Charles Leclerc will start Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix from the top stop following a great performance during the qualifying session.
Qualifying in Singapore went underway with a track that was still wet following the rainy session we saw with Free Practice 3, as most of the drivers went out with intermediate tires.
Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to set a flying lap, placing himself at the top of the standings through the opening stages of the session. However, he was beaten by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who improved on the 7-time World Champion’s lap by over 0.7 seconds. However, the British driver kept giving a fight as he re-took his first spot once again by over 0.3s to the Monegasque.
Some drivers, like Kevin Magnussen and Charles Leclerc, continued to struggle with the slippery surface as they found themselves losing control of their cars and being forced to go out to avoid a crash.
Ferrari’s Leclerc placed at the top in the final minutes of Q1 with Max Verstappen charging from behind, and his teammate Sergio Perez in third by just over 0.1 seconds. However, Verstappen once again improved and took the top position in the first third of the session.
The McLaren drivers struggled as Lando Norris barely achieved P15 moving into Q2 while Daniel Ricciardo was knocked out in a poor P17. Meanwhile, both Haas cars made it through as Mick Schumacher got out of the elimination zone at the checkered flag.
The other drivers eliminated were Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, Alexander Albon, and Nicholas Latifi.
The second qualifying stint saw Charles Leclerc dominate the timing sheets with Lewis Hamilton behind him. Both Red Bull cars placed 3rd and 4th with Verstappen leading.
Schumacher did not manage to further improve and found himself knocked out, while Magnussen barely got into Q3 as he finished the session in P10.
Things weren’t as nice for Russell as it was for his teammate – the British Mercedes driver got eliminated in P11, just ahead of Lance Stroll.
The other drivers eliminated were Sebastian Vettel and Guanyu Zhou.
The final qualifying stint saw Charles Leclerc take pole position for tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix, with Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton following in second and third place.
Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, qualified fourth ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
Max Verstappen qualified eight as he was called to box at the end of his final flying lap for still unknown reasons, though it may have been due to fuel concerns.
Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10.
