What a mistake of the Red Bull clan! In very clear improvement on his last lap, when all his competitors had already crossed the line, Max Verstappen thought he could offer himself a new pole position in Singapore… But his team called him back to the pits a few hectometres from the line, because there was not enough petrol left in his single-seater (There must be 1 liter of petrol left at the end of the session according to the rules, editor’s note). ” Why ? “, asks the Dutchman, then furious, who will later confirm to the press that it was indeed a concern of gasoline. “It shouldn’t happen, it’s very painful,” he confirmed afterwards for Canal+.
An error which directly benefits Charles Leclerc who will therefore start from pole position in this 17th Grand Prix of the season, this Sunday (2 p.m., live on Canal +), on the Marina Bay night circuit, back after a one-year absence due to a pandemic. The Monegasque, currently 2nd in the world rankings, is ahead of Sergio Perez (Red Bull, 0.022 s), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, 0.054 s), and his teammate Carlos Sainz.
Q1 is initially fatal to Esteban Ocon. The Norman from Alpine experienced brake problems and only took 18th place. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa-Romeo) are also on the sidelines. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and especially Charles Leclerc slipped on the wet track, mainly in sector 2, luckily without damage. Q2 then holds no surprises, apart from the 11th position of George Russell (Mercedes) who misses the cut by… 6 thousandths of a second. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) and Fernando Alonso on the other Alpine are still in the race.
The track having dried, the majority of the drivers put on soft tires and it was Hamilton who took matters into his own hands. Verstappen pushes hard and almost hits the safety rail. Leclerc is back in the lead, followed by Perez, Hamilton, Sainz, and Alonso. It was before a completely crazy final with Leclerc’s best time and therefore Red Bull’s mistake with Verstappen.
Winner of the last five Formula 1 Grands Prix, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) is 116 points ahead of his runner-up, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), in the driver standings. The Dutchman will be crowned world champion this Sunday if he wins (without the fastest lap), if Leclerc does not do better than 9th, and if Sergio Pérez, his teammate, reaches beyond 4th place.
But obviously when starting from 8th place, everything becomes more complex. “It’s very hard to overtake here, it’s like in Monaco. We may try something with the strategy, ”warns a Verstappen who will obviously attack very hard. Like always.