(PRIMASPORT) SINGAPORE – He's suddenly woken up, now try to stop him. Already poleman and winner in Malaysia, four hours after clinching victory in the Sprint Race where he once again started ahead of everyone, Max Verstappen has secured pole position ahead of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix. And he does so as an absolute champion, given that in qualifying before the final race he had been consistently beaten by Ferrari, who instead had to settle for second and third on the grid, respectively, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli finished fourth, while the other Mercedes, led by George Russell, will start at the back of the pack due to the penalty already known from Sepang.
And yet, qualifying had gotten off to a thrilling start for Red Bull: already forced to retire due to technical problems in the afternoon's Sprint Race, Hadjar completed his harrowing Saturday in the evening, unable to even take to the track with a blown engine. Verstappen, on the other hand, seemed to be somewhat overshadowed, with Hamilton dominating Q1, Leclerc second, more than three and a half tenths behind, and everyone else even slower. However, his Q2 ended just one tenth behind the number 44 Ferrari, while the Monegasque's car suffered grip and braking issues. But just when it counted, the Dutchman delivered his trademark performance with a time of 1:31.373, which no one else could match. It was a matter of details: Leclerc finished second, 54 thousandths off pole, Hamilton third, 123 thousandths behind after two very fast laps but with a few minor glitches. Antonelli, fourth, finished 0.189 behind. And the Red Bull champion is now aiming to win the Singapore Grand Prix as well, in addition to the Madrid Grand Prix, the only one he has so far failed to win in his extraordinary career.
«"It went well, we're very close and the gaps between us are really small. They were throughout qualifying, so I'm very happy to be on pole. It was what I wanted, we felt strong all weekend," Verstappen said after just securing pole position. "With these new regulations, Red Bull works a little differently everywhere, we're strong in different points of the corner, and while elsewhere our difficulties may have increased, here in Singapore things are better." Leclerc, on the other hand, was satisfied but honest in acknowledging his difficulties: "I set a good lap right at the end, but I struggled a lot during these qualifying sessions. In Q1 and Q2 I had some problems with the brakes, which on a track like this is never nice. In Q3, however, things went well, despite a few mistakes. There was even the potential for pole, but Max did a better job than me.".
Finally, Hamilton is kicking himself: "It was another difficult Q3 for me, which was a shame because we had made some changes specifically for qualifying and the car felt much better. I felt like the pace was getting better and better. That's why we pushed harder and harder session after session. But on the first lap, which turned out to be the good one, I had a little skid between Turn 1 and Turn 2. 3, which I It cost me two tenths. In the next one I struggled a lot again with these skids, the margin to find the limit or exceed it was really tiny. Maybe in Q1 and Q2 I found ideal conditions, but the track is also progressing and unfortunately in Q3 things went differently. Red Bull now has a great car, after the update in Baku. But we have two Ferraris up front and tomorrow we will be able to work as a team to put pressure on Max. We have to keep up with his pace, it's the only way to win. Working together as a team, who knows, maybe we can overtake him." The potential is there, considering the growth of the SF-26 and also a desire that Lewis perhaps had never shown at this level since his arrival at Ferrari. It's a shame that there is another thoroughbred to beat who has suddenly returned to racing at the highest level like Max Verstappen. (PRIMASPORT)
