Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying : Disaster for Red Bull, Sainz on pole position

Since the beginning of the weekend, Red Bull has never managed to reach the top of a free practice session. The floor brought by the Austrian team to Singapore did not bring satisfaction and, more generally, fine-tuning the RB19 seems to be a Herculean task. This could allow the brand’s rivals to displace them from pole position for only the fifth time this season.

Q1:

As during the practice sessions, the performances of the top four teams on the grid were particularly close on a single lap. The Top 4, consisting of George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Sergio Perez, were separated by only 85 milliseconds at the end of their respective first attempts. While there was suspense in the early stages of qualifying, the notable absence was Carlos Sainz, who was only 13th after his first lap. Fortunately for the Spaniard, his second attempt was much more in line with the pace he had shown in the practice sessions, and he shot up to the top of the standings.

The track had made such progress towards the end of the session that Yuki Tsunoda, at the wheel of his modest AlphaTauri, crossed the finish line with the best time. However, this achievement was immediately followed by a much less joyful sight : the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in pieces at the exit of the final corner. With his undertray hitting the outer kerb, the Canadian’s car became destabilized and ended up crashing into the barriers. Instead of absorbing the impact, the barriers launched the car into the air. Despite this impressive crash, Stroll managed to extricate himself from his machine without difficulty.

If Lando Norris can play the role of party pooper this session, the same cannot be said of his teammate, Oscar Piastri. Not equipped with the new parts brought by McLaren this weekend, the performance gap between the two packages is obvious. While the Briton was fighting at the front with Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes, the Australian was stuck in the midfield. The accident involving the Aston Martin, which caused a red flag, hindered his ability to complete his final attempt and therefore, he is eliminated in 17th position.

Despite having made numerous improvements to their cars, the Alfa Romeo’s are struggling in the heat of Singapore. The extension of his contract was not enough for Guanyu Zhou to get out of Q1 or finish ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Both were eliminated in the 19th and 16th positions.

The eliminated in Q1 : Lance Stroll (20th), Guanyu Zhou (19th), Logan Sargeant (18th), Oscar Piastri (17th) and Valtteri Bottas (16th)

Q2:

Max Verstappen started this second part of qualifying with a Damocles sword above his helmet. Indeed, he was under investigation by the FIA for being stopped for too long at the end of the pit lane. The Dutchman did not want to take the track to avoid getting caught in traffic. In order to ensure being in clear air in Q2, he was one of the first to leave his garage. The defending world champion’s first attempt was a 1’32’3. A time that was beaten by the car following him on the track, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas. Each passage of a single-seater on the timing line pushed the Red Bulls further down the hierarchy. With 5 minutes remaining, Verstappen was only 10th and had over 5 tenths of a second behind George Russell. To make matters worse, a second investigation was opened against him for blocking Yuki Tsunoda.

For the first time this season, everyone in the F1 world had their eyes on Verstappen, not for his dominant performances, but to witness his downfall. On his second lap, the Red Bull was understeering on entry and sliding on exit. Eliminated in 11th position, the championship leader left his car in dismay before it even made its way back to the garage. Perez, who spun out on his last attempt, announced the first dismal weekend for Red Bull this season.

On the other hand, at the sister team AlphaTauri, a part of the garage was much more cheerful. Indeed, for only his third Grand Prix, Liam Lawson managed to place his car in the Top 10. No driver from the Faenza team had achieved this until now in 2023. The downfall of the Red Bulls also allowed both Haas cars to make it into Q3. The other disappointment of this Q2 session was Pierre Gasly’s elimination in 12th place.

The eliminated drivers in Q2 : Yuki Tsunoda (15th), Alexander Albon (14th), Sergio Perez (13th), Pierre Gasly (12th) and Max Verstappen (11th)

Q3 :

Already the poleman at Monza, Carlos Sainz managed to make it two in a row in Singapore. Dominant since Free Practice 2, it is very logical to see the Spaniard raise his finger to the sky when getting out of his car. On the twisty Marina Bay circuit, the gaps were minimal at the finish. George Russell, in second, missed out on the top spot by only 72 milliseconds. Usually supreme in this exercise, Charles Leclerc was once again defeated by his teammate. The Monégasque will start from 3rd position.

Despite the improvements made by McLaren, Lando Norris seemed to always be a step below to truly challenge for pole position. The British driver ultimately separates the two Mercedes drivers. With the good race pace of the papaya-colored cars, Norris could well be an outsider tomorrow for the race.

There will certainly be a bit of disappointment on Lewis Hamilton’s side for being beaten by his garage mate for the 8th time this season. The seven-time world champion will start from fifth position. There is a 4-tenths gap between the two silver arrows. Hamilton will have Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso in his rear-view mirrors. Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg, and Liam Lawson complete the top 10 in that order.