Verstappen snatches Singapore pole as Leclerc and Hamilton complete Ferrari’s top three

News Summary

• Max Verstappen secured Singapore GP pole with a 1:31.373, beating Charles Leclerc by 0.054s and Lewis Hamilton by 0.123s.
• Hamilton led Q1 and Q2, but missed his first Grand Prix pole since Hungary 2023 as Ferrari placed both cars inside the top three.
• Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, while Gabriel Bortoleto was eliminated in Q2 and Isack Hadjar finished last after repeated technical problems.

Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, October 10, beating Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in a dramatic final qualifying session at Marina Bay after Ferrari had dominated the opening two segments.

The Red Bull driver set a 1:31.373, finishing just 0.054s ahead of Leclerc and 0.123s clear of Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli completed the top four for Mercedes, while Lando Norris qualified fifth for McLaren.

The result completed a remarkable Saturday for Verstappen, who had already won the rain-affected sprint earlier in the day. It also prevented Hamilton from ending a Grand Prix pole drought dating back to July 2023, despite the seven-time world champion showing the strongest pace during Q1 and Q2.

Verstappen beats Ferrari in final Q3 battle

Hamilton established himself as the main contender for pole during the opening stages of qualifying, topping Q1 ahead of Leclerc and Norris.

The Ferrari driver maintained his advantage in Q2, improving on his earlier performance and keeping Verstappen behind as the field fought for places in the final segment.

The Dutchman, however, found additional speed in Q3.

Verstappen set the early benchmark with a 1:31.373, leaving Hamilton just 0.123s behind after the first competitive attempts. Antonelli was also close, while Leclerc remained in contention.

The final laps brought another challenge from Ferrari, with Leclerc moving ahead of Hamilton to secure second place.

Verstappen remained fastest, taking pole ahead of both Ferraris, with Antonelli fourth and Norris fifth.

The result followed Verstappen’s victory in Saturday’s Singapore sprint, when the Red Bull driver finished ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc after a race disrupted by heavy rain and nine retirements.

Hamilton misses first Ferrari pole after leading Q1 and Q2

Hamilton’s third place ended a promising qualifying session in which he had been Ferrari’s fastest driver through the opening two segments.

The Briton had arrived in Singapore seeking his first Grand Prix pole since the 2023 Hungarian GP, when he beat Verstappen by 0.003s.

A pole at Marina Bay would have been his 105th in Formula 1 and his first for Ferrari, following 26 with McLaren and 78 with Mercedes.

Hamilton had already shown strong pace during Friday’s sprint qualifying, although he admitted that an unsuccessful run plan and a lack of rear grip compromised his final attempt.

Saturday’s session produced a better result for Ferrari, with Leclerc securing second and Hamilton third.

The two drivers will start behind Verstappen, who is attempting to follow his first Singapore sprint victory with his first Grand Prix win at Marina Bay.

Antonelli takes fourth as Russell faces grid penalty

Championship leader Antonelli secured fourth place for Mercedes, continuing his recovery after struggling with the team’s updated aerodynamic specification during Friday’s running.

The Italian had finished seventh in sprint qualifying before recovering to fourth in Saturday’s shorter race, extending his championship advantage over teammate George Russell to 89 points.

Russell’s weekend has been considerably more difficult. The Briton crashed out of the sprint after overtaking Verstappen for the lead and carries a previously confirmed 40-place power-unit grid penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

As GRANDE PRÊMIO reported after the sprint, Antonelli now has 325 championship points, compared with Russell’s 236.

Bortoleto misses Q3 as Hadjar finishes last

Gabriel Bortoleto was eliminated during Q2, finishing 15th in the qualifying classification for Audi.

The Brazilian had also struggled to progress beyond Q2 during Friday’s sprint qualifying and was unable to finish Saturday’s race.

Franco Colapinto finished 16th for Alpine, while Fernando Alonso, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas and Isack Hadjar were eliminated in Q1.

Hadjar endured the most difficult qualifying session of the field after reporting an engine shutdown and subsequently losing gears during another attempt.

The Frenchman finished 22nd after failing to record a representative lap.

GRANDE PRÊMIO detailed Hadjar’s repeated technical problems, which followed his retirement from the earlier sprint.

Alonso has also confirmed a power-unit change for Sunday’s race, which will affect the final grid alongside Russell’s penalty.

The updated Singapore GP schedule, including Sunday’s race time is available in GRANDE PRÊMIO, which follows the latest Formula 1 news throughout the Singapore GP weekend.

Singapore GP 2026 — starting grid after penalties