Verstappen claims pole number 50 in Singapore

Max Verstappen took pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix with a time of 1:31.373, finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc by 0.054 seconds. This is reported by Racer, Formula1.com and The Irish Times, all with origin in Formula 1 and FIA.

Lewis Hamilton, who had set the best time in the first two qualifying sessions, finished third, 0.123 seconds off pole. For the British driver, it is the missed first pole since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, a drought that Singapore’s qualifying did not end despite the pace shown in the early stages of the session.

This is Verstappen’s fiftieth career pole position, making him the fifth driver in Formula 1 history to reach this milestone, after Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. A list that places the Red Bull driver in very select company, built over years of high-level qualifying on circuits of every type.

Verstappen had already won Saturday’s sprint race, which was affected by rain. The weekend’s double result — victory in Saturday’s short race and pole in Sunday’s qualifying — puts him in the best starting position for the Grand Prix, on the Singapore street circuit.

“It was good, just very close” Verstappen said after qualifying, quoted by Racer.

The margin of 0.054 seconds over Leclerc is the figure that best tells the story of the session: a minimal difference between pole and second position, in a weekend in which the two Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton nonetheless occupied second and third places on the grid, confirming a qualifying session that was contested down to the very last timed attempt.