McLaren’s Lando Norris stormed to pole position at the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix in Saturday’s qualifying session.
A Carlos Sainz crash forced everyone into a last gasp run in the top-10 Q3 shootout as Norris came out on top.
The McLaren driver’s 1:29.525s effort saw him finish two-tenths ahead of title rival Max Verstappen.
Norris was the form man heading into qualifying, setting a new track record in final practice.
Ferrari was nine-tenths down on the leading McLaren man in FP3 and Red Bull was still a distance off as well, handing Norris the initiative.
With overtaking at a premium around the Marina Bay Circuit, nailing a quali lap on its hot, humid streets under the cover of night was vital for all 20 drivers.
READ MORE: F1 2024 Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
Track conditions improved throughout the opening Q1 session, proved with Alex Albon going third with three minutes remaining.
Timing and track position was paramount then as the battle was on to escape an early elimination.
As the final minute of Q1 wound down, green sectors lit up the timing screens as drivers committed to their final runs.
Daniel Ricciardo, whose future has been subject to scrutiny at RB, failed at the first hurdle and was out in Q1 after posting the 16th fastest effort.
He was joined in elimination by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and the Sauber duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
There was no such issue for Norris meanwhile, who advanced to Q2 as the fastest driver.
Q2: Perez out, Piastri betters Norris
McLaren was the only team to advance into Q2 with one set of Softs, a useful strategy tool that could well pay dividends on race day.
Verstappen meanwhile escaped a nervy moment at Turn 19 on his first Q2 push lap, saving his Red Bull from going into the wall.
A lap deletion put pressure upon the Dutchman, resigning him to a provisional 15th.
Norris meanwhile started knocking on the door of the 1:29 barrier with a 1:30.007s initial effort.
Mercedes waited for the rest of the field to complete their first runs before heading out of the pits, running out of sync.
That did the trick as Lewis Hamilton went straight to the top and George Russell went third, albeit complaining about his tyres.
Verstappen, recovering from his deleted first attempt, burst into the 1:29 barrier with his second run, ensuring his advancement to Q3.
His team-mate Sergio Perez wasn’t so lucky, dumped out of qualifying in 13th place.
The Williams duo of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto just missed out on Q3 in 11th and 12th, with the Argentine just 0.007s slower than his team-mate.
Joining them and Perez in Q2 elimination was Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
Q3: Sainz crashes out, Norris on top
Track evolution and a tight competitive order meant pole position was by no means guaranteed for anyone going into Q3.
Pushing too hard and bringing out the Red Flag was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, spinning off at Turn 19 and going backwards into the barriers.
The Spaniard lost grip starting a push-lap, having backed off before committing to his run, cold tyres catching him out.
This caused a delay as the marshalls removed Sainz’s stricken Ferrari and assessed the barriers.
Eight minutes and four seconds were left on the clock at 22:07 local time with just two times set by Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg.
As the session resumed and the clock counted down, everyone kept their powder dry in the garage.
Q3 looked set to be decided by a late burst of action.
Piastri was first back out, closely followed by the rest of the field who all jockeyed for track position.
One lap, one opportunity to put in your best effort.
Piastri had provisional pole but Norris took it off him shortly after the Australian completed his effort.
Nor could anyone challenge Norris as the Briton surged to pole position.
Piastri was 0.428s behind his team-mate, allowing Verstappen to take second and the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Russell to take third and fourth.
Hulkenberg was a mighty sixth with Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda impressing in seventh and eighth.
It was a disaster for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc’s run was deleted, resigning him to ninth. Sainz’s crash landed him in 10th.
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