Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix qualifying session, but only by the narrowest of margins. Charles Leclerc finished second, 0.054 seconds behind, while Lewis Hamilton was third, just 0.123 seconds back. According to the-race.com’s analysis, both Ferrari drivers had realistic chances at pole but fell short due to specific on-track errors.
Verstappen himself acknowledged the closeness, stating “The margins are very close between us throughout the whole of qualifying” and noting his lap was “enough for pole.” The analysis suggests Red Bull’s car was not necessarily the quickest in the session, but Verstappen executed better than his competitors.
Leclerc’s pole bid was hampered by braking-related issues that persisted from earlier in qualifying. He lost significant time at Turn 13, where he lost almost a tenth of a second compared to Hamilton due to weak rotation through the corner. At Turn 16-17, he arrived “slightly undercooked” and was not attacking aggressively enough under braking, hooking his front right wheel over the inside kerb. Leclerc admitted the braking struggles “took off quite a lot of confidence” and acknowledged that “Max just did a better job.”
Hamilton appeared to have stronger pace through the middle sector but struggled to convert it into a better qualifying result. Despite being quickest in Q1 and Q2, he managed only a 0.033-second improvement in Q3. Hamilton explained that after adjusting wing setup by one hole to extract more performance, “the car was just snappy, and none of the laps in Q3 are any good.” His first Q3 lap saw him lose 0.271 seconds to Verstappen in sector one after running slightly wide into Turn 1 and sliding at Turn 3. His second attempt was similarly compromised by untidy sections through turns 16 and 17.
According to the analysis, Hamilton’s theoretical best lap—combining his fastest sector times—would have yielded a 1m31.347s, which would have been good enough for pole ahead of Verstappen’s actual time of 1m31.373s. This demonstrates how narrow the margin was between the three drivers and how small imperfections cost both Ferrari drivers what could have been realistic pole-position bids. For both drivers, circumstances aligned to favor Verstappen’s execution on the day.
Key facts
- Verstappen claimed pole at Singapore with a 1m31.373s, 0.054s ahead of Leclerc and 0.123s ahead of Hamilton
- Hamilton’s best individual sectors combined would have been fast enough for pole position
- Leclerc lost time due to braking issues that reduced his confidence, particularly at turns 13 and 16-17
- Hamilton was quickest in Q1 and Q2 but only improved by 0.033 seconds in Q3 after adjusting wing setup