Verstappen thrilled to claim first Singapore GP Pole: 'This is the one I wanted'

Singapore has not always been kind to the four-time world champion - take his P11 Qualifying finish in 2023, for instance - but with what is now his 50th career pole, Verstappen has finally broken his duct and claimed his first in Singapore.

Verstappen's first flying lap, a 1:31.373, was enough to edge out Leclerc by just 0.054s in Q3, with his Ferrari teammate Hamilton having topped the timing sheets all throughout the earlier parts of Qualifying.

Reacting to the historic Pole, Verstappen said: "The margins are very close between us throughout qualifying. Of course very happy to be on pole because this is the one I wanted. Very happy."

The Red Bull driver made sure to praise his team, who have performed impressively since F1's return from the summer break. Last weekend, at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, Verstappen secured his first win of 2026, having featured in a double podium result with teammate Isack Hadjar in Baku the week prior.

"The car has been pretty strong all weekend," Verstappen said. "There are always things that can be better but it was enough for pole, so very happy with that. We have been on a positive trend, so for us it's very special to take pole here."

In his praise of the Dutchman, 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button said he has never seen Verstappen as excited with a Pole Position, with Hamilton looking favourite all throughout Sunday's action.

Speaking on Sky F1, Button said: "It looked like Lewis' pole all the way through qualifying but Max pulled it out of the bag at the end. You can see how much it means to him. I've never seen him get that excited about qualifying on pole."