Verstappen seizes first pole in Singapore after winning Sprint Race; Leclerc pips teammate Hamilton for P2; Antonelli only P4; McLaren struggle
Saturday’s auspices look favorable for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to take his first ever win at the Singapore Grand Prix. Verstappen converted pole into victory in the final Sprint race of the season and first Singapore Sprint and then stomped all over his competitors yet again in Qualifying to take pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix. It was Verstappen’s first pole here at the tight and twisty Marina Bay Street Circuit, a track which has so far eluded his magical winning touch, and it made for a significant 50 career poles overall, a nice round number for the Dutchman. Verstappen is clearly stoked again about his F1 prospects a week after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and will certainly be looking to finally put Singapore into his voluminous win column. Ferrari would appear to have the best chance of thwarting that ambition, as Charles Leclerc was only 0.050 behind Verstappen’s top time, which pipped teammate Lewis Hamilton, P2 to P3. Mercedes’ points-leading breakout star Kimi Antonlelli struggled with his upgraded Silver Arrow all weekend long so far but still managed to nab a quali time good enough for a decent P4. While teammate George Russell was reasonably close by Kimi in P6, he will face demotion to P21 on the grid for the race after incurring a raft of engine penalties following last week’s heartbreaking DNF in Malaysia. McLaren also struggled, with Lando Norris only able to run the fifth fastest time and Oscar Piastri mired down in P7. Adding to a frutrrtaing run for the Papya duo, the two took each other out in the final laps of the Sprint race earlier.
A first pole for Max in Singapore! ☝️
Ride onboard with the Dutchman as he flies around the Marina Bay Street Circuit during Saturday’s qualifying ⏱️
#F1 #SingaporeGP @pirellisport https://t.co/QH0uzVFBJV
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2026
Top 10 qualifiers for the Singapore GP:
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Red Bull | 1:33.241 | 1:31.639 | 1:31.373 | 15 |
| 2 |
|
Ferrari | 1:32.774 | 1:31.953 | 1:31.427 | 25 |
| 3 |
|
Ferrari | 1:32.429 | 1:31.529 | 1:31.496 | 25 |
| 4 |
|
Mercedes | 1:33.601 | 1:32.079 | 1:31.562 | 23 |
| 5 |
|
McLaren | 1:32.775 | 1:31.895 | 1:31.712 | 24 |
| 6 |
|
Mercedes | 1:33.617 | 1:32.212 | 1:31.747 | 23 |
| 7 |
|
McLaren | 1:33.076 | 1:32.245 | 1:31.860 | 22 |
| 8 |
|
Alpine | 1:33.182 | 1:32.602 | 1:32.225 | 22 |
| 9 |
|
Racing Bulls | 1:32.885 | 1:32.319 | 1:32.369 | 21 |
| 10 |
|
Racing Bulls | 1:33.288 | 1:32.498 | 1:32.781 | 21 |
Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.
Sunday’s race airs live beginning at 8 AM on AppleTV. Hope to see you then to find out if Max can complete his so so far perfect weekend by earning his first ever Grand Prix victory in Singapore!