Singapore GP 2022 - Qualifying: Leclerc on pole - Raging Bull Verstappen
Another pole position for Charles Leclerc, who outqualified Sergio Perez by just 0.022 sec, and Lewis Hamilton by 0.054 sec, making the battle for pole, as tight as it gets.
A very hot and wet day in Singapore proved to be very challenging for the drivers, who had to cope with the heat, as well as the rain and humidity.
Rain hit the track in FP3, soaking the track, and left a lot of standing water, forcing all drivers to complete their fast laps on the Intermediate tyre in Q1.
Q1: Esteban Ocon didn't manage to progress to Q2, reporting he had some sort of issue with his braking. On the other hand Mick Schumacher had an extraordinary evening at Marina Bay, as he was able to qualify to Q2. Eliminated in Q1: Valtteri Bottas (P16), Daniel Ricciardo (P17), Esteban Ocon (P18), Alex Albon (P19) and Nicholas Latifi (P20).
Q2: Some drivers opted for slicks, but it seemed like it wasn't the correct choice, as all drivers who took the risk didn't manage to progress to Q3. George Russell also seemed like he was struggling, and even stated so, when he spoke with the team, even though he didn't opt for the soft compound. The Brit got eliminated for only Eliminated in Q2: George Russell (P11), Lance Stroll (P12), Mick Schumacher (P13), Sebastian Vettel (P14) and Zhou Guanyu (P15).
Q3: Max Verstappen sounded furious at the end of his last lap of the session, as Red Bull asked the World Champion to abort his effort, as the remaining fuel wouldn't be enough for him to complete his lap and return to the pits safely.
Charles Leclerc scored another pole position, this time under Marina Bay's flickering lights, followed by Sergio Perez in P2 and Lewis Hamilton in P3.
Ferrari's second prancing horse, Carlos Sainz, ended up in P4, followed by Fernando Alonso in P5 and Lando Norris in P6.
Pierre Gasly improved his qualifying position and seems like he's on a high, as he qualified 7th. Max Verstappen turned from a Red Bull to a Raging Bull, as his team asked him to abort his last lap in Q3, even though it was looking like he was going to snatch the pole position away from Leclerc's hands. The issue seemed to be the insufficient amount of fuel the Dutch had in his RB18, and the team judged that he wouldn't be able to complete his effort and return to the pits without running out of fuel. The World Champion ended up in 8th place.
Completing the top 10, Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda took on 9th and 10th, respectively.
Full Qualifying Classification:
