Lando Norris secured pole position for the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix after edging out championship rival Max Verstappen in a dramatic Saturday night qualifying session at Marina Bay, which saw Carlos Sainz crash at the start of Q3.
Norris set a stunning lap time of 1m 29.525s in what became a one-lap showdown due to Sainz’s incident. He finished a couple of tenths ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull, with the Mercedes duo close behind.
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2024 Singapore GP FP1: Charles Leclerc ahead of Lando Norris
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2024 Singapore GP FP2: Norris and Leclerc set the pace again
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Lewis Hamilton bounced back from recent qualifying struggles, overcoming practice balance issues to secure third place, just ahead of teammate George Russell. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren took fifth.
Ferrari’s session ended in disaster when Sainz hit the wall at the final corner, leaving him 10th. Charles Leclerc only managed ninth after having a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Nico Hulkenberg delivered another strong performance, placing sixth for Haas, while Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Yuki Tsunoda of RB took seventh and eighth respectively, benefiting from Ferrari’s misfortune.
Williams drivers Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto narrowly missed Q3, finishing 11th and 12th, though Albon expressed frustration over a lack of grip in the final stages.
Before Sainz’s crash, Sergio Perez had a disappointing session, failing to advance past Q2 and ending up 13th, ahead of Haas returnee Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.
Daniel Ricciardo, after a promising practice, couldn’t capitalize in Q1, ending up 16th, just missing the Q2 cut-off.
Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly struggled to match their teammates’ pace, taking 17th and 18th, while Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu once again filled the final two spots on the grid.
Singapore GP Qualifying Results
2024 Singapore Grand Prix Qualifying, 21 September 2024
As it happened
Q1 – Norris Leads Verstappen
After three practice sessions in the heat and humidity, attention shifted to the all-important qualifying at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. As the sun set and floodlights took over, drivers prepared for a competitive session.
Soft tyres were the order of the day, with cautious out-laps as drivers aimed to preserve tyre performance. While Verstappen and the Mercedes drivers initially stayed in the pits, Ferrari and McLaren set the pace, with FP3 leader Lando Norris clocking a 1m 30.724s, 0.172s faster than Charles Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz, however, ran into trouble early, locking up at Turn 1 and losing his lap to track limits. Meanwhile, Norris held the top spot after all 20 drivers posted times, with Verstappen close behind, followed by Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg, and Sainz. Lewis Hamilton struggled, reporting rear-end instability and initially landing in P11.
As the session wound down, Norris improved his time to 1m 30.002s, staying ahead of Verstappen, while Piastri, Hamilton, Sergio Perez, and Sainz rounded out the top six. Leclerc and George Russell both struggled with grip, finishing behind their teammates in 12th and 13th, respectively.
In the end, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, and the Alfa Romeo duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were eliminated.
Knocked out: Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly, Bottas, Zhou
Q2 – Piastri Fastest, Perez Knocked Out
Norris continued his strong form in Q2, posting a 1m 30.007s in the early stages, with Leclerc and Piastri following close behind. Meanwhile, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Perez had their initial laps deleted for exceeding track limits.
Hamilton rebounded, breaking the 1m 30s barrier with a 1m 29.929s, placing Norris between the two Mercedes cars. Hulkenberg sat in sixth, with Yuki Tsunoda, Sainz, Perez, and Kevin Magnussen in the top 10, leaving Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, and others in the drop zone.
As the final runs approached, Verstappen and Piastri traded the fastest time, with Piastri taking the top spot on a 1m 29.640s. Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, and Sainz rounded out the top six. Hulkenberg, Russell, Tsunoda, and Alonso secured the final spots for Q3.
However, Perez struggled, ending up 13th behind Albon and Williams teammate Franco Colapinto. Magnussen and Esteban Ocon also failed to make it past Q2.
Knocked out: Albon, Colapinto, Perez, Magnussen, Ocon
Q3 – Norris Makes His Mark, Ferrari Hit Trouble
Drama hit at the start of Q3 when Sainz crashed into the wall at the final corner, bringing out the red flags. “I don’t know if it was cold tyres or dirty air,” Sainz said, moments before his accident. Verstappen’s initial lap was deleted due to yellow flags, leaving Piastri temporarily in P1.
With just eight minutes remaining and drivers using up sets of soft tyres, the session resumed as a one-lap shootout. Sector times lit up in green and purple as drivers pushed their cars to the limit. Norris emerged victorious with a 1m 29.525s, two-tenths ahead of Verstappen, followed closely by the Mercedes drivers.
Hamilton and Russell’s improvements put them ahead of Piastri, who finished fifth. Leclerc, after another deleted lap, was demoted to ninth, while Sainz’s crash left him 10th. Hulkenberg, Alonso, and Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.
Top 10: Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Tsunoda, Leclerc, Sainz
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