Max Verstappen will start the Singapore Grand Prix from pole on Sunday, 11 October 2026 after his Red Bull lapped in 1:31.373, just ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 1:31.427), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari, 1:31.496) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes, 1:31.562). If you’re heading to the circuit today, that’s your front two rows, and the gaps between them are tiny.
The figures come from the official qualifying results page on Formula 1, marked final at 11.05pm on Saturday, 10 October. It caps a Saturday where Verstappen also won the Sprint, his 13th Sprint victory, according to the Singapore GP organiser’s own release. The pole is the 50th of his Formula One career and his first for a Grand Prix at Marina Bay.
Five Hundredths of a Second
By simple arithmetic, Verstappen’s pole lap was 0.054s quicker than Leclerc and 0.123s quicker than Hamilton. That’s less than a blink across a lap of more than a minute and a half, which tells you how closely the top three were matched once the times were in.
It’s a good night for Ferrari, which took second and third, with Leclerc on the front row alongside Verstappen and Hamilton on the second row. Hamilton, the seven-time Formula One World Champion now racing for the Scuderia, sits right behind his teammate, while Mercedes and McLaren split their cars across the next few places.
In the organiser’s release, Verstappen said: “Very happy to be on pole, because this is of course the one that I wanted… it’s very special to be on pole here.” Leclerc said: “I think there was the potential to be on pole, but Max just did a better job.” Hamilton, who was quickest through the first two segments, called it “Another difficult Q3”.
The Top Ten
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:31.373 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.427 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:31.496 |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:31.562 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:31.712 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:31.747 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:31.860 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:32.225 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:32.369 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:32.781 |
Look at the team pairs and the order reads like a ladder. Mercedes qualified fourth and sixth, though George Russell will not start sixth (see Tonight’s Grid below). Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was eighth.
Tonight’s Grid
The starting grid is not the qualifying order. Russell’s sixth place is wiped out by a grid penalty, and he starts from near the back, according to the organiser’s release. That moves Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to row three, Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson to row four, and Arvid Lindblad and Nico Hülkenberg to row five. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was out after three laps of qualifying with suspected gearbox trouble and was not classified.
The Sprint Went Verstappen’s Way Too
Earlier on Saturday, in rain that delayed the start by half an hour and left nine retirements, Verstappen won the Singapore Sprint in 39:48.162, per the provisional classification in FIA Document 45 from the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), motorsport’s governing body. Hamilton finished second, 2.591s behind, and Leclerc took third, 16.871s back.
That result is still listed as provisional, so treat it as the order on the night rather than the final word. Put the two sessions together, though, and the same three names keep turning up at the front, with Ferrari’s pair never far from the Red Bull. Kimi Antonelli, fourth in qualifying and fourth in the Sprint, leads the Championship by 89 points over Russell, the release says.
Before You Head to the Circuit
The main race runs on Sunday, 11 October.
Pole is decided, the Ferraris are lined up right behind, and the only thing left is the race itself. Check the full classification on the official Formula 1 qualifying results page before you set off, and keep an eye on Ferrari’s Formula 1 channel if you’re cheering on the Ferraris in second and third. Enjoy race day!
Results courtesy of Formula 1, the FIA and Singapore GP Pte Ltd.
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images.
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