2026 Singapore Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Review

Linus O'Howell

10 hours ago

2 min read

For the first time ever, a Sprint Qualifying session took place on a Friday night in Singapore!

SQ1

In Sprint Qualifying 1, Arvid Lindblad, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, and Carlos Sainz were the six slowest drivers! Arvid Lindblad was the shock exit of SQ1, whilst Lance Stroll was comfortably the slowest of the two Aston Martin drivers (by 7 tenths)! Alex Albon could only manage P19, ahead of the two Cadillacs of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, whilst Carlos Sainz ended up slowest! However, it’s worth noting that there were issues with some drivers getting overtake mode and others not, so it’s honestly impossible to know who was and wasn’t affected! Max Verstappen topped SQ1 for Red Bull, barely ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari!

SQ2

In Sprint Qualifying 2, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso, and Esteban Ocon all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Franco Colapinto came close to making it into SQ3, missing out by less than a tenth (to his teammate), whilst Nico Hulkenberg qualifying only 12th was a bit of a surprise! Oliver Bearman will start P13 for Haas, ahead of the other Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto, whilst Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon will start on the 8th row of the grid! It was a Ferrari 1-2 in SQ2, with Leclerc over 3 tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton!

SQ3

In Sprint Qualifying 3, a rapid 1:31.156 was enough for Max Verstappen to take the first Sprint Pole around the Marina Bay Circuit! Max found 1.6 seconds between SQ2 and SQ3, which is utterly ridiculous! George Russell came out of nowhere to put his Mercedes onto the front row, ahead of Charles Leclerc, whilst Oscar Piastri managed to beat Lando Norris in the McLaren head-to-head battle! Despite looking quick throughout Qualifying, Lewis Hamilton could only manage P6, whilst Andrea Kimi Antonelli was disappointing to only manage 7th! Just like usual, Liam Lawson ended up as the best of the rest, as neither Isack Hadjar nor Pierre Gasly got a lap time on the board (due to track limits)!