F1 today: Verstappen keeps Singapore sprint pole despite FIA ruling as Mercedes struggles

News Summary

• Max Verstappen secured Singapore sprint pole with a 1:31.156 and escaped punishment despite the FIA confirming a yellow-flag infringement involving Lewis Hamilton.
• George Russell qualified second with Mercedes’ older W17 specification, beating championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.573s.
• Sergio Pérez’s crash and an FIA timing-system failure disrupted qualifying, while Lewis Hamilton admitted making a costly SQ3 strategy decision.

Max Verstappen emerged from a chaotic Friday at the Singapore GP with pole position for Saturday’s sprint and no penalty from the FIA, despite the stewards confirming that he overtook Lewis Hamilton under yellow flags during qualifying.

The Red Bull driver produced a 1:31.156 to beat George Russell by 0.120s and Charles Leclerc by 0.243s, extending the team’s recovery following its first victory of 2026 at Sepang. The result was particularly significant at Marina Bay, where Verstappen has never won a Grand Prix.

Mercedes also attracted attention after Russell topped FP1 and qualified second using the older W17 aerodynamic specification, while teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli struggled with the updated package.

Verstappen keeps pole despite confirmed yellow-flag infringement

Verstappen’s sprint pole remained under investigation after Hamilton reported being overtaken under yellow flags during SQ1, following Sergio Pérez’s collision with the barriers.

The FIA subsequently confirmed that Verstappen had breached the yellow-flag regulation, but decided not to impose a penalty after reviewing telemetry, onboard footage and the circumstances of the manoeuvre.

Officials established that Verstappen had lifted off the throttle and reduced his speed, while Hamilton had slowed considerably ahead of him. The stewards accepted that the overtake resulted from the substantial closing-speed difference.

The official decision stated: “No penalty is applied.”

GRANDE PRÊMIO detailed the FIA’s decision and the reasons Verstappen escaped punishment.

Verstappen surprised by Red Bull’s Singapore pace

The four-time world champion admitted that his pole position came as a surprise, particularly because Singapore’s slow corners and bumps continued to expose weaknesses in the RB22.

“But I did not expect this, so yeah, of course very happy to be first,” Verstappen said after qualifying.

The Dutchman explained that the car became more competitive after Red Bull fitted soft tyres for SQ3, allowing him to produce the decisive lap.

He had finished sixth in FP1, 0.732s behind Russell, before improving during qualifying.

The complete Singapore sprint qualifying results, including all 22 drivers are available in GRANDE PRÊMIO.

Russell beats Antonelli again as Mercedes upgrade questions grow

Russell continued Mercedes’ experiment with different aerodynamic specifications by qualifying second using the previous W17 package.

Antonelli, meanwhile, finished seventh with a 1:31.849, leaving him 0.573s behind his teammate.

The Italian admitted that the updated car remained difficult to understand after struggling throughout Friday’s running.

“Already in FP1, I was struggling; there is still a lot to understand about this package,” Antonelli said.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had already acknowledged that the newer specification appeared more difficult to drive, although the team has not established that it is slower.

As GRANDE PRÊMIO reported after FP1, the previous W17 configuration offered greater stability and grip, while the updated package retained potential performance advantages.

Russell’s second-place start gives him an opportunity to reduce Antonelli’s 84-point championship advantage during Saturday’s sprint. His separate engine penalty applies to Sunday’s Grand Prix rather than the shorter race.

Hamilton admits Ferrari strategy mistake

Hamilton qualified sixth after Ferrari showed promising pace during the opening two qualifying segments.

The seven-time world champion struggled with severe oversteer after switching to soft tyres for SQ3 and admitted that his decision to follow a different run plan had not worked.

“We did a slightly different run plan to the others. It was my choice, and… I think I got that wrong,” Hamilton said.

He also reported insufficient rear grip during his final attempt, despite feeling comfortable on medium tyres earlier in the session.

Leclerc qualified third, while Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris secured fourth and fifth for McLaren.

Hamilton explained his qualifying mistake and Ferrari’s tyre difficulties after the session.

Pérez crash and FIA timing failure interrupt qualifying

The opening segment was interrupted when Pérez hit the barriers and damaged his Cadillac’s front wing, leaving debris on the circuit.

The Mexican managed to return to the pit lane, but race control displayed a red flag to allow marshals to clear the track.

A separate technical problem subsequently prevented some lap times from being registered correctly, forcing the FIA to delay SQ2.

“[The] start of SQ2 will be delayed due to an issue with timing systems, some lap times had not been registered,” the governing body announced.

GRANDE PRÊMIO covered the timing failure and the six drivers eliminated in SQ1, including both Cadillac and Williams drivers.

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