Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the Sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix, beating George Russell by just over a tenth of a second. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli could manage only seventh. Verstappen kept the pole after stewards looked into a yellow-flag incident.
Max Verstappen took pole position for the Singapore Sprint on Friday, October 9, Formula1.com reported.
The Red Bull driver, who won his first race of the season last time out, set a time of 1m 31.156s at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
The Top 10
| Pos | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari |
| 7 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
The Margins
- Verstappen was 0.120s ahead of Russell
- Leclerc was a further tenth of a second back
- Piastri was only 0.055s behind Leclerc
Four teams looked competitive after the single hour of practice. Verstappen’s final lap, on soft tyres, was enough to beat all of them.
The Investigation
Verstappen was investigated for a possible yellow-flag infringement in the first part of the session. It was later confirmed that he would keep pole position.
Antonelli Down in Seventh
Kimi Antonelli, who leads the Drivers’ Championship, qualified seventh, five places behind his Mercedes team-mate Russell.
Further Back
- Franco Colapinto was 11th for Alpine, pushed out of the top 10 by a late lap from Russell
- Arvid Lindblad narrowly missed the second part of the session and will start 17th
- Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez will share the back row
Pérez caused a red flag when he hit the barrier in the opening minutes.
The Sprint
The Sprint is a 21-lap race held on Saturday.
The Marina Bay circuit’s bumpy surface and humid conditions make it one of the hardest tests of the year. With a Sprint added to the weekend, teams had just one practice session to prepare.
Image: Max Verstappen at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix (file photo). Photo by Eustace Bagge via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
