Singapore GP qualifying results: Max Verstappen knocked out as Red Bull suffer nightmare
Max Verstappen failed to make the top 10 in this season's biggest qualifying shock.
Max Verstappen sent offer to quit Red Bull and join F1 rival keen to be his team-mate
Carlos Sainz managed to grab pole position for this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix after Max Verstappen was sensationally knocked out in Q2. The Dutchman struggled in practice and failed to improve in qualifying as both Red Bull drivers suffered early exits for the first time since 2018.
There was a huge accident right at the end of Q1, with Lance Stroll losing the rear end of his Aston Martin before smashing into the barriers just metres before the finish line. The Canadian driver was unharmed but the incident forced a delay to the start of Q2 after plenty of debris was left scattered across the circuit.
Verstappen, meanwhile, will be investigated by the stewards for two impeding incidents to add insult to injury for the Dutchman. He stayed still at the end of the queue as Q1 got underway before blocking Yuki Tsunoda while the Japanese driver was on a flying lap in Q2.
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KEY EVENTS
- Full results15:40
- SAINZ TAKES POLE!15:30
- End of Q215:10
- Verstappen blocks Tsunoda15:02
- Verstappen under investigation14:33
- Qualifying delayed14:31
- End of Q114:22
- Stroll crashes14:19
Goodbye for now
That's all we've got time for this afternoon.
Thanks for joining us to follow a thrilling day of qualifying, with Max Verstappen's early exit the biggest shock of them all.
We'll be back tomorrow for the Singapore Grand Prix before the five red lights go out at 1pm.
In the meantime, stay with us on Express Sport for all the best reaction.
Catch you soon!
Red or black for Sunday's race? \ud83e\udd14#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/xrRees8vlR
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Full results
Here's a look at the provisional classification after today's session.
However, the order is likely to change when the results of several post-qualifying investigations are confirmed in due course.
An unforgettable qualifying session#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/NZUwISLhDx
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SAINZ TAKES POLE!
Carlos Sainz grabs pole position ahead of George Russell in Singapore!
Charles Leclerc comes home in third ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and fifth respectively.
The top three drivers are separated by less than one-tenth of a second.
What a thrilling session that was on the streets of Marina Bay!
CARLOS SAINZ TAKES BACK-TO-BACK POLES!@Carlossainz55 lights up the streets of Marina Bay to take his second pole in a row for @ScuderiaFerrari!#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/FxNCb2uTSc
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Sainz on provisional pole
Carlos Sainz goes quickest with his first Q3 run and leads Charles Leclerc to set up a provisional Ferrari one-two.
Lando Norris is currently in third, with George Russell fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth.
Fernando Alonso finds himself in sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Liam Lawson.
Six minutes to go...
Q3 gets underway
The 10 remaining drivers emerge from the pits as the shootout for pole begins.
Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon are the last ones standing.
Who will be able to secure pole position at this year's Singapore Grand Prix? We'll find out in around 12 minutes...
End of Q2
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are both out in Q2! Unbelievable!
It's a disaster for Red Bull, who have seen both of their drivers fail to make the top 10 in a desperately poor session for the Austrian team.
Carlos Sainz ends the session as the quickest driver on track, with George Russell second and Fernando Alonso third.
Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda are the other drivers to have been knocked out in Q2.
This qualifying session keeps on throwing up surprises #SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/T4kXEgQ9BK
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Verstappen not improving
Max Verstappen is not going quicker than his previous lap time with just seconds remaining until the end of Q2.
Sergio Perez, meanwhile, spins at Turn Two to ruin his chances of getting into Q3.
Bottom five drivers
The drivers at risk of being knocked out in Q2 are as follows...
11. Sergio Perez
12. Nico Hulkenberg
13. Liam Lawson
14. Alex Albon
15. Yuki Tsunoda
Three minutes to go...
Verstappen blocks Tsunoda
Max Verstappen finds himself at the centre of yet another impeding incident, with Yuki Tsunoda the affected driver.
The latter is not happy to say the least after being blocked by the reigning world champion while on a hot lap.
The incident has been noted by the stewards and it would be a huge surprise if Verstappen is not handed at least one penalty ahead of tomorrow's race.
Tight at the top
George Russell currently leads the way with a lap time of 1:31.743.
He is closely followed by Fernando Alonso, who is less than one-tenth behind his Mercedes rival.
Carlos Sainz is third ahead of Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen.
Driver investigations
Here's a look at the incidents that will be investigated by the stewards after the end of qualifying...
1. Logan Sargeant for impeding Lance Stroll in the middle of Q1
2. Max Verstappen for impeding in the pit lane at the start of Q1
3. Several cars for driving slowly and impeding at the end of Q1 between Turn 16 and Turn 19
Q2 begins
The remaining 15 drivers are finally making their way out on track for Q2.
As always, five more will be be eliminated before the final session of the day.
We go again \ud83d\udc4a 15 minutes of Q2 action coming your way!#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/cIsZ4eCaLD
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Q2 to start soon
The stewards have announced that Q2 will get underway in around four minutes at 2:53pm (UK time).
Stroll's huge crash
Here's another look at the moment Lance Stroll smashed into the barriers on the home straight at quite some speed...
Moment of impact \ud83d\ude31#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/V5kVfCPJOC
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More drivers noted by stewards
Several drivers have been noted for potential impeding incidents between Turn 16 and Turn 19 at the end of Q1.
There is still no official word on when Q2 will get underway, with the circuit not yet cleared of debris.
Verstappen under investigation
Max Verstappen will be investigated after the session for potentially impeding other drivers in the pit lane.
Replays show that he stayed still at the front of the queue for quite some time when the green light went on at the start of Q1.
An interesting one to keep an eye on later today...
Qualifying delayed
There will be a slight delay to the start of Q2, with the marshals working furiously to clear the debris from the circuit following Lance Stroll's crash.
End of Q1
Yuki Tsunoda is the surprise leader at the end of Q1 with a lap time of 1:31.991 following Lance Stroll's heavy crash.
Sergio Perez comes home in second place, with Nico Hulkenberg in third.
Valtteri Bottas, Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant, Zhou Guanyu and Stroll are the five drivers to have been knocked out.
Q1 CLASSIFICATION
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After all that drama, we end Q1 with Tsunoda, Perez, Hulkenberg, Lawson and Magnussen leading the way!
Bottas, Piastri, Sargeant, Zhou and Stroll are the unfortunate drop-outs#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/EdvmRUCkJ9
Stroll crashes
Lance Stroll loses the rear end and spins into the wall at high speed just metres before the finish line.
It's a massive impact and the front of his car is completely wrecked, along with the rear wing.
The Aston Martin driver confirms over his team radio that he is okay.
The red flags are out and there will be no further laps set in Q1.
\ud83d\udea9 RED FLAG \ud83d\udea9
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Lance Stroll crashes heavily at the final corner and ends an absorbing Q1 session early
Most importantly, he reports he's okay over the radio \ud83d\udc4d#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/lAb3zVm3j7
Drivers at risk
Here's a look at the bottom five drivers with four minutes left in Q1...
16. Lance Stroll
17. Logan Sargeant
18. Alex Albon
19. Valtteri Bottas
20. Zhou Guanyu
Lap times tumbling
Carlos Sainz is now the fastest driver on track ahead of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
The lap times are beginning to fall as more and more rubber is laid down on the circuit with each attempt.
Replays show that Esteban Ocon clipped the wall in the final sector a few moments ago, but his car appears to be okay.
Russell goes quickest
George Russell jumps to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:32.478.
Lewis Hamilton goes slightly slower than his Mercedes team-mate and currently finds himself down in fifth.
The top four drivers are separated by less than one-tenth as things stand.
Elsewhere on the track, Lance Stroll fumes over his team radio after being impeded by Logan Sargeant, who has been noted by the stewards.
Russell nose what he's doing - he displaces Leclerc at the top! \ud83d\udc43#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/GMi2F5fD47
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Leclerc setting early pace
Charles Leclerc goes quickest with his first lap time of 1:32.523.
He leads Lando Norris by just 0.033 seconds, with Sergio Perez third and Max Verstappen fourth.
Only 11 drivers have clocked meaningful lap times as of yet.
Here we go!
Qualifying is now underway in Singapore and the drivers are beginning to emerge from the pit lane for the start of Q1.
The likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be hoping to avoid any slip-ups to progress safely through into Q2.
Russell backing Ferrari
"Ferrari are the favourites," says George Russell on Sky Sports F1 when asked to predict today's qualifying session.
"I think they probably had a couple of tenths in the engine [on Friday] left to come, but I think Lando is on a par with us."
Sainz plays down Ferrari hopes
Carlos Sainz is fully expecting Red Bull to come good in Singapore this weekend despite Ferrari having led the Austrian team in practice.
"I don't believe that for a moment," said the Spaniard when asked if he feels that Red Bull are experiencing a mini-crisis.
"People should look at their long runs, they were the fastest. Yes, we have started well, yes, we are a little surprised ourselves.
"We know that a dominant car doesn't mean you always dominate in Singapore, which we also saw with Mercedes when they were dominating, but to automatically conclude that we will be in pole position would be presumptuous."
Red Bull working to fix problems
"It's all reliant on the software and the electrical settings, so it's all about tuning those," says Christian Horner when asked by Sky Sports F1 about Red Bull's upshift issues during FP3.
"Hopefully we can give him an upshift and downshift in quali. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to sort it out.
"We need every bit of performance, you can see it is very competitive here, it's what we expected. We are going to need to have every ounce of performance to be on the front row."
Verstappen unhappy in practice
Max Verstappen was furious with his Red Bull team during FP3 earlier today as he slumped to a fourth-placed finish behind Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Lando Norris.
He was simply unable to mix it with the fastest drivers of the session and fumed over the radio, saying: "I'm sorry, but I cannot drive with these upshifts. What the f**k is this? Unacceptable."
After the session had ended, the Dutchman said: "It’s not only upshifts [but] also downshifts. I’m just struggling for rear grip. You see that last sector?
"I’m just drifting. I think if I’m going to compete in drifting I might win the race."
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to Express Sport's live coverage of qualifying ahead of tomorrow's Singapore Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen appears to be facing a tricky battle to secure pole position, with Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren all looking quick around the streets of Marina Bay.
Will the Dutchman be able to fend off the competition at a venue he has never won at before? We'll soon find out...
Day 2 at F1's most photogenic venue \ud83d\ude0d#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/LgDEQ89mMD
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) September 16, 2023