Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr.'s heavy crash at the start of Q3 left just nine drivers with a chance at glory at Saturday night's Singapore Grand Prix. Only Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg had set times before Sainz's crash, so when the green flag waved again the remaining nine drivers stayed in their garages for a one-lap shootout for pole position.
Perhaps some at McLaren and Haas are hoping that further accidents will disrupt the running plans, allowing Piastri and Hulkenberg to line up on the front row.
Eventually, with just over four minutes remaining in Q3, the pit lane came to life and Lando Norris and Piastri emerged first. It was a fascinating F1 season with one lap, 19 corners and nine drivers vying for pole position and glory.
One of the last drivers to emerge? Pole position hopeful Max Verstappen gambled that the benefits of a familiar track outweighed the risk of another accident, meaning he will start Sunday from the back of the points.
In the end, the glory went to Norris.
The McLaren driver and championship contender continued his strong week in Singapore, placing the MCL38 on the front row.
There he will start alongside Verstappen, his championship rival.
“It was tough,” Norris told James Hinchcliffe trackside after qualifying, “but we performed well enough, so I'm happy, especially in Singapore.”
“Job accomplished.”
Be sure to tune in tomorrow night for what should be an interesting drag race with Verstappen through Turn 1. Of course, Norris' record of starting from pole position has been spotty, as he has never started from pole position and led the opening lap, but he has started from pole position and won this season, including a dominant win at the Dutch Grand Prix despite losing the lead on the opening lap.
So Saturday night was Norris's. Will Sunday night be the same?
Here are the full results from Saturday night's qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix, along with other winners and losers.
Winner: Max Verstappen
Red Bull finds itself in an attractive position ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
For the first time since the start of the 2022 season, they find themselves 20 points behind McLaren in the constructors' championship standings.
Things haven't looked bright for Red Bull in recent years, especially for the team that has become a “house of horrors” for Max Verstappen. Last year's Singapore Grand Prix is the only Grand Prix that Red Bull has not won in 2023, and Verstappen has never started from pole position or won in Singapore.
However, a strong qualifying performance has put Verstappen on the front row and in the running for his first win at Marina Bay. Verstappen will start alongside Norris, but given Norris' opening lap record, Verstappen has the chance to take the lead on tomorrow night's opening lap.
“I'm happy to be on the front row, considering how things went yesterday,” Verstappen told Hinchcliffe trackside after qualifying. “I'll get second place, so I'm happy with that.”
With Red Bull fighting for one point in the constructors' championship, Verstappen is doing his best to fend off the challenge from Norris in the drivers' championship, and starting second at the Singapore Grand Prix may have been his best result yet.
Loser: Daniel Ricciardo
Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
We reported yesterday that this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix could be Daniel Ricciardo's final race, and the driver was forced to speak about his final days in F1 during a media session on Thursday, declaring his aim to “get on the podium”.
On Saturday night, the final stand at Marina Bay became even more difficult.
Ricciardo was eliminated in Q1 and will start Sunday night's Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid.
Ricciardo's defeat F1TV On his future and whether this will really be his final race weekend in F1: “It could have been an all-or-nothing weekend for Danny Ricciardo,” said Jolyon Palmer, while David Coulthard commented: “[t]Frankly, they're all good, but we want exceptional people, and this year he hasn't been that.
“This could be his final qualifying in Formula 1,” Coulthard added.
This sport demands that level of performance every lap and after this qualifying session it feels like Ricciardo's time is running out.
Winner: Mercedes
The roar said it all.
When Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line at the end of Q3, setting a time that earned him provisional second place, the Marina Bay crowd erupted in cheers as he saw his name at the top of the timing sheet.
Verstappen ultimately finished second ahead of Hamilton, but the latter will start third, with Mercedes teammate George Russell starting alongside him when the lights go out on Sunday night. It was a welcome result for the Mercedes driver and living legend, who has struggled in qualifying this season.
“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year so I've just been working hard to get back up there and then all of a sudden the car came alive in qualifying for the first time in a while,” Hamilton said trackside. “I think there's still a bit of reserve in the car so I'm grateful for that.”
“The mechanics were absolutely flawless and I want to say a massive thank you to them.”
With Hamilton and Mercedes monopolizing the second row and both Ferrari drivers starting behind them, the Silver Arrows have the chance to cause a bit of noise at Marina Bay on Sunday night.
Loser: Ferrari
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Photo: Jace Illman/Getty Images
It was just bad luck.
Last year's Singapore Grand Prix winner saw his qualifying session come to an early end in Q3.
During Carlos Sainz Jr.'s outlap at the start of Q3, after pulling over to the shoulder to allow Oscar Piastri to complete his push lap, he accelerated heading into Turn 19 when suddenly the rear end came off and he crashed rear-first into the barrier, ending the qualifying session and immediately bringing out yellow and then red flags. It was a surprising moment and raised questions about whether his tyres had been properly warmed up before starting his push lap.
Sainz was able to get out of his car and walk away, but was unable to understand how the accident happened.
“I don't know if the tyres were cold, if the air was dirty or if I had a… bad snap,” Sainz told his team over the radio. F1TV They speculate that by going off the racing line to let Piastri go ahead, Sainz's tyres kicked up a bit of dust, making his rear wheels a bit more slippery when he got on the throttle – and with his tyres cooling on the out-lap, Sainz crashed into the barriers and was eliminated from qualifying.
Thankfully, Sainz was able to walk back to the garage and appeared in relatively good spirits after his heavy crash in the closing stages of last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but the team now has a lot of work to do in preparation for Sunday's Grand Prix and plenty of damage to repair.
Charles Leclerc survived Q3 and set a lap close to the lead, but his time was not credited and he dropped to the back of the top 10. If Ferrari can prepare the SF-24, he will start alongside Sainz. If Sainz's gearbox is damaged and the team needs to fit a new one,
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
On the other side of the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team garage, Yuki Tsunoda put in a strong performance on Saturday night at Marina Bay.
Tsunoda had a strong performance in Q2 that put him in Q3 and secured him a spot in the points when the lights went out on Sunday night. He will start from eighth place and be in a good position to bring home some points for VCARB on Sunday night.
Loser: Sauber
Sauber's attempt to score its first points finish of the 2024 season has become a fantasy.
Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas were eliminated in Q1 for the fourth consecutive race and will start from the back of the grid in Singapore on Sunday night.
At this point, the team may be pinning all its hopes on a elusive first set of points at the season-ending Qatar Grand Prix, where both Zhou and Bottas scored points a year ago, the only time that a season saw double points for both drivers.
This race is also the only one remaining Grand Prix on the 2023 calendar in which Sauber has scored points.
Winner: Nico Hulkenberg
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Photo by Lars Baron – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
One of the most intriguing battles currently unfolding in F1 is the battle between VCARB and Haas for sixth place in the Constructors' Championship. With Yuki Tsunoda starting from eighth place, VCARB will have an advantage in that battle with a chance to take home some points on Sunday night.
However, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg was several notches ahead of him.
The German driver joined Tsunoda in Q3 and when the chequered flag waved Hulkenberg moved up to sixth place, meaning he will start on the third row, directly ahead of Tsunoda and alongside Oscar Piastri.
The result matched Hulkenberg's best qualifying performance of the season, having also started in sixth place at the British Grand Prix in July.
Hulkenberg may move to Sauber next season, but his performance in qualifying on Saturday night in Singapore puts him in position to achieve big things for Haas before he moves on.
Loser: Sergio Pérez
Ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Red Bull said it may take until the United States Grand Prix for the RB20 to show any real improvement.
That was evident from Saturday night's King of the Streets, who was eliminated in Q2, finishing behind the Williams of Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto. Now he faces a tough task of scoring points on Sunday night at a circuit where he has previously won in 2022.
He was also 0.899s off the pace set by team-mate Max Verstappen in Q2, which could be a worrying sign for his performance tomorrow.
