Max Verstappen claimed his 50th career pole position in Singapore, calling it "the one I wanted" as he ended his Marina Bay qualifying hoodoo. The Dutchman has never won a Grand Prix on the streets of Singapore, but he secured his best chance yet with a maiden pole there on Saturday, hours after winning the first-ever Sprint race held in the city-state.
Both successes saw Verstappen deny Lewis Hamilton, who also enjoyed a strong Saturday. With girlfriend Kim Kardashian watching in the Ferrari garage, the seven-time world champion rose from sixth to third by the first corner of the Sprint in wet conditions. He finished second behind the Dutchman after George Russell crashed out from the lead, and he was fastest in the first two parts of qualifying. However, the Ferrari proved difficult to handle when it mattered, and Hamilton had to settle for third on the grid behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton's warning
Hamilton said: "The car is really on a knife-edge. Once I got to Q3, the car was a lot snappier. The previous runs, it was so sweet." He added that he will do "whatever it takes" as he hunts only a second victory of the season.
He continued: "From this position, we can have a good start. I'll try to capitalise there and then, after that, I think we have a car that we really can fight with. I'll be giving it absolutely everything to try to undo our qualifying. It would be great for us to get another win."
Verstappen's delight
Saturday belonged to Verstappen, who is undoubtedly Formula One's form driver right now. It has been a tricky year for Red Bull, but they have finally got on top of their car and their star man is delivering on track again. Jenson Button noted after qualifying that he had "never seen Max look so excited to be on pole."
Verstappen admitted: "This is the one I wanted. The car has been pretty strong the whole weekend. There are always things that you look into that can be better, but it was enough for pole, so I'm very happy with that. We've been really on a positive trend, so I think it's very special for us to take pole here."
History and hurdles
History is in his corner: 11 of 16 Grands Prix held in Singapore have been won by the man on pole. Though his last two starts, in Malaysia last Sunday and yesterday's Sprint, have seen him lose the lead immediately off the line. He knows that is one of the biggest dangers to his hopes of a Marina Bay win. Verstappen said: "It cannot get worse. It can only get better, right? We'll see how it goes."
That is the same attitude Russell has had to adopt more than he would have liked this season. He starts from the back with engine penalties while runaway champion-elect Kimi Antonelli is fourth on the grid. The Brit's one shot at a win this weekend fell apart when he crashed at the end of lap two while leading the Sprint. "I couldn't imagine that George would make such a mistake, so that was very unusual," his boss Toto Wolff said. "The power kicked in at a moment he didn't expect it to and he was on the [wet] white line."
Russell was pessimistic about his chances of a miracle and said: "I'll try to come through and do some good overtakes. Points, for sure, but it's going to be a tough race."
