Verstappen beats Leclerc to 50th F1 pole in Singapore as Hamilton qualifies third and Russell starts 21st

Max Verstappen will start the Singapore Grand Prix from pole position after beating Charles Leclerc by just 0.054 seconds in qualifying on Saturday night, 10 October. It is the Red Bull driver's 50th career pole and his first at Marina Bay, coming hours after he won the sprint. Lewis Hamilton qualified third, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli fourth.

Verstappen edges the Ferraris

Verstappen's best lap of 1:31.373 was just enough to hold off Leclerc (1:31.427) and Hamilton (1:31.496), who had been fastest in both Q1 and Q2 before slipping to third in the final session. Antonelli was 0.189 seconds off pole in fourth after abandoning his final run, but still improved three places on his sprint grid slot.

Reports noted it is his second pole of 2026, following the one he took for the Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang last weekend, and Red Bull's first in Singapore since Sebastian Vettel in 2013. Verstappen has never won the Singapore Grand Prix, and finished second in both of the last two editions.

Russell's penalty reshapes the grid

George Russell set the sixth-fastest time, 0.374 seconds off pole, but starts from the back because of a power unit penalty, a story we covered earlier in the weekend. As a result, everyone classified behind him moves up a place, with Oscar Piastri promoted to sixth alongside Lando Norris in fifth.

Russell lines up 21st, ahead of Isack Hadjar, who failed to set a lap time after gearbox problems in Q1 for Red Bull.

Hulkenberg spared a grid drop

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg, who missed Q3 by a narrow margin, was investigated for impeding Carlos Sainz in Q2. The stewards found that he had unnecessarily impeded the Williams driver, but imposed no penalty because of mitigating circumstances: Audi had relied on official timing data that wrongly showed Sainz had already finished his lap and was corrected only after a delay. Hulkenberg therefore keeps 10th on the grid.

Franco Colapinto was eliminated in Q2, while Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Hadjar went out in Q1.

Singapore Grand Prix starting grid (after penalties)

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
8. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
9. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
11. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
12. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
13. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
14. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
17. Alex Albon (Williams)
18. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
19. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
21. George Russell (Mercedes)
22. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

The grid remains subject to any further power unit changes or stewards' decisions before the start. The 62-lap race is scheduled for 8pm Malaysia time on Sunday, 11 October.

Key takeaways

• Verstappen took pole with a 1:31.373, 0.054s ahead of Leclerc and 0.123s ahead of Hamilton.
• It is his 50th F1 pole and his first at Marina Bay.
• Antonelli qualified fourth; Russell was sixth fastest but starts 21st due to a power unit penalty.
• Hulkenberg was found to have impeded Sainz but escaped a grid penalty because of a timing data error.
• Hadjar starts last after failing to set a time.

FAQ

Who is on pole for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix? Max Verstappen, with a lap of 1:31.373. Charles Leclerc joins him on the front row.

Where does George Russell start the Singapore Grand Prix? 21st. He was sixth fastest, but a power unit penalty sent him to the back, ahead only of Isack Hadjar.

Why was Nico Hulkenberg not penalised? Stewards accepted that Audi had relied on official timing data that was out of sync, which they treated as a mitigating circumstance.

Sources: Formula1.com, Sky Sports, RaceFans, The Race, RacingNews365, Speedweek