Singapore, Oct 4: George Russell took pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix as Max Verstappen got the better of his Formula 1 title rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Russell had crashed in Friday practice but turned it around in style as he was 0.182 of a second faster than Verstappen in Saturday’s qualifying session despite clipping the wall.
Verstappen has the momentum in the F1 title fight after winning the last two races.
Standings leader Piastri qualified third, .366 off Russell’s pace, with his McLaren teammate Norris fifth.
It’s the second pole position of the year for Russell and the first for him and the Mercedes team since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, which he went on to win.
Pole position is a big advantage in Singapore, where overtaking is difficult. However, Russell has previously struggled in Singapore, where he has a best finish of fourth.
Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth, one place ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, after he escaped a potential grid penalty for an incident in practice.
Stewards investigated whether the seven-time champion went too fast under a red flag. They said Hamilton’s driving wasn’t unsafe or against the rules, though “a greater reduction of speed would have been desirable.” (AP)
