Max Verstappen claims pole for Red Bull at F1 Singapore Grand Prix

Published Oct 10, 2026, 10:32 PM

Updated Oct 11, 2026, 04:58 AM

Max Verstappen took pole for Red Bull at the Singapore Grand Prix, his first in Singapore and 50th career pole, after a strong lap of 1min 31.373sec.

He also won the first-ever Singapore sprint race in wet conditions, and said the car was strong all weekend and he wanted a grand prix win too.

Charles Leclerc was second, Lewis Hamilton third, and Verstappen will chase a rare Singapore victory on his 250th race start after recent strong form.

SINGAPORE – A solitary win is all Max Verstappen has to show for the 2026 Formula 1 season, a paltry number by the four-time world champion’s lofty standards.

So when the Red Bull driver arrived in Singapore this week – a stop where he has yet to win in nine attempts – few would have tipped him to turn the tide here.

But Verstappen’s rivals know better than to write him off.

Time and again, the tenacious Dutchman has defied the odds, finding another gear when it matters most, just as he did in the 2025 season when he ended the campaign with six victories in the last nine races.

On Oct 10, his racing mettle was on display again as he claimed his first pole position at the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix to put himself in prime position for a long-awaited victory.

Verstappen topped the timesheets in 1min 31.373sec at the 4.927km Marina Bay Street Circuit, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc just 0.054sec behind in second and Lewis Hamilton, who looked to be the favourite after setting the pace in Q1 and Q2, third fastest.

It was the 50th pole of Verstappen’s career and capped a dominant Saturday for the Red Bull driver, who won the first-ever sprint race in Singapore earlier in the day in wet conditions.

Verstappen said: “Of course, I’m very happy to be on pole because this is the one I wanted. The car has been pretty strong all weekend. Of course there are always things you can look into to be better, but it was enough for pole.

“New regulations and our car works a bit differently compared with previous regulations. We’re stronger in different areas of a corner, but we take it. We’ve been on a positive turn, so for us, it’s very special to take a pole here.”

Known for his unfiltered “Dutch honesty”, the 29-year-old left the media in giggles at the press conference later in the evening when he was asked what a 50th career pole meant to him.

“Better than 49, not as good as 51 so I just try and keep going,” he said with a straight face.

In qualifying on Oct 10, championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes and teammate George Russell finished fourth and sixth, although the latter will start from the back because of a grid penalty. McLaren’s Lando Norris was fifth and teammate Oscar Piastri seventh.

On Oct 11, on his 250th race start, Verstappen will be gunning for one of the few races that he has never won, despite coming close twice after finishing second in 2024 and 2025 .

The Red Bull driver’s patience finally paid off last weekend, when he clinched his first victory in 16 races in the 2026 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia.

He has clearly carried that form into this weekend, winning the first-ever sprint race in Singapore.

He said after the sprint: “We just tried to bring it home and, of course, happy to win here in the sprint. But I also know that I want to win tomorrow.

“I don’t see this as a win in terms of actually winning a grand prix... We just need to try to make sure we are the best one out of them, but it will be hopefully a good battle.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (centre) celebrating pole position with Ferrari’s second- and third-placed drivers Charles Leclerc (right) and Lewis Hamilton. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (centre) celebrating pole position with Ferrari’s second- and third-placed drivers Charles Leclerc (right) and Lewis Hamilton.

ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

The night race in Singapore has been won from pole position 11 times out of 16 editions and in three consecutive editions since 2023.

The 2025 edition was won by Russell, who clinched pole in qualifying then, with Verstappen finishing in second and Norris rounding up the podium.

If Verstappen finishes on the top of the podium, he will become the seventh different winner in Singapore in as many editions since 2018. The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic .

The Singapore Grand Prix is one of the few races that Max Verstappen has never won, despite coming close twice after finishing second in 2024 and 2025. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

The Singapore Grand Prix is one of the few races that Max Verstappen has never won, despite coming close twice after finishing second in 2024 and 2025.

Mercedes’ Antonelli currently leads the drivers’ championship with 325 points, 89 points ahead of teammate Russell, with Hamilton a further 15 points back in third.

Verstappen is fifth with 196 points.

Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.

Singapore Grand Prix

发布于 2026 年 10 月 10 日晚上 10:32

更新于2026年10月11日凌晨4:58

马克斯·维斯塔潘在新加坡大奖赛上为红牛车队夺得杆位，这是他在新加坡的第一个杆位，也是他职业生涯的第 50 个杆位，他的单圈成绩为 1 分 31.373 秒。

他还赢得了新加坡历史上首届雨天短程赛的冠军，并表示赛车整个周末表现都很出色，他也想赢得一场大奖赛的胜利。

查尔斯·勒克莱尔获得第二名，刘易斯·汉密尔顿获得第三名，而维斯塔潘在最近状态强劲的情况下，将在他参加的第250场比赛中力争在新加坡取得难得的胜利。

新加坡——对于四届世界冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘来说，2026赛季F1的成绩仅仅是一场胜利，这对于他来说实在太少了。

因此，当这位红牛车手本周抵达新加坡时——他九次来到这里都未能获胜——很少有人会预料到他会在这里扭转乾坤。

但维斯塔潘的对手们都明白，千万不能低估他。

这位坚韧不拔的荷兰人一次又一次地打破了常规，在最关键的时刻找到了新的动力，就像他在 2025 赛季所做的那样，他在最后九场比赛中赢得了六场胜利。

10 月 10 日，他在一级方程式新加坡航空新加坡大奖赛上再次展现了他的赛车天赋，获得了他的第一个杆位，为期待已久的胜利奠定了良好的基础。

在4.927公里长的滨海湾街道赛道上，维斯塔潘以1分31.373秒的成绩位居榜首，法拉利的查尔斯·勒克莱尔仅落后0.054秒位居第二，而此前在第一节和第二节排位赛中都占据领先位置的刘易斯·汉密尔顿，最终排名第三。

这是维斯塔潘职业生涯的第 50 个杆位，也为这位红牛车手在周六的统治性表现画上了圆满的句号。当天早些时候，他在新加坡湿滑的赛道上赢得了首届冲刺赛的冠军。

维斯塔潘说：“当然，我很高兴能拿到杆位，因为这正是我想要的。整个周末赛车的表现都相当不错。当然，总有一些地方可以改进，但目前的表现足以让我拿到杆位。”

“新规则和我们的赛车相比之前的规则有所不同。我们在弯道的某些方面更强，但我们欣然接受。我们一直处于上升期，所以对我们来说，在这里拿到杆位意义非凡。”

这位29岁的选手以其直言不讳的“荷兰式诚实”而闻名。当晚晚些时候的新闻发布会上，当被问及职业生涯第50个杆位对他意味着什么时，他的回答让媒体记者们忍俊不禁。

“比 49 好，但不如 51，所以我只能继续努力了，”他面无表情地说。

10月10日的排位赛中，梅赛德斯车队的领跑者基米·安东内利和队友乔治·拉塞尔分列第四和第六，但由于受到发车位处罚，拉塞尔将从最后一位发车。迈凯伦车队的兰多·诺里斯排名第五，队友奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里排名第七。

10 月 11 日，维斯塔潘将迎来他的第 250 场比赛，他将力争赢得他从未赢得过的少数几场比赛之一，尽管他在 2024 年和 2025 年都获得了第二名，两次接近胜利。

上周末，红牛车手的耐心终于得到了回报，他在马来西亚雪邦举行的巴林大奖赛上，赢得了2026赛季16场比赛以来的首场胜利。

他显然将这种状态延续到了本周末，赢得了新加坡有史以来第一场短距离赛的冠军。

赛后他说道：“我们只是尽力把比赛带回家，当然很高兴能在这里赢得冲刺赛。但我知道我明天也想赢。”

“我不认为这算是赢得大奖赛的胜利……我们只需要努力确保自己是他们之中最强的，但希望这将是一场精彩的较量。”

红牛车队的马克斯·维斯塔潘（中）与法拉利车队获得杆位的查尔斯·勒克莱尔（右）和刘易斯·汉密尔顿（右）一同庆祝。照片由梁崇俊拍摄。

红牛车队的马克斯·维斯塔潘（中）与法拉利车队获得杆位的第二名和第三名车手查尔斯·勒克莱尔（右）和刘易斯·汉密尔顿一起庆祝杆位。

《海峡时报》照片：梁崇俊

在新加坡举行的夜间比赛中，16 届比赛中有 11 届是从杆位发车并最终获胜的，自 2023 年以来更是连续三届都是如此。

2025 年的比赛由拉塞尔赢得冠军，他在排位赛中获得了杆位，维斯塔潘获得亚军，诺里斯获得季军。

如果维斯塔潘最终登上领奖台最高位置，他将成为自2018年以来新加坡站七届比赛中的第七位不同冠军。2020年和2021年的比赛因新冠疫情而被取消。

新加坡大奖赛是马克斯·维斯塔潘少数几个从未赢得过的比赛之一，尽管他在2024年和2025年两次获得亚军，与冠军失之交臂。ST PHOTO：CHONG JUN LIANG

新加坡大奖赛是马克斯·维斯塔潘从未赢得过的少数几场比赛之一，尽管他在 2024 年和 2025 年两次获得亚军，与冠军失之交臂。

梅赛德斯车队的安东内利目前以 325 分领跑车手积分榜，领先队友拉塞尔 89 分，汉密尔顿落后 15 分排名第三。

维斯塔潘以196分排名第五。

Deepanraj Ganesan 是《海峡时报》的体育记者，主要报道足球、田径、格斗运动和政策相关新闻。

新加坡大奖赛