Singapore Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc claims pole for Ferrari, Max Verstappen in eighth for Red Bull
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Updated 01/10/2022 at 20:14 GMT
Max Verstappen could be crowned the 2022 Formula One champion on Sunday at the Singapore Grand Prix, but his task will be tougher than expected after he could only finish eighth quickest in Saturday's qualifying session. The pole went to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez the second quickest.
‘Incredibly frustrating’ - Verstappen annoyed at letting pole position slip in Singapore
Charles Leclerc took pole in qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen well down in eighth.
In a last dash for pole, Leclerc took the top spot from Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez took second spot, with Lewis Hamilton in third.
Verstappen took eighth as he aborted his final lap, with Red Bull confirming he was forced to come back in with at least a litre of fuel to meet regulations.
This Sunday could be the race that sees Verstappen emerge as the world champion for a second successive season if results go his way.
Speaking after the session, Leclerc said: "Definitely amazing crowd and it is great to see so many people attending the event.
"It was really, really tricky and I made a mistake in my last lap so didn't think we would get pole but it was just enough so really, really happy. We don't have much data for the race run but with the perfect execution I am sure we can win."
In rainy conditions the teams were on intermediates as they tried to address the gradual drying of the track, and in Q2 Leclerc remarked "it’s drying up" before becoming the first driver to make the change to slicks.
Lance Stroll did similarly, and he spun out, suggesting he had moved prematurely for his own Aston Martin.
Stroll was out at Q2, along with George Russell, Mick Schumacher, team-mate Sebastian Vettel, and Zhou Guanyu. Russell, ninth fastest in FP3, had struggled for pace along with Mercedes’ colleague Lewis Hamilton, though the seven-time world champion made the cut for the final runout.
"Sorry guys, I couldn't do anything. I really struggled, it was exactly the same issue in Q1,” apologised Russell, who missed out by six-thousandths of a second.
They joined the first five to go out at the end of Q1: Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon, Nicolas Latifi and Esteban Ocon.
The race proper takes place on Sunday afternoon with Ferrari hoping to at the very least delay Verstappen's success this year.
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