Verstappen surprised by Singapore Sprint Qualifying pole

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Archive photograph: Max Verstappen · Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort 2024 · 2024-08-25Archive photo · 2024-08-25 · Steffen Prößdorf · CC BY-SA 4.0

Max Verstappen said he had not expected to top Singapore Sprint Qualifying and that the Red Bull felt livelier on soft tyres. After the session, his Sprint pole was still under threat from a stewards' investigation into an alleged yellow-flag infringement in SQ1.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · 14 Oct 2026, 11:51 · 1 min

Max Verstappen topped Singapore Sprint Qualifying with a 1:31.156, 0.120 seconds quicker than George Russell. He said the pole had surprised him; on soft tyres, the car felt as if it was “coming alive a little bit more.”

Verstappen said Red Bull had been much stronger in recent races, although Singapore still highlighted a few weaknesses in the car. The team had managed to work with those flaws as well as possible, he said.

His pole was still under threat after the session: Verstappen was due to meet the stewards over an alleged infringement after moving ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a yellow-flag zone during SQ1. The flags had been triggered by debris.

Sources 02