Max Verstappen claimed provisional pole for Singapore's sprint race, edging George Russell by 0.120 seconds with Charles Leclerc third. The Red Bull driver found pace under the lights while McLaren split its cars — Oscar Piastri fourth, Lando Norris fifth — and Lewis Hamilton lined up sixth in Ferrari colors.
Russell's penalty for a power unit change won't hit until Sunday's grand prix, leaving him free to challenge Verstappen in Saturday's sprint. Behind the top ten, the American storylines ran cold: Cadillac's debut season sputtered with Sergio Perez twentieth and Valtteri Bottas twenty-first, more than five seconds off the pace. Haas fared better with Oliver Bearman thirteenth and Esteban Ocon sixteenth, but neither threatened the points.
Verstappen's margin gives Red Bull the inside line for Saturday, but McLaren's pace and Russell's front-row start keep the sprint wide open.
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