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Oct 10,2026 12:02 AM IST

Max Verstappen Continues Resurgence With Pole For Singapore Sprint

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Sports Home Formula 1 News Max Verstappen Continues Resurgence With Pole For Singapore Sprint

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Max Verstappen Continues Resurgence With Pole For Singapore Sprint

Max Verstappen scorched to Singapore sprint race pole position in his Red Bull on Friday after a thrilling qualifying session at the Marina Bay Street circuit.

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen steers his car during the sprint qualifying session ahead of F1 Singapore GP.© AFP

Max Verstappen scorched to Singapore sprint race pole position in his Red Bull on Friday after a thrilling qualifying session at the Marina Bay Street circuit. George Russell's Mercedes joined Verstappen on the front row for the 21-lap dash on Saturday with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc third and Oscar Piastri's McLaren fourth. A resurgent Verstappen, who won for the first time this season in Malaysia last weekend, clocked 1min 31.156sec under lights at a Marina Bay Circuit enveloped in haze caused by fires in Indonesia, 0.120sec quicker than Russell.

"It's always close here in Singapore. And also your lap itself, you're pushing as hard as you think is possible, close to the walls in places," said the four-time world champion.

"Once we bolted on the soft tyres (for SQ3), it felt like the car was coming alive a little bit more, but I did not expect this.

"Of course, very happy to be first."

Fifth was the McLaren of Lando Norris, followed by the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen was investigated after the session for overtaking Hamilton under a yellow flag during SQ1, but stewards imposed no penalty after examining telemetry and talking to both drivers.

"The stewards were satisfied that the overtake was an unfortunate consequence of the significant closing speed differential and, in these circumstances, determined not to impose a penalty," a statement said.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, sporting a new aerodynamic package, was only seventh in his Mercedes, with Liam Lawson (RB), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) completing the top 10 on the grid.

Verstappen has never won or been on pole before in Singapore, where extremes of heat and humidity play a part in the most physically attritional race of the season.

He was buoyed by the pace of his Red Bull, which traditionally struggles on slower speed and bumpy street circuits.

"I think the last few races we have been a lot stronger," said Verstappen.

"But this track still highlights a few little weaknesses in the car, but we manage to drive with them as well as possible."

Russell said of P2: "It is going to be challenging, the grip here (means) the drivers on the pole side have a big advantage."

- 'Difficult weekend' -

Antonelli admitted he struggled throughout the session.

"Still a lot to understand about this package, the car is very unpredictable and it is very hard to put a lap together," said the Italian, who is 84 points ahead of Russell in the drivers' standings.

"I came with high hopes. But I think it will be a difficult weekend. I don't really see where we can find seven tenths."

Singapore is featuring a sprint race for the first time, on a track that is notoriously difficult for overtaking.

The only practice session for the teams to get to grips with the idiosyncrasies of the Marina Bay Street Circuit took place on a dusty track before sunset earlier on Friday, hardly ideal preparation for a 62-lap night race on Sunday.

Singapore is extremely tough on drivers, who can shed up to 3kg (6lb) during the grand prix from sweating alone, and the race weekend has been declared a "heat hazard" by organisers allowing drivers to wear cooling vests.

The teams also have to contend with the thick haze caused by wildfires in nearby Indonesia, which saw Singapore's air quality plunge to an "unhealthy" 205 on Friday according to the IQAir tracking website.

Readings above 150 are classified as unhealthy, while levels above 300 are considered hazardous.

Motorsport's governing body told AFP the race was not under threat from the haze.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Asian Games 2026 Medals Tally

No. Country G S B Total 1

People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China 169 89 83 341 2

Japan

Japan 83 95 91 269 3

Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea 39 43 68 150 4

India

India 21 27 37 85 5

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan 21 25 24 70

Full Medals Table

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