Teams had just one practice session to prepare for Singapore Grand Prix qualifying. Then the weekend turned chaotic.

George Russell made the most of that hour. He topped FP1 with a 1:32.274, 0.198 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris took third, 0.273 seconds back. Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri followed in fourth and fifth. Max Verstappen was sixth after a radio problem cost him running.

Friday’s Sprint Qualifying then delivered a twist. Sergio Peréz crashed at Turn 5 in SQ1 and brought out a red flag. Even so, Verstappen found a 1:31.156 on his final SQ3 lap. He beat Russell by 0.120 seconds to take Sprint pole, with Leclerc third.

Saturday brought rain. A heavy downpour hit Marina Bay 15 minutes before the Sprint and delayed the start by 30 minutes. All 22 drivers began on intermediate tyres.

Russell snatched the lead from the front row. However, he lost control over the kerb at the final corner barely a lap later and hit the wall. After five laps behind the Safety Car, Verstappen controlled the restart and won by 2.6 seconds. Hamilton finished second and Leclerc third.

Meanwhile, McLaren’s afternoon ended in contact. Norris dived down the inside of Piastri on the final lap, and the teammates collided. Piastri retired, while Norris dropped to eighth.

The long Sprint pushed qualifying back 30 minutes, to a 9:30pm local start. Verstappen arrived with a Sprint pole and a Sprint win. Hamilton and Leclerc kept Ferrari in the fight. Russell, meanwhile, needed a clean lap to put his Sprint crash behind him.

Verstappen took pole for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix with a 1:31.373 lap — a 0.054 second margin over Leclerc. Hamilton completed the top three.

Q1: Hamilton Sets The Pace As Hadjar’s Engine Trouble Ends His Session

Kimi Antonelli led the top teams out of the pit lane as the Singapore Grand Prix qualifying began.

Trouble followed almost at once. Esteban Ocon went deep at Turn 13 on his outlap and nearly touched the wall. He kept his Haas out of the barrier, but the lock-up brought out the first yellow flag. Ocon then reported over the radio that he had no brakes.

Lance Stroll caused the second yellow. He ran deep, then reversed back onto the track.

A third yellow followed when Isack Hadjar slowed and drifted slightly off the circuit. His Red Bull stopped on track.

“Engine is off.” — Isack Hadjar, Red Bull driver, team radio

Once the times arrived, Antonelli was the first of the top-team drivers to post one. It left him eleventh as the rest of the field filled in. Lewis Hamilton led with a 1:33.311, ahead of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

George Russell carried a back-of-the-grid penalty. He could either set a time of his own or help Antonelli, the championship leader, find the best possible starting slot.

Max Verstappen then went fastest with a 1:33.241. Antonelli improved to third, just 0.360 seconds behind him. Williams also broke into the top ten, with Sainz seventh and Alex Albon ninth.

Norris answered with two purple sectors and a 1:33.047 to go fastest. Franco Colapinto improved to fifth. Piastri then jumped from sixth to second, only 0.029 seconds off his teammate.

Meanwhile, Liam Lawson set a purple first sector and climbed from ninth to sixth. Arvid Lindblad moved from fourteenth to tenth with a time in the 1:34s.

Russell followed with a purple first sector, using every inch of the track. He slotted into sixth, right behind Antonelli.

Stroll slipped from tenth as Fernando Alonso moved just above him. Charles Leclerc took sixth, while Nico Hülkenberg sat fifth in the Audi, 0.431 seconds off Norris. Oliver Bearman also ran within 0.309 seconds of the fastest lap.

Norris then improved again and went fastest with a 1:32.775. Pierre Gasly moved up to seventh. Piastri’s second attempt did not improve.

Hamilton hit back with two purple sectors and took the top spot by 0.095 seconds. Gabriel Bortoleto left the drop zone and moved up to thirteenth.

Antonelli improved to third, 0.138 seconds behind Hamilton, with a 1:32.818. However, track limits at Turn 2 deleted the time.

Hadjar never set a lap. The same engine problem that ended his Sprint struck again. Leclerc improved to second, 0.094 seconds behind Hamilton. Verstappen sat fifth, half a second off the fastest lap.

Stroll fell to eighteenth, while Alonso held fifteenth. With a minute to go, the order shuffled again. Sergio Pérez did not improve. Colapinto, Albon and Ocon all found time, with Ocon rising to fourteenth. Lindblad climbed to eighth, and Lawson jumped to fourth.

Gasly moved up to seventh, half a second behind Hamilton. Then Hamilton found more time in the middle sector and improved to a 1:32.429.

Out in Q1: Alonso, Albon, Stroll, Pérez, Valtteri Bottas and Hadjar were eliminated in P17 through P22.

Q2: Hamilton Sets The Standard Again as Six Drivers Fall

Mercedes were the first cars on track in Q2.

Russell led the way on the first push lap, a 1:32.323. Antonelli followed with a 1:32.165 and went fastest, with his teammate right behind. Norris slotted in behind Russell.

Then Hamilton raised the bar. He went fastest by 0.399 seconds. Leclerc sat 0.668 seconds behind his teammate, and Piastri trailed Norris. Verstappen moved to third, 0.526 seconds off Hamilton.

Meanwhile, the Haas drivers climbed out of the elimination zone. Bearman reached twelfth, but Ocon took that place soon after. That left Bearman thirteenth. Sainz posted a 1:33.526 to sit fourteenth.

Norris improved on his second attempt. He beat Hamilton in both the first and second sectors. A slight correction at Turn 14 cost him little, and he posted a 1:31.895. That put him second, 0.129 seconds behind Hamilton.

Hamilton, meanwhile, went out on another outlap. Bortoleto oversteered at Turn 13 before catching the slide and avoiding a crash. He reached fifteenth. Hülkenberg sat tenth and hoped to improve. He kept his position but found time.

Leclerc moved up to fourth but could not match Hamilton’s pace. Hamilton then set the fastest first and second sectors. He improved to a 1:31.529, despite a yellow flag in the third sector.

Piastri brushed the wall at Turn 13. He still set a 1:32.245 and moved up to fifth. Verstappen then set a purple first sector and a personal best in the second. He jumped from sixth to second.

Mercedes went again. Russell aborted his lap, but Antonelli kept going. He moved to fourth, 0.550 seconds behind Hamilton. Norris did not improve on his final flying lap.

Both Alpines sat in the elimination zone. Gasly improved drastically, climbing from eleventh to eighth. Colapinto, however, slapped the wall and stayed sixteenth.

“I completely lost it that corner. Just… so much oversteer.” — Franco Colapinto, Alpine driver, team radio

Hülkenberg stayed in the drop zone without improving, and so did Bearman. Lindblad then climbed to eighth, ahead of Gasly. Leclerc took fourth from Antonelli.

Lawson crossed the line with the seventh-fastest time. Sainz could not improve on his final lap. Russell moved up to sixth on his last flying lap.

Eliminated in P11 through P16: Nico Hülkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto and Franco Colapinto.

Q3: Verstappen Takes 50th Career Pole by 0.054 Seconds

George Russell left the pit lane first. The question was whether he would help his teammate or chase a lap of his own. Pierre Gasly had also made it into the top ten.

Russell chose the team game, and Kimi Antonelli followed him out.

Max Verstappen set the first Q3 time, a 1:31.373. Charles Leclerc took second, two tenths away. Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad briefly held third and fourth.

Lando Norris then went third, 0.339 seconds behind Verstappen. Oscar Piastri slotted in behind his teammate.

Then Lewis Hamilton set the fastest middle sector of anyone and moved into second. He last took pole at Marina Bay in 2018, when he posted a 1:36.015 for his 79th career pole. That lap beat Verstappen by 0.319 seconds, and Hamilton called it magic.

Russell moved up to sixth, dividing the two McLarens. Antonelli took third, dividing the Ferraris. It looked like a battle between Verstappen and Hamilton.

Mercedes headed out first for the final runs, with McLaren and Ferrari behind them. Antonelli completed three build laps. Verstappen left the pits last.

Norris went first on his final flying lap but did not improve from fifth. Piastri followed and stayed where he was. Hamilton fought the steering on his last attempt and could not find more time.

However, Leclerc did improve. He moved from fourth to second, just 0.054 seconds behind Verstappen. Antonelli and Verstappen did not improve, staying fourth and first respectively.

Gasly moved up to eighth as the best of the rest.

Verstappen’s pole was the 50th of his career, on his 250th race start.

Top 10: Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Gasly, Lawson, Lindblad.