What happened in the F1 Qualifying Today? The engines were roaring, the tires were screeching, and the adrenaline pumped. Today was the day that decided the fate of the F1 drivers as they compete for the coveted pole position for pole position in tomorrow’s race.
We reveal the answers after the F1 qualifying today. Don’t miss a second of the action.
F1 Qualifying Today
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari secured the pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix. This qualifying session had its share of incidents, notably Lance Stroll’s significant crash during Q1 and Max Verstappen’s elimination in Q2.
In Sunday’s race, Sainz will lead from the front, with George Russell from Mercedes and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc close behind. The qualifying session, which spans one hour, occurs on Friday and comprises three segments. Q1 and Q2 eliminate five cars each before the final top 10 shootout in Q3.
Singapore GP – What went on with Max Verstappen and Red Bull?
Throughout the weekend at the Marina Bay circuit, Red Bull faced challenges, with both Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez failing to advance to Q3 during Saturday’s qualifying session.
Verstappen could only manage an 11th-place finish in his car, while his teammate Perez secured the 13th spot. Verstappen expressed that changes made to the car after a reasonably good FP3 session ultimately disrupted his performance.
When asked by Sky F1 if the qualifying results were worse than expected, Verstappen responded, “Yes, for sure. I knew that securing pole position would be tough, but I didn’t anticipate this.”
He went on to explain that they had struggled throughout the weekend, saying, “I think FP3 was not too bad, but then we made some adjustments to the car for qualifying, which made it undriveable. The car was bottoming out excessively during braking, and whenever I tried to brake hard, my front wheels lost grip.”
He further described the difficulties he faced, stating, “So, like I said on the radio, it was just a challenging experience because even in low-speed corners, there was no speed and no traction. It was just really hard to drive.”
Never Rul Max Verstappen Out
Verstappen has previously overcome low starting positions to finish on the podium this season, as in Saudi Arabia, where he climbed from 15th to finish second. However, he acknowledged that he doesn’t have a competitive enough car to contend for a podium finish on Sunday.
“No, definitely not,” he responded when asked if he had hopes of reaching the podium in the grand prix. He explained that at this circuit, similar to Monaco, success heavily relies on qualifying performance, and it’s challenging for drivers to overtake due to low tire wear.
“So, it will be a long, challenging afternoon. Hopefully, there won’t be too many safety car incidents, and the race will be relatively short.”
Max Verstappen also Faces Potential Penalties
Verstappen also faces investigations for potential impeding infractions during the first two segments of qualifying. However, he downplayed the significance of any grid penalties, stating, “We’ll speak to the stewards. Honestly, at this point, it was just so messy that it doesn’t matter if we start from P11, P15, or last. What’s more important is understanding why it went so poorly. That’s far more important than trying to score a few points this weekend.”
Singapore GP Q1 Recap
As the session neared its conclusion, Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri posted the fastest time at 1 minute and 31.991 seconds, just one-tenth ahead of Sergio Perez in the Red Bull. However, the session was abruptly halted due to a severe accident involving Lance Stroll at the final corner. The crash resulted in the complete detachment of the left-front wheel from his Aston Martin.
The first group of drivers to be eliminated included Valtteri Bottas from Alfa Romeo, Oscar Piastri from McLaren, Logan Sargeant from Williams, Zhou Guanyu from Alfa Romeo, and the fortunately uninjured Lance Stroll.
Singapore GP Q2 Recap
Sainz achieved the quickest lap time, clocking in at 1 minute and 31.439 seconds, which was three tenths of a second faster than Russell’s time of 1 minute and 31.743 seconds.
Eliminated from contention at this stage were Red Bull’s Verstappen, who posted a lap time of 1 minute and 32.173 seconds. AlphaTauri’s Liam Lawson secured his spot by surpassing Verstappen’s time on his final lap. Others who failed to advance included Pierre Gasly from Alpine, Perez, who spun at Turn 3, Alex Albon from Williams, and Tsunoda, who did not manage to set a lap time.
Singapore GP Q3 Recap
In the initial runs, Sainz took the lead with a time of 1 minute and 31.170 seconds, a quarter of a second faster than Leclerc.
During the final runs, Sainz managed to improve his time to 1 minute and 30.984 seconds, and Leclerc couldn’t surpass him, falling short by 0.079 seconds.
Russell secured the second spot by posting a time of 1 minute and 31.056 seconds, missing out on pole position by a mere 0.072 seconds.
Lando Norris from McLaren will start in the fourth position, followed by Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, a noteworthy performance by Kevin Magnussen from Haas, Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin, Esteban Ocon from Alpine, Nico Hulkenberg from Haas, and Lawson.
Qualifying Results
| Position | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 01:32.3 | 01:31.4 | 01:31.0 | 20 |
| 2 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 01:32.3 | 01:31.7 | 01:31.1 | 17 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 01:32.4 | 01:32.0 | 01:31.1 | 21 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 01:32.5 | 01:32.0 | 01:31.3 | 20 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 01:32.7 | 01:32.0 | 01:31.5 | 16 |
| 6 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 01:32.2 | 01:31.9 | 01:31.6 | 21 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 01:32.6 | 01:31.8 | 01:31.6 | 17 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 01:32.4 | 01:32.1 | 01:31.7 | 18 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 01:32.1 | 01:32.0 | 01:31.8 | 21 |
| 10 | Liam Lawson | ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT | 01:32.2 | 01:32.2 | 01:32.3 | 21 |
| 11 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 01:32.4 | 01:32.2 | 14 | |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 01:32.5 | 01:32.3 | 12 | |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 01:32.1 | 01:32.3 | 13 | |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 01:32.7 | 01:33.7 | 12 | |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT | 01:32.0 | DNF | 10 | |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 01:32.8 | 9 | ||
| 17 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 01:32.9 | 9 | ||
| 18 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 01:33.3 | 9 | ||
| 19 | Zhou Guanyu | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 01:33.3 | 9 | ||
| 20 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 01:33.4 | 8 |
How Does F1 Qualifying Work?
In the conventional format, F1 qualifying is a knockout system that consists of three segments:
- Qualifying Session 1 (Q1)
- Qualifying Session 2 (Q2)
- Qualifying Session 3 (Q3).
During each session, the drivers try to set the fastest lap possible. The slowest five drivers in Q1 and Q2 are eliminated. In Q3 there are only 10 drivers left to fight for P1 (Pole Position.)
The current record holder for the most pole positions in F1 history is Lewis Hamilton with 101, followed by Michael Schumacher with 68.
Conclusion
Bookmark this page and come back here before each F1 Main race to read to see the line up for tomorrows GP.
References
Formula 1 Qualifying and Practice Sessions – The Ultimate Guide (f1worldwide.com)
