Russell charges to Singapore GP pole over Verstappen and Piastri

George Russell posted a couple of stunning Q3 laps to claim pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, eclipsing Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in another pulsating Qualifying session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

After topping Q2, Russell carried that momentum through to the decisive pole shootout by pumping in a time of 1m 29.165s on his first lap out of the pits – the Mercedes man tapping the concrete walls as he pushed his car to the limits under the lights.

Russell found seven more thousandths on his final lap to get down to a 1m 29.158s and, despite their best efforts, none of his rivals had an answer, meaning the Briton will start from the front of the grid for the second time this season after June’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Verstappen swore over the radio in frustration after finishing 0.182s down on Russell in second, having seemingly encountered traffic on his last lap, with Piastri leading the McLaren charge in third over the Silver Arrow of Kimi Antonelli and team mate Lando Norris.

Ferrari did not quite have the pace to fight for pole as they wound up sixth and seventh, with Lewis Hamilton a tenth up on team mate Charles Leclerc, who recovered from a scare in Q2 that involved him sitting in the drop zone before his final effort.

Isack Hadjar was one of the stars of Qualifying as he dragged his Racing Bulls car to eighth, while Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso were similarly impressive on their way to ninth and 10th.

Nico Hulkenberg put some recent tricky Qualifying sessions behind him to spearhead Kick Sauber’s challenge and secure a solid 11th on the grid, edging out Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.

Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson did well to recover from crashes in FP2 and FP3 to reach Q2 and challenge for a Q3 spot, but ultimately had to settle for 14th over Yuki Tsunoda, whose recent progress at Red Bull has not yet carried over to Singapore.

Gabriel Bortoleto missed out on joining fellow Sauber driver Hulkenberg in Q2 by a matter of hundredths, placing 16th over the other Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, who also struggled relative to his double World Champion team mate Alonso.

Alpine endured their latest tough Qualifying session en route to 18th and 20th with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly respectively (the Frenchman stopping out on track late in Q1), while Esteban Ocon wound up 19th aboard the other Haas.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Hamilton makes his mark as Qualifying begins

After three practice sessions topped by three different drivers, with just 0.089s covering Verstappen’s Red Bull, the McLarens and the Mercedes cars in FP3, attention turned to Saturday’s all-important Qualifying hour at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

As the green light switched on at the end of the pit lane at 2100 local time, plenty of drivers were quick to hit the track and get some banker laps on the board – Pirelli’s soft compound tyre being chosen up and down the order from the outset.

Hamilton was the first driver to experience a moment when he went too deep at Turn 1 and drifted onto some dust, prompting another preparation lap from the seven-time World Champion while the first efforts rolled in from his rivals.

Verstappen continued where he left off at the end of final practice to set the early benchmark on a 1m 30.317s, just ahead of high-flying Haas rookie Bearman and Russell’s Mercedes, before Hamilton recovered to go fourth over Norris.

There was further drama when Piastri had to abandon his first lap due to a car on the run-off area at the first chicane. “Ah man, come on… You can’t give a yellow flag for someone getting out of the way,” sighed the Australian over the radio.

The second runs brought another flurry of green and purple sector times as Q1 passed its halfway mark, bringing a 1m 30.214s from Hadjar and then a 1m 29.932s from Norris. Piastri, meanwhile, got a time on the board to move into the top 10.

At this point, replays showed Antonelli approaching a slow-moving Sainz (who had just left the pits) at the start of a flying lap – the stewards looking into the incident but opting against any further action. Undeterred, Antonelli went second shortly afterwards.

In the final couple of minutes, Hamilton prompted cheers in the grandstands around the track by going quickest on a 1m 29.765s, with Russell also posting a solid improvement to slot into second position over Norris, Verstappen, Antonelli and Hadjar.

There was another twist just before the chequered flag when Gasly ground to a halt in the middle sector and brought out the yellow flags, meaning several drivers still on their laps would be required to back off sufficiently or risk a penalty.

Around that jeopardy, championship leader Piastri made it safely through in seventh from Leclerc, Bearman and Tsunoda, while another typically tight midfield battle saw Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon and Gasly fall at the first hurdle.

Knocked out: Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon, Gasly

Q2 – Russell leads the way from Verstappen

After a short delay while stewards noted those possible yellow flag infringements, the Qualifying action resumed and Verstappen again picked up where he left off – pumping in a 1m 29.747s with his first lap to lead from Piastri, Hamilton and Norris.

Hadjar continued to impress by going fifth over Alonso, Russell and Sainz, as Hulkenberg and Bearman got themselves into the final top-10 spots. That was after Leclerc’s opening lap, which included a touch with the wall exiting Turn 14, left him only 13th.

Lawson, who had bounced back from his two practice crashes, was just the wrong side of the Q3 cut in 11th, with Tsunoda, Albon and Antonelli (the latter losing a time due to exceeding track limits) also in danger ahead of the decisive second runs.

Under that pressure to deliver, Antonelli pulled a lap out of the bag to go fastest on a 1m 29.649s, before team mate Russell edged ahead on a 1m 29.562s and Verstappen moved back up to second. Norris and Piastri could only go fourth and fifth for McLaren.

As the final laps came in, with spots in Q3 on the line, Leclerc put together a much better lap to go sixth, in front of Hamilton and Hadjar, while Alonso and Bearman delivered when it mattered to narrowly deny Hulkenberg, the Williams drivers, Lawson and Tsunoda.

Knocked out: Hulkenberg, Albon, Sainz, Lawson, Tsunoda

Q3 – Russell stuns his rivals with an inspired display

After another pause to the action, it was time for Q3 and the eagerly anticipated battle for pole position. Would it go to Verstappen’s Red Bull, a Mercedes or a McLaren? Or could Ferrari find something and spring a late surprise?

Russell did his best to answer that immediately by clocking a 1m 29.165s – surviving a tap with the wall at the exit of Turn 17 in the process. Verstappen emerged as his nearest challenger when the rest of the top 10 posted laps, but sat 0.175s back.

Seemingly now at one with his Mercedes after a difficult start to the weekend, which saw him crash out of FP2, Russell went slightly faster on his second run to lower the benchmark to a 1m 29.158s, asking even more of his rivals as the chequered flag dropped.

None of them could do enough, though, with Verstappen a frustrated second after appearing to be hindered by traffic in the form of Norris, and Piastri completing the top-three positions as he looks to rebuild a buffer in the race for the championship.

Antonelli backed up Russell with a strong run to fourth, from Norris and the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, as rookies Hadjar and Bearman and the experienced Alonso completed the top-10 positions for race day in Singapore.

Key quote

“It’s amazing to be on pole position,” said Russell. “Yesterday was a very challenging day for many different reasons, but it’s good to come back and get a good result today. Of course there’s a long, sweaty race tomorrow, but I knew there was potential in the car – Kimi was doing an amazing job all weekend and I actually gained quite a lot from seeing what he was capable of doing yesterday afternoon. I’m very happy to be on pole.”

What’s next

The 2025 Singapore Grand Grand Prix is set to begin at 2000 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from the Marina Bay Street Circuit.