Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix could be the day where Max Verstappen’s win streak comes to an end.
Verstappen was knocked out of qualifying in the second round on Saturday and will start 11th pending any stewards’ reviews. There were multiple incidents set for review after qualifying, including when Verstappen possibly impeded other drivers at the end of pit lane.
Verstappen is looking for his 11th consecutive win after setting a Formula 1 record with his 10th straight win in the Italian Grand Prix. Red Bull has won a series-record 15 consecutive races dating back to the 2022 season finale as Sergio Perez has won the two races Verstappen hasn’t so far this season. Perez also failed to get out of the second round of qualifying.
Carlos Sainz will start on pole for the second straight race. Sainz put his Ferrari on pole at Monza ahead of Verstappen and barely beat out Mercedes’ George Russell and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for the top spot on Saturday.
Ferrari and Mercedes appear to be the fastest teams so far this weekend. Red Bull looks to be struggling for corner grip at the revamped Singapore circuit. Sainz and Leclerc have consistently posted the best single-lap times throughout practice while Mercedes’ Russell and Lewis Hamilton appear to have very good long-run pace.
Mercedes is the last non-Red Bull team to win a race. Russell won the Brazilian Grand Prix a season ago ahead of Hamilton. The seven-time champion is looking for his first win since 2021 after going winless a season ago. He starts fifth behind McLaren’s Lando Norris in fourth. McLaren added upgrades to Norris’ car ahead of the weekend and he’s been consistently quick alongside the Ferraris and Mercedes cars.
The first qualifying round ended under a red flag for a hard crash by Lance Stroll. He was pushing to advance to the second round and lost control of his car at the end of his lap and his car slammed into the wall.
Singapore Grand Prix starting lineup
1. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
2. George Russell, Mercedes
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
6. Kevin Magnusson, Haas
7. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
10. Liam Lawson, AlphaTauri
11. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
12. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
13. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
14. Alex Albon, Williams
15. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
16. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
17. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
18. Logan Sergeant, Williams
19. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
20. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin