Lando Norris snatched a confident pole position at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, his first at this track as the McLaren man appeared the most comfortable over the round’s opening two days. It was a solid qualifying for the papaya team as Oscar Piastri slotted into fifth, but Norris will have to face the threat of Max Verstappen alone on the front row.
Ferrari, on the other hand, suffered a disappointing session at the tail end of the top 10, while some midfield drivers set stunning lap times to qualify ahead of the more traditional frontrunners. Here are the best facts and stats from qualifying in Singapore…
- Norris claimed McLaren’s first pole position at Marina Bay since Lewis Hamilton did so in his final season for the team back in 2012.
- It’s his sixth Grand Prix pole of his career, but the Briton has never led the first lap from pole in that time.
- Verstappen was two-tenths slower than Norris, but his P2 start marks just his second front row start in the last seven races.
READ MORE: Norris beats Verstappen to pole for Singapore GP after Sainz crashes out
- Speaking of front row starts, it’s the Dutchman’s first in Singapore since 2018, when he was beaten by Hamilton.
- The front row is identical to this season’s Dutch Grand Prix, when Verstappen took the lead at the start but was later passed by Norris for the win.
- Hamilton has maintained his record of qualifying in the top five at all 15 Singapore Grands Prix.
- The former world champion also out-qualified his team mate George Russell for just the fifth time this season.
- It’s Hamilton’s first top-three start since the Belgian Grand Prix, which he went on to win after Russell’s disqualification.
