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Preamble

The Red Bull driver is fighting his way back into the title race after securing victories in the previous two races. But, to truly increase the pressure on Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, he needs to do something he’s never done before in his F1 career: win in Singapore.

The Singapore street circuit is the only circuit on the current calendar he is still to master. A victory here would send a strong statement across the pit lane to his McLaren rivals. After setting the fastest time in today’s last practice session – a narrow 0.017sec ahead of Piastri with Norris in fifth place – the defending champion knows today’s grid-setting session could be decisive.

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is one of the most favorable tracks for pole-sitters, with 10 of the 15 official grands prix won by the driver who topped qualifying – including Norris last year. Verstappen has never taken pole position here, either. Red Bull will hope that this particular milestone will follow another this weekend. The qualifying session starts at 14:00 BST.

Hamilton Could Face Starting Grid Sanction

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton is being scrutinized for a possible violation under red flag conditions in the final practice session, which was stopped after RacingBulls driver Liam Lawson crashed. Stewards are looking at whether Hamilton accelerated through a series of corners while under the red flag. Should the investigation confirm this, he will incur a starting position drop on Sunday.

Singapore’s qualifying consistently provides high drama and unexpected twists.

• Max Verstappen is looking to break his Singapore duck.
• The seven-time champion faces a stewards’ inquiry for a possible rules breach.
• Qualifying is set to begin at 14:00 British Summer Time.