Red Bull disaster puts Sainz on pole position in Singapore

Red Bull’s problems at Marina Bay confirmed Verstappen And Perez They were eliminated prematurely in the second quarter. A situation that has not happened in Formula 1 since the 2018 Russian GP could greatly complicate the fight for victory this Sunday (15:00).

The first qualifying round has been developed. There is too much traffic on the track and led to the first crash of the weekend when Lance Stroll went out at the exit of the final corner entering the finish line, crashing into a full-throttle spin and wall at the Marina Bay circuit. At high speed with seconds remaining in the 1st quarter.

The Canadian left the car voluntarily and apparently faced no major consequences. severe impact. His car was destroyed and he left many ruins are scattered across the runway The session was interrupted for minutes due to damage to the protective barriers that needed to be replaced.

After the red flag for the Stroll incident, Verstappen stopped for a few seconds at the Pit Lane exit to block two Mercedes, and the FIA ​​announced an investigation into his action towards Tsunoda, which could cost the Dutchman a sanction.

They were eliminated at this unusual end of the first qualifying round. Stroll, Bottas, Piastri, Sergeant and Zhou.

[Consulta la clasificación general del Mundial de F1]

The second quarter started late and Sainz and Alonso were on track, but the Asturian had difficulty lapping. Verstappen started from the front, albeit without great fanfare and with a cautious time (1.32.3); It didn’t take long for Magnusen, Norris, Sainz and surprisingly Alonso to beat him in succession, improving his Q1 time by seven tenths on the soft tyre. new (1.31.8) to move forward temporarily.

Two Red Bulls, KO

While Russell reduced the two-time Spanish champion’s time by 92 per thousand, both Red Bulls also Verstappen and Pérez was in the elimination zone with 4 minutes left and more problems than expected. Neither Max nor Pérez managed to improve their times and were eliminated. Pérez spun on his final lap and Alpha Tauri’s junior pilot Lawson left out the World Championship leader, who shouted on the radio: “I’m in shock, what a terrible experience.” Gasly, Albon and Tsunoda also did not make the cut.

After being the fastest on Friday, Carlos Sainz continued to lead in the third free practice this morning and entered the third quarter with the best time (1.31.4) ahead of Russell and Alonso. Two Ferraris were able to reserve a set of new tiresA very important strategic advantage in the determined fight for pole position.

[Calendario de la temporada de F1]

Pole

The dashing Sainz started with a flawless lap (1.31.170), which earned him provisional pole position, ahead of teammate Leclerc by almost three tenths. After two Ferraris Norris (McLaren), Russell and Hamilton (Mercedes) relegated Alonso to sixth.

One last attempt remained and Sainz did not fail. Under pressure from Norris, Leclerc and Russell, Carlos shone in the first sector and kept his two direct rivals at bay in the not-so-spectacular second sector. He gave it his all in third place, taking his second consecutive pole after Monza and the fifth of his F1 career with a lap at the limit (1.30.984).

Russell finished second, 72 thousandths behind the Spaniard Leclerc will be third on the grid. Fernando Alonso failed to squeeze on the final lap And he fell to seventh place; This was undoubtedly not the result Aston Martin was hoping for and took it away from its dream of finishing 33rd at a circuit where it had won two victories.