Carlos Sainz has claimed pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix while Max Verstappen was sensationally eliminated early.
The Dutchman failed to make the cut at the end of Qualifying 2, as did Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
It left Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Liam Lawson as the only Red Bull-aligned driver to progress to the session final phase as the New Zealander’s stock continues its meteoric rise.
George Russell will join Sainz on the front row, with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris on the second row.
As had been the way in final practice, the early pace was set by Ferrari and McLaren; Leclerc the early pace setting followed by Norris.
Little split the pair following their first runs in Qualifying 1, with Perez only 0.04s off provisional pole in third.
Buy tickets
Verstappen was 0.3s back from Leclerc’s lap as he sat fourth before the two Mercedes drivers flashed across the line.
That left Russell fastest by 0.05s over Leclerc with Lewis Hamilton splitting the two Red Bull drivers in fifth.
Seventh fastest following the opening runs was Oscar Piastri, though there was little to separate Verstappen in sixth and Kevin Magnussen in 11th – only 0.15s.
The order was never settled, with a second lap from Verstappen seeing him improve to second, as Sainz took over as the provisional pole man.
Red Bull had to send the championship leader for another run as his initial effort left him 0.2s clear of the danger zone – with times rapidly changing, inaction was too great a risk.
Even still, he ran again as the chequered flag fell – an insurance policy on a track that was evolving quickly.
That saw Yuki Tsunoda emerge fastest from Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, Lawson, Magnussen, and Russell.
However, the session ended with a significant crash for Lance Stroll.
The Canadian suffered a snap of oversteer at the final corner, sending him off the road where he nosed heavily into the barrier.
It bounced the car back out onto the race track and was fortunate not to roll, Stroll able to climb out uninjured.
Norris had been the first car on the scene, going past the still-spinning Stroll as he slid back onto the track.
That drew the red flag; Stroll eliminated as the slowest qualifier along with Zhou Guanyu in 19th behind Logan Sargeant, Piastri, and Valtteri Bottas.
Piastri was on track behind Stroll at the time of the crash, meaning his lap had to be aborted as he arrived on the scene.
Under the stoppage, officials noted an incident involving Verstappen impeding in the pit lane, which would be investigated post-session.
Replays showed the Red Bull driver had stopped at pit exit, baulking the two Mercedes in the process.
Officials also noted an incident involving ‘several cars’ on approach to the final corner, where a host of drivers had queued up prior to starting their final flying lap.
Following a delay of just over 30 minutes, during which the barrier was repaired and fluid on the track cleaned up, Qualifying 2 began.
Fernando Alonso sat fastest following the initial flurry, with Sainz second by 0.06s and Norris third the same distance further back.
However, neither Mercedes driver had completed their initial effort lap, the pair running slightly out of sequence to the bulk of the field.
Russell made the most of the clear track to go fastest with a 1:31.743s, almost a tenth clear of Alonso, while Hamilton slotted in fifth.
Verstappen meanwhile was only 10th with a 1:32.307s, a time on par with what he’d managed in Qualifying 1.
With four minutes remaining, teams headed back out for a second run.
That saw the field bank up through the final chicane as they created space, though this time without incident.
A spin from Perez in the first sector ruined his lap, while Verstappen’s was sluggish, leaving him only 10th and the first driver at risk.
He was soon bumped out by Lawson to the roar of the crowd as the session ended without a single Red Bull driver progressing to Qualifying 3.
Alongside Verstappen and Perez, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Tsunoda were also bumped out.
Ferrari provisionally locked out the front row with their first laps in Qualifying 3, Sainz ahead of Leclerc by a comfortable 0.25s with Norris third.
The two Mercedes followed, Russell ahead of Hamilton, and then Alonso.
Lawson was 10th, his 1:32.811s slower than he’d set it either Qualifying 1 or Qualifying 2, though his task was complicated by a lack of new tyres.
The final flying laps of the session saw Sainz go even faster through the first split, only to lose time through the middle third of the lap.
He pulled it back through the middle part of the lap to improve to 1:30.984s, Norris rising to second for a time before Leclerc completed his lap.
That saw the Ferrari lock out the front row, Sainz ahead of Leclerc, before Russell split the pair to join Sainz on the front row.
Hamilton was fifth best ahead of Magnussen, then came Alonso, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Lawson.
Discussion about this post