Lando Norris to start on pole position for 2024 Singapore GP

Led by consistently strong showings in the practice sessions, McLaren were arguably the hot favourite to start first row for race day of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. 

And true enough - Saturday evening's qualifiers saw McLaren driver, Lando Norris, steadily holding his pace through all three rounds to eventually clinch his first ever pole position in Singapore. The 24- year old Briton clocked an impressive timing of just 1:29.525s for Q3, in what was effectively a one-lap shootout following a Red Flag triggered by a crash involving last year's champion in Singapore, Carlos Sainz. 

From left to right: Red Bull's Max Verstappen; McLaren's Lando Norris; and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. Both Norris and Hamilton eventually fought their way onto the podium for the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, finishing second and third respectively

In a twist of events over the weekend, however, Norris will line up tomorrow alongside what many may consider an unexpected row mate: Current World Driver's Championship (WDC) leader and Red Bull Racing driver, Max Verstappen. 

The Dutch driver had initially struggled to find good pace during the initial practice sessions on Friday, but saw things turning around late afternoon on Saturday, before eventually putting in an also-solid timing of 1:29.728 for Q3.

Norris and Verstappen are joined by seven-time WDC champion, Lewis Hamilton, in the Top 3, who will line up alongside 4^th-placed, fellow Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS driver, George Russell, in the second row. 

Hamilton, who was vocal in his frustration with his W15 car through the weekend, appeared surprised, pleased and relieved with his finish. He had initially been unconfident of even a Q3 placement. 

Despite finishing atop the leaderboard for Q2, Norris' teammate, Oscar Piastri, eventually concluded the qualifying rounds at 5^th place

Although atop of the leaderboard for Q2, forming up right behind in 5^th eventually was Norris' McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who races for only the second time in Singapore this year, after his 2023 season debut.

Piastri starts on Sunday evening next to Haas Ferrari driver, Nico Hulkenberg, who turned in a solid 1:30.150 timing in Q3 to place at 6th. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and and RB Honda RBPT's Yuki Tsunoda finished Q3 at 7^th and 8^th respectively.

With no sign or sound of impending rain, and all drivers starting on soft compounds, it initially seemed that Saturday evening would commence and conclude quickly without any drama. 

Kick Sauber drivers, Zhou Guanyu and Valteri Bottas, were among the first to hit the track - but ultimately found themselves at the bottom of the pecking order for Q1, and thus at the back row of the grid too. (Kick Sauber have yet to earn points for the 2024 season thus far.) 

Williams driver, Franco Colapinto, who is racing for the first time in Singapore, will start on Sunday evening from 12^th position

Also making an early exit were Aston Martin driver, Lance Stroll; Alpine Renault driver, Pierre Gasly; and RB Honda RBPT driver, Daniel Ricciardo. Following a string of disappointing performances through the season, Ricciardo's fate in the sport had seemed particularly embattled coming into the weekend - and with his 16th position placement, it seems now that the Australian driver will have his work further cut out for him on Sunday night. 

Despite both of its drivers showing some impressive pace initially, Q2 eventually saw the elimination of the Williams Racing team, with Alex Albon placing at 11^th and Franco Colapinto placing at 12^th. Still, both drivers are well poised to net points in the actual race.

It's worth remembering that 21-year old Colapinto is the only driver on the grid to be racing on the Marina Bay Street Circuit for the first time, having joined the Williams team mid-season after the shock departure of Logan Sargeant.  

Also eliminated in Q2 were Haas Ferrari driver, Kevin Magnussen; and Esteban Ocon, who was unable to elevate the Alpine Renault team to an upper-mid-grid start. But perhaps the biggest upset exit for the round was Verstappen's Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, who was left with a disappointing 13^th place start.

Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, pictured walking out of his SF-24 car after an early Q3 crash

Alas, the real drama - as mentioned at the start - eventually hit just four minutes into Q3, when Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, spun out right on the final corner before he was about to start his lap, sending his SF-24 car rearwards into a barrier. The crash immediately called into force a Red Flag.

Thankfully, the Spaniard appeared unharmed, and was seen emerging from his SF-24 car quite immediately to claps and cheers of encouragement from the crowd, before cutting across the track to the pit lane. 

Scuderia Ferrari undoubtedly ends Saturday evening on a disappointing note, given its performance last year. Back then, the team saw Sainz clinching pole position during qualifying, before driving a sterling race to eventually win the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, who was initially regarded as one of the pace-setters during the practice sessions this weekend, will start on Sunday evening along Sainz on Row 5, after his timing in Q3 was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Charles Leclerc was unable to translate his formidable pace during the practice sessions into a solid qualifying finish, and starts Sunday evening alongside his teammate from the fifth row

Following right in the aftermath of McLaren's replacement of Red Bull atop of the World Constructors' Standings - and with drivers from both teams now starting from the front row - the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix arrives at a particularly exciting turning point for the season. 

With 476 points across 17 races, McLaren currently lead Red Bull for the first time in the season by 20 points. Having said that, second-placed Norris still has a relatively sizeable 59 points to catch up to Verstappen on the Drivers' Standings.

The FIA also pulled the surprising move of announcing an additional DRS zone right mere days before the race weekend kicked off - bringing the total number to four now for the Marina Bay Street Circuit. 

The fourth and latest DRS zone can be found along Turns 14 to 16 (newly formed since 2023, following the ongoing conversion of the old Floating Platform into Singapore’s NS Square).  

Stay tuned for the results tomorrow!

*Timing deleted for exceeding track limits