SINGAPORE (AFP) — Charles Leclerc clinched pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, but Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen was furious after finishing just eighth fastest in wet conditions.
Leclerc clocked 1min 49.412s in his Ferrari to lead the timesheets by 0.022s over Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in Lewis Hamilton‘s Mercedes.
Verstappen, who could mathematically retain his world title this weekend, looked set to challenge Leclerc’s time on his last fast lap before his Red Bull engineer told him to retire and return to the pits.
The Dutchman set the fastest sector first, then launched a tirade on the team radio after being ordered to stop.
Only the top 10 penalty shootout for pole came on slicks at the Marina Bay Night Circuit.
Most of qualifying was on intermediate tyres, with the track still too wet to risk the slicks and unforgiving concrete walls of the downtown circuit posing an ever-present threat of loss of control.
“In Q3 we didn’t really know what to do,” Leclerc said of the switch to slicks.
“We made the last-minute decision to go soft – and it paid off.
“I mean, it was really, really difficult.”
Monegasque Leclerc can prevent Verstappen from sealing the championship this weekend by finishing more than eighth in Sunday’s race.
Leclerc now has a positional advantage on the starting grid over the Dutchman, who starts from the fourth row on a track that offers few overtaking opportunities.
Verstappen celebrated his 25th birthday with a cake in the Red Bull team hospitality on Friday, but had nothing to celebrate a day later.
He must win the race, score 22 points more than Leclerc and see teammate Perez fourth or lower to retain his world title with five races to go.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell found no grip on his intermediate tires and failed to reach Q3 after being only 11th fastest.
“Sorry guys, I couldn’t do anything. I really fought,” the Englishman said on the radio. “Pity.”
Alex Albon did well arriving in Singapore three weeks after suffering appendicitis at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and complications following surgery.
However, the native Briton found no grip or speed in his Williams and retired in 19th place in the first qualifying session.
