Lewis Hamilton leads the grid for the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix.
| Row 1 | 1. Lewis Hamilton 1’36.015 Mercedes | |
| 2. Max Verstappen 1’36.334 Red Bull | ||
| Row 2 | 3. Sebastian Vettel 1’36.628 Ferrari | |
| 4. Valtteri Bottas 1’36.702 Mercedes | ||
| Row 3 | 5. Kimi Raikkonen 1’36.794 Ferrari | |
| 6. Daniel Ricciardo 1’36.996 Red Bull | ||
| Row 4 | 7. Sergio Perez 1’37.985 Force India | |
| 8. Romain Grosjean 1’38.320 Haas | ||
| Row 5 | 9. Esteban Ocon 1’38.365 Force India | |
| 10. Nico Hulkenberg 1’38.588 Renault | ||
| Row 6 | 11. Fernando Alonso 1’38.641 McLaren | |
| 12. Carlos Sainz Jnr 1’38.716 Renault | ||
| Row 7 | 13. Charles Leclerc 1’38.747 Sauber | |
| 14. Marcus Ericsson 1’39.453 Sauber | ||
| Row 8 | 15. Pierre Gasly 1’39.691 Toro Rosso | |
| 16. Kevin Magnussen 1’39.644 Haas | ||
| Row 9 | 17. Brendon Hartley 1’39.809 Toro Rosso | |
| 18. Stoffel Vandoorne 1’39.864 McLaren | ||
| Row 10 | 19. Sergey Sirotkin 1’41.263 Williams | |
| 20. Lance Stroll 1’41.334 Williams |
Franky (@franky)
15th September 2018, 15:06
Waiting for people to say Ferrari had the fastest car here and in Monza.
Franky (@franky)
15th September 2018, 15:09
Monza was close but there is no question to who is faster here.
Tony Megwai
15th September 2018, 15:06
Hamilton was off the chart
Megs (@b-rock)
15th September 2018, 15:07
Hamilton was epic!
Aldoid
15th September 2018, 15:07
It’s getting harder & harder to deny that Hamilton isn’t top of the class. That was mega.
Miani (@miani)
15th September 2018, 15:49
I only see Verstapen at his level. And maybe Leclerc in the future.
Mike
15th September 2018, 15:08
Mega Max! Let’s see what the nay sayers have to say…his engine was tuned down after Q1!
hyoko
15th September 2018, 17:57
That’s a bit beside the point, nobody criticizes Max for lack of pace
Mashiat (@mashiat)
15th September 2018, 15:08
Brilliant from Max and Lewis. Underwhelming from Ferrari.
bosyber (@bosyber)
15th September 2018, 15:17
Yep, those two both did a great lap – as soon as the F1tv has the replay available I’m going to try comparing those two laps! And indeed, not sure what Ferrari got wrong there (tyres?)
bosyber (@bosyber)
15th September 2018, 15:18
Oh, right, Vettel had that lock-up into T13, that won’t have helped him.
Miani (@miani)
15th September 2018, 15:49
And Perez too, far ahead as best of the rest.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
15th September 2018, 16:02
@miani Yeap, Perez, Alonso and Leclerc also did brilliantly.
Jere (@jerejj)
15th September 2018, 15:08
I can already see Seb and Max crashing into each other into T1 (hopefully not, though.)
Johnny H.
15th September 2018, 15:16
Whole season Max didn’t had a first lap accident! In matter of fact almost never in his whole racing career!
bosyber (@bosyber)
15th September 2018, 15:27
last year a few when he was at the front of the grid, all with Vettel… (and of course Kvyat in Austria).
Johnny H.
15th September 2018, 15:31
Vettel was wrong at Singapore last year for sure! Don’t push that one into Max’s shoe’s
bosyber (@bosyber)
15th September 2018, 15:52
Yeah, I didn’t imply Verstappen was the cause of the accident(s).
Pjotr (@pietkoster)
15th September 2018, 15:55
Max is not the only one on the grid. However around him it is to move aside or get busted on the first lap. They all know that now.
Johnny H.
15th September 2018, 15:29
If U aren’t sure, watch all F1 starts on the F1 youtube channel!
Mach1 (@mach1)
15th September 2018, 15:08
OK place your bets……..who will Max Vercrashen punt off the track on the first corner tomorrow? Vettel or Hamilton?
Seriously though….Verstappen in second has the potential for first lap/corner drama……
Johnny H.
15th September 2018, 15:20
Whole season Max didn’t had a first lap accident! In matter of fact almost never in his whole racing career!
Mach1 (@mach1)
15th September 2018, 15:36
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkAoSghdD6Y
There is at least one example of an over optimistic lunge into the first corner from a start.
I was also specifically referring to last year. While he may not have been to blame, he was involved. Verstappen quite often does not hold back, or rather back out of potential moves, for better or for worse. So with a track like this, that first corner has potential for some action.
Johnny H.
15th September 2018, 15:41
Great, at least you found one!
Johnny H.
15th September 2018, 15:43
Maybe you search for the definition of “almost never”
Jeroen (@)
15th September 2018, 15:23
Really, what about Vettel?
JK
15th September 2018, 15:32
I expect Crashilton or Sercrashtian.
MacLeod (@macleod)
15th September 2018, 15:45
That means Lewis should defend but not like Vettel did because i think Max would just let him crash into him. Lewis is probaly smarter and will defend but will not push Max of the track.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
15th September 2018, 15:08
Wow, Hamilton with something pretty much perfect. Same for Max… Yeah, Ricciardo definitely isn’t leaving cause of him
Patrick (@anunaki)
15th September 2018, 15:08
What a lap from Lewis, can’t wait to see the onboard.
Max brilliant in a car that was having trouble with the engine even in qualy.
Patrick (@anunaki)
15th September 2018, 15:10
And 20km down on topspeed
Hugh (@hugh11)
15th September 2018, 15:10
Incredible lap from Hamilton, but where did Merc’s pace come from? I thought they’d be half a second off Ferrari and a couple of tenths off Red Bull
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:48
Better car. Waiting for that race where Ferrari is outqualifying Mercedes by 0.5sec to justify those best engine, best car titles.
Ambrogio
15th September 2018, 16:26
Well see Ham gave 0.7 to Bottas, Vettel 0.1 to Kimi. It’s not only the car.
Ed
15th September 2018, 18:06
The pace came from the lock up Vettel had at turn 13 after doing a purple on the first sector.
And on Hungaroring and Spa, it came from heavens, in the form of water.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
15th September 2018, 15:10
I’m SO tired.
Broke84 (@broke84)
15th September 2018, 15:11
The Williams car is so awful. Over a second slower than the next slowest McRenault.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
15th September 2018, 15:16
@broke84 I don’t get why they don’t just do all the practice programs and use the resource points to improve chassis and aerodynamics. Worked for me on F1 2018.
toiago (@toiago)
15th September 2018, 16:37
Well, they have been doing it @mashiat. Their aerodynamic surfaces are always covered with FlowVis on Fridays. Maybe they are concentrating on next year’s effort? But still, they have also to spend some time preparing for each GP at hand, otherwise they’d be even more hopelessly slow.
Boudi
15th September 2018, 15:12
Shocked!
L (@lebz)
15th September 2018, 15:13
As a Ferrari fan, it’s not that nice, but Congrats to Hamilton. He’s showing that he’s serious about life and a much better driver, unlike both our drivers.
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
15th September 2018, 15:20
Haha
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
15th September 2018, 15:21
That was meant for @mashiat above. Agreed, fingerboy needs to go
JK
15th September 2018, 15:13
Hamilton impressive. But Max from another planet. Incredible lap with a Renault engine.
Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
15th September 2018, 15:16
As a Ferrari and Seb fan I don’t love the outcome but what a lap by Lewis.
Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
15th September 2018, 15:17
It is gonna be spicy with Max, Lewis and Seb tomorrow at the start.
Todfod (@todfod)
15th September 2018, 15:20
Was in a state of shock when I saw Lewis’ lap time go 1.3 seconds under Kimi’s lap time. That was one of the most incredible qualifying laps I’ve witnessed in a very long time. Has to be the lap of the season so far. Wow. Simply incredible.
Take a bow Mr.Hamilton.
Hats off to Max as well.
toiago (@toiago)
15th September 2018, 15:23
That was exactly my reaction as well. What a stunner of a lap. He is not my cup of tea, but there is no denying that he is top notch.
Patrick (@anunaki)
15th September 2018, 15:23
It would be great to put Max in the same car as Lewis. Never going to happen but man will that be great
bosyber (@bosyber)
15th September 2018, 15:29
It felt like everyone in the pitlane, including the Mercedes guys, and Vettel, felt like that too @toiago, @todfod!
toiago (@toiago)
15th September 2018, 15:33
@bosyber True, Vettel looked incredibly deflated at the end of Qualifying. He knows that he made a mistake on his last lap, but I think that with such a gap he must have realised that he might not have the proper tools to take the challenge to Hamilton over the remainder of the season. The brief advantage they had from Germany to Italy seems to be gone entirely.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:30
Indeed, you made such a bad prediction that I wonder how beliveable are your predictions about how good the drivers are….
MacLeod (@macleod)
15th September 2018, 15:47
First reaction was wauw that is really a party mode but then i saw Max just 0.3 behind him so it was a very good lap!
Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
15th September 2018, 15:22
What happened with Ferrari? No pace in Q3.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:26
What I keep telling you every race: not the best car!
MacLeod (@macleod)
15th September 2018, 15:49
Or just not the best drivers!
Blazzz
15th September 2018, 16:48
+1
Todfod (@todfod)
15th September 2018, 18:51
@mg1982
They just don’t have a top notch driver
GPfan
15th September 2018, 15:22
Hamilton is continuing to prove he is the best driver on the grid.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:27
By 0.6sec?!? Keep dreaming! VER is faster.
papaya
15th September 2018, 15:37
Mercedes is 3rd best car at Singapore, look at where’s Bottas all FP and qualifying seasons. Hamilton himself make up for the 0.6s deficits.
Patrick (@anunaki)
15th September 2018, 15:41
It’s is 4th right?
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:43
Hey, look where RAI qualified, Ferrari is 6th best car on the grid. VET made up 1sec of deficit.
papaya
15th September 2018, 16:21
I already said Mercedes is the 3rd best car at Singapore…
Can’t you see without engine problem, Max would be getting 1’35.x
Without the locked-up, Vettel could be on 1’35.x as well. He has topped the sector 1 time.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:25
– Wow, another race where that fast Ferrari loses the PP by more than 0.6sec!!! – Another race where Ferrari’s performance is hyped, Mercedes’ downplayed… just to end up with another Mercedes pole position.
– That Ferrari is so good, yet again that race where they outqualify the competition by such margin doesn’t happen at all.
– Another race where RAI’s greatness fell short. But, of course, it’s just another race where Ferrari did not let him race VET…..
– Another race where BOT proves to be nothing special.
– Another race where HAM contribution is hyped.
Wonder what’s gonna be said now by the Mercedes/HAM fans, especially that they’re not guessing AT ALL the outcome. Todfod said he expects Ferrari to beat the next best by 0.5sec or more….
Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
15th September 2018, 15:29
I agree. I think people believe sometimes that Ferrari is a dominant car and the reason Ham leads is only because of his driving skills. I still think Ferrari and Mercedes are equal at least in race pace and qualifying pace changes each race.
toiago (@toiago)
15th September 2018, 15:37
It’s all about perception. Mercedes and Hamilton have been playing that card very well over the last couple of races where Ferrari were in front but couldn’t capitalize. Now they’re reaping the rewards, making themselves look like the underdog – when they clearly are not. It’s a bit annoying to be honest, because Mercedes clearly have a very good car, but it’s how things work in F1.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:42
You can play cards very well if you have good cards too. This race proves Mercedes is in front.
Martin
15th September 2018, 15:48
Proves Hamilton is in front, Vettel needs to step up
toiago (@toiago)
15th September 2018, 15:50
@mg1982 I was trying to say exactly that. They have been making themselves look poorer than they actually are. One thing is being modest or humble even, but they put themselves down when their situation is actually very good. I guess that’s why some people are annoyed at Mercedes, because this attitude just doesn’t seem genuine. And this is not to take away the merit from Hamilton, that was a stunner of a lap, absolutely incredible.
bosyber (@bosyber)
15th September 2018, 15:56
To be fair @toiago, @mg1982, after Monza Mercedes did say that while they didn’t see what a non-damaged Vettel could have done, they looked like the fastest car on Sunday.
JK
15th September 2018, 15:38
Just imagine Max with Ferrari or Mercedes power….
Ed
15th September 2018, 15:55
Hamilton way faster than Bottas.
Vettel slightly faster than Kimi.
Vettel clearly underperformed.
If he want a shot at the title he has to operate on a level beyond his semi retired team mate.
toiago (@toiago)
15th September 2018, 16:05
That lock-up on turn 13 cost him a shot at 2nd place. I honestly think Hamilton’s lap was out of reach. He is going to have to dig deep for tomorrow and hope for a mega start. At least he is on the clean side of the grid.
AMG44 (@amg44)
15th September 2018, 15:43
@mg1982 why dont you just accept that Hamilton is a very very fast Driver. All time pole record holder. On his day nothing no one comes close.
It will make your life and ‘analysis’ easier.
That Ferrari was the favourite for the pole position but the two fastest drivers Lewis and Max beat the Top Ferrari not to mention destroyed their respective teammates.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
15th September 2018, 17:31
Why do you use the word race to describe qualifying? The race is tomorrow. This is qualifying. If you judge all the other laps like it was the race, then Bottas was actually quicker than him in the previous 2 sessions. This was very impressive from Hamilton but it isn’t the race and doesn’t conclude everything as it is just the starting positions on the grid. Based on most of the runs today including practice, Bottas was very close to Hamilton indeed. So that could potentially be the case in the race. Hamilton was so close to being knocked out in Q1. Only 2 cars needed to do quicker runs and he would have been out. Hamilton found the pace where it mattered, but he’s been a bit inconsistent over all of the sessions so far this weekend including several lock ups and slides. I can’t take anything away from his pole lap, as that really was outstanding and he deserves credit for it. But we can’t predict anything with certainty tomorrow.
Michal (@michal2009b)
15th September 2018, 15:29
I know Vettel and Ferrari bashing is very popular right now, but you don’t lose out by such a margin without making significant errors unless the car is not that great. Kimi’s lap was clean yet he was nowhere near Hamilton or even Verstappen. They know how to drive a car. Kudos to Lewis and Max, they did fantastic job though.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th September 2018, 15:37
+1.
Plus, other things: what’s the probability that ONLY HAM is so great every race, have incredible laps, while the others keep messing their lap times all the time. Extremely small. VER lap felt top notch too… so, yeah, the final conclusion is that in most cases the final result is down to the cars.
bosyber (@bosyber)
15th September 2018, 15:58
So why is Bottas not right next to Hamilton then @mg1982? Yes, similar thing for Verstappen – did much better lap than his team mate. I still believe Ferrari got the tyre preparation wrong, and that harried Vettel enough that he also made at least one mistake in his lap – he’s not that much slower than the mercedes. So, in this case, the gaps are due to the drivers.
Wooolfy1
16th September 2018, 0:30
Perhaps this grid is truly the order in which the current drivers are stacked. I have to agree with you, those times were down to the drivers mostly, as the top 6 cars are more or less quite similar.
Raymondu999
15th September 2018, 15:46
Anyone know the top 10’s starting tyres?
Alex (@arobbo)
15th September 2018, 15:53
Hmph, Last time Lewis started on pole in Singapore with Seb starting 3rd was in 2012, in the race Lewis DNF’d and Seb won.
Nigel
15th September 2018, 16:33
Great lap from Perez.
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
15th September 2018, 16:57
Absolutely fantastic job by Perez. His was the third special lap of the day along with Lewis’s and Max’s.
Joao (@johnmilk)
15th September 2018, 18:21
Perez’s lap was better imo