McLaren driver Lando Norris clinches pole position in F1 S'pore Grand Prix 2024

McLaren driver Lando Norris clinched pole position during the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024.

He will be starting first on the grid on Sunday (Sep. 22).

Lining up behind him on the grid are Oracle Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen in second and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in third.

It is Norris' first pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix.

This year sees a championship battle as three-time world champion Verstappen is on the hunt to claim his fourth title. He currently has 313 points.

His main title rival is Norris, who is currently second in the championship with 254 points.

McLaren are leading the World Constructors' Championship with 476 points in total from drivers Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Oracle Red Bull Racing have been facing a performance slump, with Verstappen failing to achieve a win in the past seven races.

The team's Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, who is largely-attributable to their success via his race-winning car designs, was announced to join Aston Martin Aramco F1 team in 2025 on a multi-year deal.

Verstappen has won seven out of 17 races this season so far.

The last race in Azerbaijan was won by Piastri.

Q1

The drivers had difficulty keeping the cars from sliding around the track and into the barriers.

They complained of a lack of grip when driving around the circuit.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was noted for an incident where he failed to follow the race director's instructions. He will see the race stewards after the race.

Daniel Ricciardo failed to perform during a weekend where he was rumoured to have lost his seat at Visa Cash App RB to reserve driver Liam Lawson.

In comparison, his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, emerged 10th during the session.

Drivers out: 

16th: Daniel Ricciardo

17th: Lance Stroll

18th: Pierre Gasly

19th: Valterri Bottas

20th: Zhou Guanyu

Q2

Verstappen's cat-like reactions saved him from peril during the early minutes of the session, though his lap time was deleted as all four of his tyres were off the track.

History repeated itself as his teammate Sergio Perez found himself out of Q2 in 13th place, the same position he qualified in last year.

Drivers out: 

11th: Alexander Albon

12th: Franco Colapinto

13th: Sergio Perez

14th: Kevin Magnussen

15th: Esteban Ocon

Q3

Last year's race winner Sainz brought out the red flag by crashing into the barriers with 8:04 minutes left on the clock. He seemed to have lost control of the car's rear.

"Don't know if it was cold tyres or dirty air," Sainz said. He was uninjured but looked dejected as he returned to the pit lane on foot.

The race resumed at 10:07 pm.

During the restart, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was noted for an unsafe release, which occurs when a car exits the garage and enters the pit lane in a dangerous manner.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had his lap time deleted during the session, resulting in him starting ninth.

In the end, Norris clinched the pole position during the session.

Top 10 starting grid:

10th: Carlos Sainz

9th: Charles Leclerc

8th: Yuki Tsunoda

7th: Fernando Alsonso

6th: Nico Hulkenberg

5th: Oscar Piastri

4th: George Russell

3rd: Lewis Hamilton

2nd: Max Verstappen

1st: Lando Norris

Why is qualifying so important at the Singapore Grand Prix?

The unforgiving concrete barriers and winding corners make Singapore a complicated circuit for overtaking due to the risk of crashing out of the race.

The circuit has since reduced its number of corners from 24 to 19, and increased its number of drag reduction system (DRS) zones to assist overtaking.

However, achieving a good qualifying position is still paramount for all of the 20 drivers on the circuit.

In 2023, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz cruised to victory from pole position. The Singapore Grand Prix was the only race that Red Bull didn't win, having emerged victorious in 21 out of 22 races in the most dominant season of the sport yet.

Top photo via McLaren/X