Hamilton denied Singapore pole after late mistake as Verstappen takes top spot

Max Verstappen will start the Singapore Grand Prix from pole position after Lewis Hamilton, who was quickest in Q1 and Q2, made mistakes when it mattered in the final part of qualifying. A full-length race has been won 11 times out of 16 from pole position at this circuit.

Verstappen takes pole as Hamilton falters

Verstappen saw off the threat of the Ferraris to secure the top spot on the grid for Sunday's race. Hamilton was fastest in both Q1 and Q2, but errors in the final shootout cost the seven-time world champion. A mistake at turn three hampered his first run in Q3, while a drift through the chicane scuppered his final attempt.

Ferrari had high hopes heading into the weekend, and this was a strong Saturday for the Scuderia. Hamilton, who was watched on from the Ferrari garage by Kim Kardashian, finished third, with Charles Leclerc taking second. Leclerc was the quicker of the two red cars on the timesheets.

Ferrari's strong Saturday

Hamilton had leapt from sixth on the grid to third by the end of lap one at the start of the Sprint race and finished second behind Verstappen after George Russell, who had inherited an early lead, crashed out. Leclerc finished third in that race, and it was again a Ferrari two-three by the end of qualifying.

Those in the Ferrari garage would have been dreaming of another masterclass on the streets of Singapore, like Hamilton famously produced in 2018 when driving for Mercedes. But that did not come to fruition. Unlike his old Silver Arrow, he never seemed quite at one with the Ferrari, and it proved too much to handle as he tried to squeeze every drop of performance out of it.

Grid penalties and reaction

Verstappen was largely unchallenged for pole, with Leclerc the only other driver to give it an honest go, earning a front-row start. Neither Mercedes nor McLaren had the pace to challenge, while Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar went out in Q1 with an engine problem.

Reacting to his pole position, Verstappen smiled: "It was good, very close, the margins are very close between all of us. Very happy to be on pole as of course, this is the one I wanted. The car has been strong all weekend."

George Russell was sixth on the road but is serving grid penalties as a result of new engine parts, needed after his power unit failure last Sunday in Malaysia. He will line up on the back row of the grid with Hadjar.

Full 2026 Singapore Grand Prix qualifying result: