Singapore Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

After a near-washout in final practice earlier in the day, heavy rain dominating most of the afternoon, qualifying began with Q1 seeing the entire grid venture out on the Pirelli Cinturato Green intermediate tire to test the tricky conditions – the track not fully dry after the earlier rain. Ultimately both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher progressed through to Q2 – each driver benefiting from the evolving track to produce their fastest laps on their second set of intermediates. Magnussen’s best was a 1:55.103 for P7 while Schumacher advanced courtesy of a 1:55.736 for P14.

Q2 started with both Haas F1 Team drivers exiting the garage on used inters. While the track continued to improve, a new set of inters was the call to go for their hot laps. Schumacher ran a 1:54.370 to exit qualifying in Q2 – with the German making his Singapore Grand Prix debut an impressive P13. Magnussen graduated into Q3 thanks to a 1:54.006 effort – the Dane P10 on the timesheet.

Magnussen continued to shine under the lights around the Marina Bay Street Circuit as he was finally unleashed on a set of dry tires. Armed with the Pirelli P Zero Red soft compound for his final run of the evening, Magnussen bagged a 1:51.573 lap to secure P9 on the grid for Sunday’s 61-lap race.

Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari claimed the pole position beating out Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez for top spot.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“It’s been looking positive all weekend but not this positive. P9 was a bit more than we were expecting but it’s great because qualifying in Singapore is very important. I’m super happy that we got a good result here and the team did an amazing job. My new race engineer, Mark Slade, did a fantastic job coming back after some time not running a car as a race engineer, and he was flawless. At the end, in Q3, I told the team that I didn’t know what we should do and to make a decision, and they made absolutely the right ones. It was great just to be able to put all responsibility on them and they pulled it off.”

 

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47, Haas F1 Team

“I think overall we really felt a big step forward compared to yesterday and we had a good feeling in FP3. For qualifying, unfortunately it dried out a bit more than I was hoping for. On that last lap I overcooked the tires going into the second sector so maybe some tools that I used just weren’t right for the conditions, so the rears were moving around a lot and I didn’t make the time up that I wanted to. I’m happy about the feeling and the improvement and the work the team and I have done. If it’s raining tomorrow there are definitely chances because our car is strong in the wet, so let’s do the rain dance and hope there are some droplets coming.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“It’s a very happy day today. The team performed their best under very difficult circumstances with the wet track, and every decision was almost perfect. Everybody did a good job – the engineers, mechanics, strategists, and the drivers obviously – it was a very good day. This puts us in a good spot tomorrow to get points as it’s a difficult track to overtake on, and if you start there, you’ve got a chance. Obviously, the AlphaTauris are close to us as well – one is in front and the other is behind – but it’s possible to get some points tomorrow with both cars.”  
 

Today's Data

Event: Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix – Saturday October 1
Location: Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
Layout: 5.063-kilometer (3.146-mile), 23-turn circuit
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Air Temps: 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Kevin Magnussen qualified 9th, Mick Schumacher qualified 13th 

Free Practice 3 Rundown:

Magnussen: 11th overall (2:01.316), 13 laps completed
Schumacher: 14th overall (2:01.502), 13 laps completed
Fastest: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:57.782)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all 20 drivers – Top 15 advance to Q2

Magnussen: 7th overall (1:55.103) – Advanced to Q2 
Schumacher: 14th overall (1:55.736) – Advanced to Q2
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:53.057)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 advance to Q3

Magnussen: 10th overall (1:54.006) – Advanced to Q3 
Schumacher: 13th overall (1:54.370) 
Fastest: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:52.343) 

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins featuring the Top 10 

Magnussen: 9th overall (1:51.573) 
Pole Winner: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:49.412)