Verstappen Took Singapore Sprint Qualifying Pole Ahead of Russell
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 9, 2026
Singapore Sprint Qualifying
Verstappen took Sprint Qualifying pole for the Singapore Grand Prix with a lap of 1:31.156, and Russell ended up second, 0.120 seconds back. Charles Leclerc took third, Oscar Piastri was fourth and Lando Norris finished fifth. Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth after struggling for rear grip on his Soft-tyre run.
Verstappen’s lap set the benchmark for the session.
Ferrari Searched for Pace
Ferrari left SQ3 with more to work through after Hamilton and Leclerc both pointed to pace issues on the Soft tyres. Hamilton said the team made the wrong call by giving him only one flying lap in SQ3, and he said the car felt very oversteery and unstable on the Soft tyres, especially at the rear. He said he felt much more comfortable on the Medium tyres, and his run in the early parts of the session backed that up. Hamilton looked competitive in SQ1 and SQ2 before the pace dropped away in SQ3.
Leclerc pushed the focus beyond strategy. He said strategy was not the main issue for Ferrari and that the team had lost some raw pace in recent races. Fred Vasseur offered the same broad picture from the garage side, saying Ferrari cars were stronger on Medium tyres and that the team would work on improving Soft-tyre performance before qualifying and the Sprint race. Ferrari’s problem was clear by the end of the session. The Medium tyre showed better balance, but the Soft tyre run left the drivers searching for more grip and stability.
McLaren Held the Line
McLaren put both cars in the top five, and Piastri led Norris in Sprint Qualifying for the first time this season. Piastri took fourth after describing the session as “very tricky,” then said the car felt better on the Soft tyres than on the Mediums. Norris finished fifth and said McLaren had made progress after fixing a straight-line speed issue.
Norris also said he did not put together a “good enough” lap and had “no excuse.” The session ended with both McLaren cars in the top five.
