F1 Today | Verstappen on cloud nine before Hamilton incident threatens Sprint pole

The four-time world champion continued his impressive run of form by securing pole position for Saturday's Sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix, narrowly beating George Russell in a closely fought Sprint Qualifying session at Marina Bay.

The Dutchman delivered when it mattered most, producing a stunning final lap in SQ3 to edge out the Mercedes driver by just 0.120 seconds. Charles Leclerc completed the top three, while Oscar Piastri also featured among the leading contenders.

The result provided another boost for Verstappen following his superb weekend in Malaysia, where he claimed his first Grand Prix victory of the season. The Red Bull driver carried that momentum into Singapore, overcoming the challenges of the demanding street circuit to secure another pole position.

Mercedes, meanwhile, experienced contrasting fortunes. Russell proved highly competitive despite running an older specification of the W17, while teammate Kimi Antonelli could only manage seventh place with the team's latest upgrade package, finishing around half a second behind the Briton.

Verstappen will retain pole position for Saturday's Singapore Sprint after the FIA decided against penalising him for overtaking Hamilton under yellow flags during SQ1. Although the stewards confirmed that the manoeuvre breached the regulations, they concluded that the circumstances did not warrant a penalty.

According to the stewards' report, Hamilton was aware of Verstappen approaching from behind and moved off the racing line after slowing considerably. The Ferrari driver was travelling at less than 60 km/h when Verstappen passed him before Turn 8, creating a substantial speed difference between the two cars.

Verstappen explained that he immediately lifted off the throttle after spotting the yellow flag. Telemetry supported his account, confirming that he fully released the accelerator within approximately 40 metres of entering the yellow-flag sector. His speed at the point of the overtake was also around 70 km/h lower than during another flying lap in the same session.

The Dutchman argued that avoiding the overtake would have required extremely heavy braking, potentially creating a dangerous situation. The stewards accepted that he reacted appropriately to the warning flags and considered the overtake an unfortunate consequence of the significant closing speed.