Monaco native Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, is set to make his debut this Sunday in Singapore. The Marina Bay Street Circuit hosted a qualifying session on Saturday that showcased a fierce fight for front-row positions and set the stage for an eventful race. The day was led by Mexican driver Sergio Pérez of Red Bull, who secured second on the grid after a commanding performance in qualifying.
Leclerc carved out an impressive lap of 5,603 meters on Singapore’s demanding track, using soft tires to claim his seventeenth pole position of his Formula One career. The lap clocked in at 1 minute, 49 seconds and 412 thousandths, narrowly beating Pérez by 22 thousandths of a second and leaving Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion with Mercedes, 54 thousandths behind in third place.
Ferrari teammates Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, who has two world titles to his name, will start from fourth and fifth respectively as the action moves to the grid for Sunday’s race. The Dutch championship leader Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, comes into Singapore with the mathematical possibility of wrapping up the title on this weekend. He is currently positioned eighth after a late attempt was canceled due to fuel concerns, a decision that reshaped the final order at Marina Bay.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, currently a strong contender in the midfield battle, will line up sixth on the grid, sharing the second row alongside Alonso after a solid performance in Q3. Verstappen will be accompanied by the French driver Pierre Gasly, who lines up fourth on the grid for AlphaTauri, adding more intrigue to the tightly packed top teams battle.
The grid continued to take shape with Kevin Magnussen of Haas securing ninth position, while Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri ends the session in tenth. The final positions on the starting order reflect a mix of established champions and rising talents, all eyeing a Sunday race filled with strategic complexity, safety car chances, and potential overtakes on the famous Singapore street circuit. [citation attribution: official Formula One communications]