Verstappen beats Leclerc to take dramatic Singapore GP Pole

Verstappen's quickest lap time, a 1:31.373 in Q3, was enough to edge out Charles Leclerc, ahead of Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, to achieve his 50th career Pole.

Delayed off the back of a heavily disrupted Sprint Race, Qualifying got underway 30 minutes after its original starting time without any worry over rain, but a chaotic race earlier in the day still fresh in the memory.

And drama was quick to ensue in Qualifying, as Haas' Esteban Ocon locked up at Turn 13 on an out lap to bring out the first yellow flag of the session. Lance Stroll and Isack Hadjar followed shortly after with their own lock ups. All three drivers managed to quickly get going again.

Hadjar's woes were not over, with the Frenchman complaining: "The engine is off." The Red Bull driver, who has already swapped power unit parts this weekend, limped around the circuit, but managed to make it back to the pit despite concerns over a Red Flag.

Once he emerged back out for another go in Q1, however, a gearbox issue then emerged, with the Frenchman failing to set a representative lap time during the session.

Hadjar joined Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as the drivers to be eliminated in the first part of Qualifying. Lewis Hamilton was quickest, ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and McLaren's Lando Norris.

Hamilton's impressive pace continued into the second part of Qualifying, topping the timing sheets ahead of Lando Norris by just over a tenth after the first flying runs. Antonelli followed but was four tenths behind, with Verstappen in fourth but also complaining over his own Red Bull gearbox.

It took some time, but the pace that saw Verstappen on Sprint pole on Friday reared its head on the final flying laps of Q2, with the Dutchman going a tenth behind Hamilton, who himself had extended his lead on Norris to three tenths.

On those final runs, Franco Colapinto had a scary moment as he rode the wall at the exit of Turn 17 on the way to a P16 finish - behind Gabriel Bortoleto, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman and Nico Hulkenberg as those to be eliminated in Q2.

With the final 13 minutes of Qualifying underway, Hamilton was the last driver to set his first flying lap in Q3, but just missed out on top spot to Verstappen after suffering understeer at the final corner.

The old rivals were separated by just one tenth ahead of the final flyers, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli just 0.06s behind the pair in P3.

In the dramatic last-gasp battle for Pole, it was Verstappen to come out on top, with the Dutchman's final flyer, the last lap out of anyone in Q3, not even needed to secure Pole Position for Sunday's race. Completing the top three behind Verstappen was Leclerc, followed by Ferrari teammate Hamilton.

2026 Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying Results