Formula 1 in Singapore

LIVE: Who will take pole position for the Singapore Sprint?

Max Verstappen will start from P1 on Saturday.(Bild: GEPA)

Max Verstappen raced to pole position for the sprint race in Singapore on Friday during a chaotic sprint qualifying session. Problems with the timing system caused repeated interruptions at the Marina Bay Circuit.

After a chaotic qualifying session on Friday, Max Verstappen raced to pole position in his Red Bull for the final Formula 1 sprint race of the year in Singapore. After delays caused by a crash and issues with the timing systems, the Dutch driver—who won in Malaysia—relegated Mercedes driver George Russell to second place. “I’m obviously happy to be first,” said a sweaty Verstappen, who still had to report to the race stewards.

The results of the Sprint Qualifying:

The allegation: The 29-year-old is said to have illegally overtaken Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari during a yellow-flag period. Under the floodlights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari secured third place for Saturday’s Sprint (11 a.m.). Championship leader Kimi Antonelli had to settle for seventh place in the second Mercedes.

Track marshals clear away debris
Red flags were waved just under six minutes into the first session. Sergio Perez crashed his Cadillac into the track barriers at Turn 4, completely destroying the front end. Track marshals had to clear away the wreckage. Then the session didn’t really continue for very long. There was some confusion about who had actually completed the lap. The start of the second session had to be postponed due to “a problem with the timing systems,” as some lap times had not been recorded.

Verstappen Shows His Mettle
However, the problem was resolved, as the race officials announced. The race resumed. Nevertheless, it brought back memories of last Sunday’s chaos. Back then, software issues had temporarily slowed the cars down during the Grand Prix in Malaysia. Despite all the problems, however, Verstappen remained calm. He had never before secured a pole position or won a race in Singapore.

Max Verstappen(Bild: AP/Ng Han Guan)

Russell was the fastest in the only free practice session on Friday morning. On Sunday, he will effectively have to start the race from the back of the grid due to a 40-place grid penalty imposed in Sepang—he received a 10-place penalty for each of four additional powertrain components.

On the sidelines, heavy smog caused by wildfires in Indonesia is a concern. The haze has blanketed large parts of Southeast Asia. In Singapore, this has led to alarmingly high levels of air pollution ahead of the Grand Prix weekend. Air quality readings were the worst they’ve been all year. The news channel Channel NewsAsia and “The Straits Times” reported that the island nation’s pollution index has reached levels considered hazardous to health. However, the organizer of Sunday’s night race (2:00 p.m. CEST) made it clear that there would be no changes to the event’s supporting program.