Championship leader Max Verstappen could only manage P2 in qualifying today, as title rival Lando Norris grabbed his fifth pole of he season.

Finlay McSporran
Published: 18:26, 21st September 2024

There was drama throughout the session with Sergio Perez being eliminated in Q2 and Carlos Sainz hitting the barrier at the final corner.

Q1

Qualifying began today with a rather familiar picture, as both Sauber’s were knocked out in Q1. They would be joined in the drop zone by Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll, both of whom had a disappointing session. However, no one will be more disappointed today than Daniel Riccardo. As the RB driver could only manage P16 in what could potentially be his last time racing in F1, if paddock rumours are to be believed .

Knocked out:

20 – Zhou

19 – Bottas

18 -Gasly

17 – Stroll

16 – Riccardo

Q2

There was a scary moment for Verstappen at the final corner, as a big snap of oversteer almost sent him into the barriers, however a great save from the Dutchman kept him in the session.

His teammate, Sergio Perez, also had plenty to worry about, as he was only 13th as the clocked ticked down, with the Mexican driver unable to get himself out of the drop zone as the flag fell, resulting in him being eliminated in Q2.

After looking quick in practice, both Williams failed to progress to Q3, as they were both knocked out along with Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen.

Knocked out:

15 – Ocon

14 – Magnussen

13 – Perez

12 – Colapinto

11 – Albon

Q3

The red flags were out at the beginning of Q3 as Carlos Sainz Ferrari hit the barriers at the final corner, the same one where Verstappen almost lost it during Q2.

With the red flag out and just 8 minutes left on the clock there was enough time for every driver to set on more lap, with Oscar Piastry top of timings as the cars emerged back out on track.

The McLaren driver improved slightly on his final run however was demoted to second by his teammate Norris who put 4 tenths between himself and Piastry with a mighty lap to go P1.

His title rival Max Verstappen could only manage P2 in the end, with the Mercedes qualifying third and fourth ahead of Piastry and Hulkenberg who qualified P6 in the Haas, ahead of Alonso, Tsunoda and the two Ferrari’s who failed to set a representative time.

Qualifying Results

#	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	Lando NORRIS	McLaren	1:29.525
2	Max VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull	1:29.728
3	Lewis HAMILTON	Mercedes	1:29.841
4	George RUSSELL	Mercedes	1:29.867
5	Oscar PIASTRI	McLaren	1:29.953
6	Nico HULKENBERG	Haas	1:30.115
7	Fernando ALONSO	Aston Martin	1:30.214
8	Yuki TSUNODA	VCARB	1:30.354
9	Charles LECLERC	Ferrari
10	Carlos SAINZ	Ferrari
11	Alexander ALBON	Williams	1:30.474
12	Franco COLAPINTO	Williams	1:30.481
13	Sergio PÉREZ	Red Bull	1:30.579
14	Kevin MAGNUSSEN	Haas	1:30.653
15	Esteban OCON	Alpine	1:30.769
16	Daniel RICCIARDO	VCARB	1:31.085
17	Lance STROLL	Aston Martin	1:31.094
18	Pierre GASLY	Alpine	1:31.312
19	Valtteri BOTTAS	Stake	1:31.572
20	Guanyu ZHOU	Stake	1:32.054

Tags:

Formula 1

Singapore GP