Under the dazzling lights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, a qualifying session filled with unexpected twists culminated in a stunning result: George Russell of Mercedes clinching a spectacular pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix. Meanwhile, the McLaren team, widely tipped as the favorites after a dominant practice pace, saw their hopes unravel in a dramatic Q3 struggle.
The British driver delivered a flawless final lap to top the timesheets, edging out the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and his own teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who locked out the second row. An elated Russell described the feeling as “amazing” after a season where Mercedes has often been playing catch-up.
“Wow, what a lap! The team has worked so hard to bring updates here, and to get that last lap together was an incredible feeling,” Russell said. “The car was hooked up, and around a track like this, where confidence is everything, it just came together perfectly. Tomorrow is going to be a long, tough race, but starting from the front is a massive advantage.”
The celebration in the Mercedes garage stood in stark contrast to the mood at McLaren. Lando Norris, who had been a frontrunner throughout all three practice sessions, could only manage a disappointing P7, while his rookie teammate Oscar Piastri was knocked out earlier in Q2. The papaya-colored cars, which seemed to have the ultimate pace, simply couldn’t translate it when it mattered most.
For Norris, the issue was a failure to get the tyres into the perfect operating window on the final Q3 runs. “We just didn’t hook it up,” a frustrated Norris admitted. “The car was capable of so much more, but I had no grip on that final lap. It’s a massive missed opportunity, and it makes our race tomorrow so much harder starting in the midfield.”
This qualifying result completely reshuffles the deck for Sunday’s race. Russell, now in the prime position to control the race from the start, will be desperate to convert this pole into his and Mercedes’ first win of the season. For the struggling McLarens, their race strategy will now be one of damage limitation, requiring aggressive overtakes and a perfect pit stop strategy to fight their way back to the front.
The stage is set for a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix, proving once again that on the tight, treacherous streets of Marina Bay, predictability is the first casualty.
