The qualifying session in Singapore offered a huge surprise when both Red Bull drivers were left out of the top ten. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, took the pole position for the second time in a row.
– Shock, complete shock, Max Verstappen would talk into the team radio after finishing his qualifying session in the dark night of Singapore.
For the first time this season, Red Bull’s Verstappen, who leads the Formula 1 World Series by far, was left out of the final section of qualifying. His teammate experienced the same fate Sergio Perez. Verstappen was 11th in qualifying and Perez, who spun in his last fast lap, was 13th.
Ferrari won the time trial Carlos Sainz. The pole position is Sainz’s second of the season. The first one came in Italy a couple of weeks ago.
– Our car seems to be really good on tracks with fast corner combinations. We will try to give everything to win tomorrow, Sainz assessed after qualifying.
Mercedes George Russell wedged into the second starting grid as the last car and broke Ferrari’s power, because Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc came third. Russell lost just 0.072 seconds to Sainz.
Verstappen’s dismal qualifying is further darkened by the fact that he may receive a grid penalty after being in a dangerous position when the AlphaTauri Yuki Tsunoda was chasing him hard after Stroll’s crash.
Red Bull’s car looked really difficult to drive throughout qualifying. Verstappen had problems with his grip in several corners and the Dutchman hit the track barriers several times. Verstappen’s qualification was sealed by AlphaTaur Liam Lawsonwho finished tenth.
A violent exit marked the qualifying session
The first part of the time trial ended dramatically. Aston Martin Lance Stroll drove out violently at the end of the section. Stroll drove slightly wide in the last corner of the high-speed, left-turning track. After this, the Canadian driver lost control of his car and crashed violently into the wall.
The front of Stroll’s car was badly damaged on the left side. The first section ended with the Canadian driver going out when the organizers had to clean the track. Stroll appeared to be fine after the concussion. He got out of the car on his own.
Stroll’s fluctuating season continued. He has been among the top five in the season’s competitions three times, but as a counterweight, he was completely without points the fifth time. If the driver is in race condition on Sunday, it will be hard work to score points.
Alfa Romeo Valtteri Bottas qualifying ended at the same time, as the Finnish driver remained in 16th place. The evening was the fifth time this season that Bottas has not made it through the opening section.
In addition to him, Stroll, Logan Sargeant, Alex Albon and the Finn’s teammate Guanyu Zhou. Due to Stroll’s crash, the opening section was finally taken by a surprising name, AlphaTaurin Yuki Tsunoda was the fastest.
The time trial was able to continue after half an hour of waiting in the second section. The second section, colored by Red Bull’s underperformance, also came Pierre Gaslyn, by Alexander Albon and to Tsunoda’s fate.
The final section culminated as usual in the last minutes, when Sainz clocked the pole time three minutes before the end of the section. Russell confirmed his place in the front row already after the qualifying time.
See the final results of the time trials in the X update below.