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Recapping winners and losers from qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix, and wondering if this was Daniel Ricciardo’s swan song
A hard shunt from Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. at the start of Q3 left nine drivers remaining, each with perhaps just one shot at glory Saturday night at the Singapore Grand Prix. Only Oscar Piastri and Nico Hülkenberg had set a time ahead of Sainz’s crash, and when the green flag flew again the nine remaining drivers stayed in the garage, setting up a one-lap shootout for pole position.
With perhaps some at McLaren and Haas hoping for another incident to disrupt the run plans, giving Piastri and Hülkenberg the front row.
Ultimately with just over four minutes left in Q3 pit lane roared to life, with Lando Norris and Piastri the first to emerge. One lap, 19 corners, and nine drivers chasing pole position and a bit of glory in a fascinating Formula 1 season.
One of the last drivers to emerge? Max Verstappen, who was chasing a pole position of his own rolled the dice that the advantages of seasoned track outweighed any risk of another incident, that would see him start at the back of the points on Sunday.
In the end, that glory belonged to Norris.
The McLaren driver and championship contender continued what has been a strong week for him in Singapore, putting his MCL38 on the front row.
Where he will start alongside his rival in that championship, Verstappen.
“It was tough,” said Norris to James Hinchcliffe trackside after qualifying. “It was a good enough performance, I’m happy with that, especially in Singapore.
“We got the job done.”
That drag race with Verstappen into Turn 1 tomorrow night will be fascinating, and you might want to watch it. Of course, Norris’ record from starting from pole position has been spotty, as he has yet to lead the opening lap when starting from pole position. But he does have a victory this season when starting from pole position, as he won the Dutch Grand Prix in dominant fashion despite losing the lead on the opening lap.
So Saturday night belonged to Norris. WIll Sunday night as well?
Here are the full qualifying results from Saturday night’s qualifying session at the Singapore Grand Prix, as well as some more winners and losers:
Winner: Max Verstappen
Red Bull is in a fascinating position ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
For the first time since early in the 2022 season, they find themselves looking up in the Constructors’ Championship standings, trailing McLaren by 20 points in that fight.
Things did not look promising for the team, which has been a “house of horrors” for Red Bull, and particularly Max Verstappen, in recent years. Last year’s Singapore Grand Prix was the only Grand Prix Red Bull did not win in 2023, and Verstappen has never started from pole position in Singapore, nor has he ever won.
But thanks to a strong performance in qualifying, Verstappen will be on the front row, and has a shot at that maiden Marina Bay victory. He will start alongside Norris, and given Norris’ opening-lap history, Verstappen has a shot at grabbing the lead on the opening lap tomorrow night.
“I’m happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday,” said Verstappen to Hinchcliffe trackside after qualifying. “I’ll take second, I’m happy with that.”
With Red Bull scrapping for every point in their Constructors’ Championship chase, and Verstappen doing his best to fend off a challenge from Norris in the Drivers’ Championship, starting second in the Singapore Grand Prix might have been the best he could have asked for.
Loser: Daniel Ricciardo
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Yesterday we outlined how this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix might be Daniel Ricciardo’s last stand. The driver was forced to address his potential final days in the sport during Thursday’s media session, declaring that his goal was to “put the thing on the podium.”
That last stand got much more difficult on Saturday night at Marina Bay.
Ricciardo was eliminated in Q1 and is set to start Sunday night’s Singapore Grand Prix at the back of the field.
Ricciardo’s elimination touched off a brief discussion on F1TV regarding his future, and whether it would indeed be his last race weekend in Formula 1. “This may have been an all-or-nothing weekend for Danny Ricciardo,” outlined Jolyon Palmer. David Coulthard perhaps put it best when he commented “[t]he blunt reality of this is that they’re all good, but we’re looking for exceptional. And this year, he hasn’t been.
“That could be his last qualifying session in Formula 1,” Coulthard added.
This sport demands that level of performance on every single lap, and after this qualifying session, it does feel that Ricciardo’s time is running out.
Winners: Mercedes
The roar told the story.
When Lewis Hamilton came across the line at the end of Q3, and his time was good for a provisional P2, the crowd at Marina Bay exploded at seeing his name atop the timing sheets.
While Verstappen ultimately pipped him for P2, Hamilton is slated to start third and will have his Mercedes teammate George Russell starting alongside him on Sunday night when the lights go out. It was a welcome result for the Mercedes driver and living legend, who has struggled in qualifying this season.
“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long, and I’ve just been working and working trying to get myself back up there, and all of a sudden the car came alive in qualifying for the first time in a long time in qualifying,” said Hamilton trackside. “I think there’s a tiny bit more left in the car, and I’m grateful for it.
“The mechanics have just been faultless, and I just want to say a big thank you to them.”
With Hamilton and Mercedes locking out the second row — and both Ferrari drivers starting behind them — the Silver Arrows have a chance to make a little noise Sunday night in Marina Bay.
Losers: Ferrari
Photo by Jayce Illman/Getty Images
Talk about a bad bit of luck.
Last year’s winner of the Singapore Grand Prix saw his qualifying session come to an early end in Q3.
Carlos Sainz Jr. was on an out lap at the start of Q3, and after pulling over to allow Oscar Piastri to finish his push lap he got onto the throttle heading into Turn 19, when he suddenly lost the rear end and slammed into the barrier rear first, ending his qualifying session and bringing out a quick yellow flag, followed by a red flag. It was a surprising moment, which called into question whether his tires were properly warmed before beginning his push lap.
Sainz was able to climb out of the car and walk away but was baffled as to how the incident occurred.
“I don’t know if it was cold tires, dirty air, or if I was … bad snap,” commented Sainz over the radio to his team. The team on F1TV speculated that going off the racing line to let Piastri through perhaps saw Sainz’s tires pick up a bit of dust, making the rear tires a touch more slippery as he engaged the throttle. Add in the colder tire temperatures you see on an out lap, and you have the bad snap from Sainz into the barrier, and out of qualifying.
Thankfully Sainz, who endured a hard shunt last weekend at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, was able to walk back to the garage and seemed in relatively good spirits. However, now the team has a lot of work to get ready for Sunday’s Grand Prix, and a lot of damage to repair.
Charles Leclerc was still alive in Q3, and put in a lap that had him near the front. But his lap time was selected, dropping him back to rear of the top ten, where he will start alongside Sainz, provided Ferrari can get that SF-24 ready to go. Should Sainz’s gearbox be damaged and the team need to install a new one,
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
On the other side of the garage at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, it was a strong performance from Yuki Tsunoda on Saturday night at Marina Bay.
Tsunoda stormed into Q3 with an impressive effort in Q2, locking up a spot for him inside the points when the lights go out on Sunday night. He is set to start eighth, which puts him in solid position to bring home some points for VCARB on Sunday night.
Losers: Sauber
The quest for Sauber’s first point of the 2024 season has become quixotic.
For the fourth straight Grand Prix, both Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas were eliminated in Q1, and are set to start at the back of the field Sunday night in Singapore.
At this point, the team might pin all their hopes on that elusive first point at the Qatar Grand Prix at the end of the season. A year ago in Qatar both Zhou and Bottas finished in the points, the only time all season they enjoyed a double points result.
That race also represents the only Grand Prix from 2023 remaining on the calendar where Sauber finished in the points.
Winner: Nico Hülkenberg
Photo by Lars Baron – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
One of the more fascinating fights shaping up in Formula 1 at the moment is that between VCARB and Haas for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship. With Yuki Tsunoda starting eighth, VCARB has a chance to bring home some points Sunday night, aiding them in that fight.
But Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg did him a few spots better.
The German driver joined Tsunoda in Q3, and when the checkered flag flew Hülkenberg was up in sixth, where he will start directly in front of Tsunoda, and on the third row alongside Oscar Piastri.
The result also matches Hülkenberg’s best qualifying performance of the season, when he also started sixth at the British Grand Prix back in July.
Hülkenberg may be moving to Sauber for next season, but his qualifying performance on Saturday night in Singapore puts him in position to deliver a massive result for Haas ahead of that exit.
Loser: Sergio Pérez
Heading into this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the word from Red Bull was that it might take until the United States Grand Prix for the RB20 to show true improvement.
That was evident from the “King of the Streets” on Saturday night, as he was eliminated in Q2, finishing behind the Williams duo of Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto. At a circuit where he has won before, back in 2022, he faces a difficult proposition of getting into the points on Sunday night.
He was also 0.899 seconds off the pace set by teammate Max Verstappen during Q2, perhaps a worrying sign for his potential performance tomorrow.
