Norris Flies To Fourth F-1 Pole In Last Six Races

Lando Norris in action at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. (McLaren photo)

SINGAPORE – Lando Norris streaked to the pole position for the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix in stellar fashion during Formula One qualifying Saturday at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Only needing one lap in the third and final knockout round, Norris posted a time of one minute, 29.525 seconds around the 19-turn, 3.069-mile course for his fourth pole in the last six races.

It marked the sixth career F-1 pole for Norris in his 122nd grand prix appearance.

“It was tough out there, especially through qualifying,” said Norris. “It was a little difficult to progress much and to get a lot of lap time. More of the guys around me seemed to get quicker and quicker too, so it put me under a little bit more pressure, especially with just one lap at the end. But it was good enough for pole and I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore.

“This is a good feeling. I’ve felt good all weekend; I’ve felt confident,” he continued. “Maybe not so [confident] in quali, but we got the job done.”

Norris is seeking to erase a 59-point deficit to three-time defending world champion Max Verstappen over the final seven races of the season.

His title rival will join him on the front row Sunday, with Verstappen’s Red Bull going 1:29.728 in the final round. Verstappen hopes to secure his eighth win of the season and first since Spain in late June.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes third on the grid at 1:29.841, with his teammate George Russell qualifying fourth for a Silver Arrow lockout of the second row.

Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri starts fifth, followed by Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will roll from ninth after his flying lap was deleted for exceeding the track limits at turn two.

The biggest moment in qualifying came with eight minutes to go in Q3, when Carlos Sainz spun and backed hard into the barriers at the final corner.

It smashed the rear of his Ferrari and meant that Sainz was scored 10th on the grid, with no time in the pole shootout.

Eliminated in Q2 and starting 11th through 15th, respectively, were the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

The five cars failing to advance from the first knockout round were RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and the Kick Sauber pair of Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.

That quintet lines up 16th to 20th in order for the race in Marina Bay.

American broadcast coverage of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix is slated for 8 a.m. ET, live on ESPN.