With McLaren having nudged ahead of Red Bull in the Constructor’s race, Norris has his eyes on overtaking Verstappen for the Driver’s trophy.
MARINA BAY, Singapore–McLaren’s Lando Norris set a time of 1:29:525 with just a few seconds left in Saturday’s qualifying session for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, just ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton finishing in third. It was Norris’s fourth pole of the season.
For Norris, it will be another battle with his Dutch counterpart. With only a few rounds to go, he wants to overtake the three-time world champion in the battle for the world championship.
Lando Norris: I was finding it tough to progress much, and the guys around were getting quicker and quicker, putting me under pressure. But it was good enough for the pole.
Verstappen had been struggling with his car all evening but was glad to finish where he was. “I am happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday. Everyone only has one lap, so you don’t want to overdo it. I take second, and I’m happy with that.”
Hamilton’s performance was the best since his well-deserved victory at this season’s British Grand Prix. “Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year, and I have just been working and trying to get myself back up there. Suddenly, the car came to me for the first time in a long time in qualifying,” Hamilton replied. “We have been moving up and down on balance. We have changed everything, and the mechanics have been faultless. I hope we are in a good position to fight for the front tomorrow.”
In the second Mercedes, George Russell had a solid final lap ahead of the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri to finish in fourth. In contrast, Haas Nico Hulkenberg had one of his best qualifying sessions of the year to take sixth. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was seventh, alongside RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, continuing another great performance in eighth.
But it was a disappointing evening for Ferrari, as Charles Leclerc could not find a good lap and ended up in ninth. Teammate Carlos Sainz crashed his car in the final corner with 8:40 left in the final session, which brought out a red flag, ending his evening in tenth.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was one of the big surprises, ending his evening driving in the opening session. At the same time, Sergio Perez’s second Red Bull continued his poor runs in qualifying, exiting the second.
U.S. race coverage will begin at 8:00 AM Eastern on the ESPN network.
