Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole position after a gripping qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix as Max Verstappen finished only eighth.
Red Bull’s Verstappen appeared to have the pace to take pole but abandoned his penultimate lap after an error and then was told urgently to pit before finishing his final one.
He swore over the radio, saying: “I don’t get it. What are you saying?”
It was later confirmed Verstappen was short of fuel.
Leclerc beat Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez by 0.022 seconds, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third.
Team boss Christian Horner said over the radio they would talk about it afterwards, his point being no-one would then be listening.
It was an unusual session in which the drivers ran throughout without pitting. Teams have to have enough fuel remaining in their cars to provide a specific size of sample to the FIA after qualifying.
And Verstappen confirmed it, saying the team had told him to abort an earlier lap that would have been good enough at the time for pole after he made a mistake at the penultimate chicane, and did not realise he would not have enough fuel to do another lap until it was too late.
“Not enough fuel in the car,” he said. “We got a little surprised we had that extra lap but you can track that, you see that coming. That’s why I don’t really understand how that was missed.
“In hindsight, I should have finished the lap before when they told me to abort to make a gap for the last lap.
“All this was triggered by Pierre [Gasly] in front of me, which is why I had to create a gap for that final lap, because I was getting close to him.
“But that’s not an excuse. I cannot see how much fuel is in the car and we have all the sensors in the world to track these things. So, yeah, incredibly frustrating.”
Verstappen has appeared able to win from anywhere in recent races – doing so from 10th in Hungary, 15th in Belgium and seventh in Italy – but he said: “It’s a bit like Monaco – you cannot really pass.
“I don’t really see a podium or a win.”
Verstappen’s misfortune means it is even less likely than it already was that he could clinch a second world title on Sunday – he needs to win the race and hope other results go his way.
Delight for Leclerc
Leclerc will not care about Verstappen’s problems after taking his second consecutive pole in Singapore – but the first since 2019 as the race returns to the calendar after the pandemic.
Leclerc said: “It was really, really special. Every qualifying in street tracks are super on the limit and even more like that when it is damp. But it worked well.”
It is Leclerc’s ninth pole in 17 races this season and he is just one away from clinching the trophy for most poles of the season, although it will be little consolation after his title hopes were dashed by Ferrari’s collective errors this season.
Hamilton was a contender for pole and was the fastest man on track by far early in the final session – setting laps well clear of all the other frontrunners when out on track at the same time.
But as the session wore on, the Mercedes lost its performance edge and the seven-time champion missed out by 0.054secs on the track where in 2018 he set what he regards as his greatest ever pole lap.
Hamilton said: “I was pushing so hard. I was so close. I was trying so hard. These guys are so quick but I thought maybe with a perfect lap I could get first. It just didn’t happen with the grip in the final lap. But we just keep our heads down and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.”
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took fourth, 0.171secs off pole, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Alpine, the veteran Spaniard just 0.554secs off the pace on a track where he has always excelled and on a weekend Alpine have introduced a major floor upgrade.
Team-mate Esteban Ocon was knocked out in the first session and will start 18th.
Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, Verstappen, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen and the second Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10.
George Russell had a frustrating day in the second Mercedes, blaming engine and braking problems for qualifying only 11th.
Team boss Toto Wolff said the “car let him down”.
Alex Albon qualified 19th on his return after a medical emergency when he spent nearly 24 hours in intensive car after stopping breathing following an appendectomy three weeks ago, 0.6secs ahead of Williams team-mate Nicholas Latifi.
