Lando Norris continued his underdog 2024 Drivers’ Championship campaign with another pole, this time during Saturday’s (Sept. 21) qualifying for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was able to continue his damage control in the latter half of the season by qualifying second, seemingly denying Norris another load of points as he looks to hang on to the points lead and claim his fourth consecutive title.
Teams struggled throughout the session over a lack of grip from tires. The streets were also unusually variable, with the track changing radically from the start and end of each round.
Lewis Hamilton took third on the grid.
“I’m happy to be on the front row,” Verstappen said in the podium interviews. “With where we were yesterday. Q3 was tough, of course your lap gets cancelled with the double yellow, then everybody only has one run, so you don’t want to overdo it… I’ll take second.”
Norris, however, didn’t act like he had issues with Q3.
“I like [only one run in qualifying],” said Norris. “It gets your heart rate going and it’s good fun. My lap wasn’t as good as it was previous to the red flag, so there’s always that little bit more in it.
“The car’s been feeling good, and when you have a good feeling car and you’re confident, you can go out and push. You can go out and get the laptime.”
Q3
With 8 minutes to go in the session, Carlos Sainz spun out entering turn 18 and stalled out in the barriers.
Sainz was able to get up and walk away but didn’t get a lap in. The defending Singapore winner qualified 10th and may start lower depending on a possible engine penalty.
Charles Leclerc’s track-limits violation deleted his lone flying lap time, so it was not a good day for Ferrari.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Leader |
| 1. | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:29:525m |
| 2. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +0.203s |
| 3. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedees | +0.316s |
| 4. | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.342s |
| 5. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +0.428s |
| 6. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | +0.590s |
| 7. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +0.689s |
| 8. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | +0.829s |
| 9. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | N/A |
| 10. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | N/A |
Q2
Q1
In potentially the final weekend in his F1 career amid rumors that he might be replaced for Liam Lawson, Daniel Ricciardo came less than a blink of an eye from advancing.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from… |
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