DPA
Berlin
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed pole position for the Singapore Formula Grand Prix on Saturday while the Red Bull team and their star Max Verstappen need a miracle to continue their winning runs in what has so far been a weekend to forget for them.
Sainz clocked 1 minute 30.984 on the floodlit 5.063-kilometres Marina Bay street course for his second straight pole and fifth overall.
Mercedes driver George Russell split the Ferraris, trailing Sainz by a mere .072 of a second and being just seven-thousandths ahead of Charles Leclerc as the top three were separated by less than one-tenth of a second.
Red Bull’s problems all weekend culminated in Verstappen missing Q3 by seven-thousandths and placing 11th while team-mate Sergio Perez, last year’s race winner, was 13th and spun on his last fast lap.
Runaway championship leader Verstappen avoided further trouble after stewards opted against a grid penalty for allegedly impeding other drivers on three occasions in qualifying.
Red Bull have won the last 15 races which includes all 14 this season, and Verstappen the last 10, both F1 records.
"I knew it would always be tough to put it on pole. But this I didn’t expect,” Verstappen told Sky TV.
"Throughout the weekend we have been struggling. FP3 was actually not too bad but then we tried a few more things on the car for qualifying and that tipped it over where it became undriveable again. It’s just a shocking experience.” When later asked if he could still win on a street circuit famous for a lack of overtaking, he said: "You can forget about that (a win).
"I don’t want it to sound too dramatic but it has been a tough weekend.” Sainz delighted in his pole two weeks after achieving the same in Monza at the Italian GP where he then finished third, and he is taking nothing for granted again.
"Keeping it clean in Singapore normally pays off. We had a very good car on certain tracks and conditions. These short apexes and quick changes of direction, our car seems to be very good this weekend,” he said.
"We know our weakness is always the race pace and where we pay the price. But I think our team has been doing a great job over the last couple of weekends. We have definitely made a bit of progress, keeping in mind this circuit always suits Ferrari well.” Ferrari’s last win dates back to Leclerc’s success at the 2022 Austria GP while Russell was the last non-Red Bull driver to win a race, in Brazil last November.
"I felt really confident in the car, the team did a great job with the strategy,” Russell said.
"We are on an off-set strategy compared to everybody else, so we have an extra set of medium tyres tomorrow which nobody around us has. So to get to Q3 and be on the front row with a strategic advantage tomorrow is an exciting place to be,” he said.
Q1 ended prematurely as it was red-flagged after Lance Stroll lost control in the final turn and crashed his Aston Martin into the barriers.
Stroll walked away unharmed but the car was badly damaged and the barrier repair led to a lengthy delay.