Russell storms to Singapore GP pole

The Brit topped two of the three qualifying sessions, including the all-important Q3, to claim pole with a time of 1m29.158s, setting a new lap record around the current Marina Bay layout.

Russell had a scary moment in Q3 when he brushed the wall, but he was able to recover to secure his second pole of 2025.

Max Verstappen finished second, 0.182s behind Russell, while Oscar Piastri ended the session in third.

Russell said he was happy to secure pole after a difficult start to his Singapore weekend on Friday, which saw him crash out of second practice and miss early running on the soft tyres.

“I had a difficult day yesterday for many reasons but it’s good to come back and get a good result today,” he said.

“I knew there was potential in the car.”

Verstappen looked likely to better Russell’s time but had his final fast lap affected by the second McLaren of Lando Norris, with the Dutchman expressing his frustration over team radio.

“Without that I think it would have been close for pole,” Verstappen said after qualifying.

McLaren appeared unable to replicate the pace they had shown on Friday, with Piastri admitting over the radio he didn’t feel he had the extra time in the session to challenge for pole, while Norris could only manage fifth.

“Obviously I would’ve wanted more, but I don’t think we had four tenths in it to get pole,” Piastri said.

“Ultimately it was a clean session, that’s all I can ask for.”

Kimi Antonelli backed up Mercedes’ strong pace with an impressive fourth, his highest qualifying result since the Canadian Grand Prix, while the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will line up sixth and seventh.

Hamilton was cleared just before qualifying over a potential red flag infringement from practice earlier in the day, avoiding a grid penalty for the race.

Isack Hadjar continued his impressive pace from the weekend to line up eighth, ahead of Oliver Bearman, who secured his third career Q3 appearance and will start ninth. Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10.

Q2 saw Leclerc live on the edge, with the two-time Singapore pole-sitter brushing the wall during his opening run and sitting in the drop zone as the clock ticked down. The Ferrari driver managed to put together a lap when it counted, progressing to the final part of qualifying.

Drivers who failed to make it through included Nico Hulkenberg, the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

It was an impressive effort for Lawson to reach qualifying, with his Racing Bulls mechanics working until the very start of Q1 to get his car ready following his heavy crash in third practice earlier in the day.

Q1 ended under yellow flags after Pierre Gasly’s Alpine came to a halt at Turn 11 in the closing seconds.

The Frenchman said he had “lost everything” as he approached the corner, pulling off to the side and emerging from the car, ultimately finishing last in the session.

Also eliminated in Q1 were Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon.

The Singapore Grand Prix starts at 8pm local time on Sunday (11pm AEDT).