Max Verstappen has taken his first career Singapore Grand Prix pole at Marina Bay, while Oscar Piastri will start sixth for McLaren after George Russell’s power-unit grid penalty.
According to the official Formula1.com Qualifying report (10 October 2026), Verstappen’s first Q3 lap of 1:31.373 was enough for pole, denying Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.054 seconds. Lewis Hamilton was third in 1:31.496 after setting the pace in Q1 and Q2 but failing to improve on his final run.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth in 1:31.562, with McLaren’s Lando Norris fifth in 1:31.712. George Russell was initially sixth, Formula1.com said, knowing an incoming grid drop for power-unit changes would send him to the back. Oscar Piastri was seventh on pure Qualifying order, ahead of Pierre Gasly and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad.
Piastri sixth on the grid after Russell penalty
McLaren confirmed Norris finished Qualifying fifth and Piastri seventh, which becomes fifth and sixth on the Sunday grid once Russell’s penalty is applied. Everyone classified behind Russell gains a place, Formula1.com noted.
Piastri said in McLaren’s report: “P7. We wanted a bit more from today.” He added that getting clean laps in the afternoon was tougher than Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying, and that the result reflected the car’s pace. “For tomorrow, let’s see what we can do and what progress we can make,” he said.
Read more: Singapore Grand Prix 2026: Start Times, Piastri, Title Race
Sprint clash, then a rebuild for Qualifying
McLaren’s Saturday report covered the earlier Sprint, where Norris tried to pass Piastri at Turn 5 and the pair collided. Piastri retired; Norris finished eighth. Team principal Andrea Stella said two McLarens must never come together on track. Norris apologised after the Sprint. The garage repaired both cars before Qualifying, including a gearbox change for Piastri, McLaren said.
Verstappen told Formula1.com: “It was good,” before adding: “Just very close; the margins are very close I think between us throughout the whole of Qualifying. Of course, I’m very happy to be on pole, because this is the one that I wanted.” The Singapore Grand Prix starts at 2000 local time on Sunday, Formula1.com said.
Read more: Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: Verstappen Wins, Piastri 6th
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