Verstappen on sprint pole after another settings issue
Red Bull's Max Verstappen beats Mercedes driver George Russell to sprint pole at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen secured sprint pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix, narrowly beating Mercedes' George Russell by 0.12 seconds. Charle Leclerc of Ferrari rounded out the top three. McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris followed in fourth and fifth. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari's second driver, started from second place but dropped down the field after a premature final qualifying start.
Championship leader Kimi Antinelli, utilizing a Mercedes upgrade that underperformed in Malaysia due to a software bug, managed only seventh place. The qualifying session faced further complications when engine settings, provided by FIA, proved inconsistent, causing cars to reduce to crawling speeds following a red flag triggered by a crash involving Sergio Perez.
The issue involved the overtake mode being toggled on and off within 28 seconds, but did not impact the final order. Mercedes questioned the efficacy of their updated car specified for Singapore, while Antinelli expressed frustration with the car's unreliability and unpredictability. Team chief Toto Wolff admitted the new car is "a bit more tricky to drive," and that the team is struggling to optimize its performance.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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