Singapore Grand Prix 2025: Championship contenders under pressure heading to Marina Bay

George Russell clinches pole in qualifying for Singapore Grand Prix

For the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, George Russell clinched pole position during qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, clocking a time of 1:29.158, which is a new track record at the Marina Bay Circuit. 

The Brit edged out Max Verstappen, who earned his fourth front row start of the season on Saturday, though the defending champion was far from pleased with the outcome, having felt that Lando Norris had held him up on his final lap. 

Norris only managed fifth place, another fairly disappointing outcome after Baku, while his teammate and championship winner-elect Oscar Piastri was third fastest with a time of 1:29.524. Kimi Antonelli split the two McLarens in P4. 

Ferraris Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc took P6 and P7, Isack Hadjar secured P8, and Oliver Bearman and Fernando Alonso round out the front half of the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. 

Notably, there were two key changes to the grid late on Saturday night, with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, who had initially finished in P12 and P13, respectively, both suffering disqualifications after their DRS flaps were found to exceed the maximum permitted openings. 

Singapore GP starting grid

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Title race heats up at Marina Bay on Sunday 

After crashing out at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last week, Piastri was a tad lucky that Norris was unable to take advantage by only picking up six points, which saw the Aussie driver maintain a 25-point lead at the top of the driver standings. 

However, Verstappen went on to win the race and confirm our F1 predictions, and with back-to-back triumphs secured, the Dutchman is now 44 points off Norris in second and 69 behind Piastri at the top. 

For Piastri, this feels like a race in which he cannot afford to finish more than a couple of places behind Red Bull’s frontman and a crash out will be even more devastating. Additionally, a victory for Verstappen will give him huge momentum heading to the United States, where Piastri finished fifth last year.  

One thing that could aid Verstappen this weekend is that Russell looked extremely impressive during qualifying, and the Mercedes may prove a tough machine to pass at Marina Bay in what is expected to be sweltering on-track conditions. 

Indeed, in the lead-up to the race, the FIA deemed the Singapore Grand Prix a “heat hazard” under the new rules that came into effect this season. Humidity has long been a major factor in Singapore and could prove a huge challenge for teams that are unable to manage their cooling equipment. 

2025 F1 Driver Standings

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