SINGAPORE — George Russell took a surprise pole position for Mercedes at the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second and championship leader Oscar Piastri in third.
It was Russell’s first pole position since the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this year — which he went on to win — and he held a comfortable margin of 0.182 seconds over Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Verstappen aborted his final attempt after coming across Lando Norris’ McLaren on a slow lap in the final sector.
Piastri qualifying behind Verstappen and Norris only managing fifth on the grid adds to the narrative that Verstappen has a shot at hauling in the McLaren drivers in the drivers’ standings over the remaining races.
Following consecutive victories at the last two rounds, Verstappen’s gap to championship leader Piastri stands at 69 points.
