Russell on pole for Singapore GP as Verstappen beats McLarens

SINGAPORE (AP) — George Russell surged to a surprise pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix as Max Verstappen got the better of his Formula 1 title rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Russell crashed in Friday practice but turned it around in style as he was 0.182 of a second faster than Verstappen in Saturday’s qualifying session despite clipping the wall. Verstappen was aggrieved with Norris’ driving, suggesting it cost him pole.

Verstappen has the momentum in the F1 title fight after winning the last two races, though he was unhappy with Norris’ behavior on Saturday, while McLaren again seems off the pace.

Standings leader Piastri qualified third, .366 off Russell’s pace, with his McLaren teammate Norris fifth.

Verstappen blames Norris

Verstappen said Norris — who’s second in the standings — was “just cruising” around the track and disrupted a lap that could have been good enough for pole.

“It’s noted, will be remembered as well,” he said.

Drivers tend to leave each other big gaps in the final shootout for the top 10 places but Norris was only a couple of seconds ahead, Verstappen said, arguing the disrupted airflow hit his performance.

Verstappen said he would “just move forward” and wouldn’t try to discuss the issue with Norris.

“Sometimes it happens at a street circuit that people are bored, make mistakes,” he said.

Singapore is the only track this season where Verstappen has not won.

“I hear this now the whole week, ‘Never had a pole, never won here.’ Well, fantastic,” Verstappen said, saying previous Red Bull cars struggled to cope with a tight Singapore track where grip is crucial.

“Now, finally, the car is a bit more all-round, it seems. We’ve always been, I would say, a little bit weaker on super-high-downforce (circuits), for whatever reason. For us to be this competitive for sure is very promising.”

Russell ‘a different driver’

It’s the second pole position of the year for Russell and the first for him and the Mercedes team since the Canadian GP in June, which he went on to win.

“We certainly didn’t anticipate to be fighting for a pole position here,” Russell said, adding he was surprised McLaren was slower than expected.

Piastri suggested his car simply lacked the pace to compete.

“I wanted more but I don’t think we had four-tenths (of a second) in it to go and get pole,” the Australian said.

Pole position is a big advantage in Singapore, where overtaking is difficult. However, Russell has previously struggled in Singapore, where he has a best finish of fourth. He crashed on the last lap while fighting for the podium places in 2023.

“I’m a different driver today than I was a couple of years ago,” Russell said. “Yesterday was my first crash in over a year. This season, I am sort of more within myself. I know the limits better.”

Hamilton escapes penalty

Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth, one place ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, after he escaped a potential grid penalty for an incident in practice.

Stewards investigated whether the seven-time champion went too fast under a red flag. They said Hamilton’s driving wasn’t unsafe or against the rules, though “a greater reduction of speed would have been desirable.”

Both Williams drivers will have to start from the back of the grid after they were disqualified for a technical infringement with their rear wings. Alex Albon had placed 12th and Carlos Sainz, Jr. 13th.

The pressure on Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull could increase after he qualified 15th, though he’ll move up two places because of the Williams disqualifications.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing