pierre Gasly starts seventh for Alpine, ahead of Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. Nico Hulkenberg, who just missed Q3, inherits tenth because of Russell’s penalty.
Isack Hadjar had a worse night. A technical problem in Q1 left the Red Bull driver without a timed lap and bound for the rear of the field alongside Russell.
What Sunday holds
Verstappen goes into the 62-lap race, which starts at 8pm local time (5:30pm IST), hoping to turn a Saturday sweep into a second straight win after his first victory of 2026 at Sepang. He also won the rain-hit Sprint earlier in the day. Two Ferraris sit directly behind him on the grid, which gives Leclerc and Hamilton the numbers to pressure him into the first corner and through the stops.
Singapore Grand Prix qualifying: Pole: Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 1:31.373; second: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), +0.054; third: Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), +0.123
Top ten on the grid: 1 Verstappen, 2 Leclerc, 3 Hamilton, 4 Antonelli, 5 Norris, 6 Piastri, 7 Gasly, 8 Lawson, 9 Lindblad, 10 Hulkenberg
