Max Verstappen takes ‘very special’ pole for Singapore Grand Prix after Sprint win

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Max Verstappen extended his strong Saturday in Singapore by winning pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix during Qualifying at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Coming on the heels of his Sprint victory, the Red Bull driver set up his front-row start as he targets his first Grand Prix win at the event, despite having debuted in Formula 1 in 2015.

Verstappen said he was delighted with the result, describing the lap margin as tight while praising the car’s overall form across the weekend. “It was good! Just very close; the margins are very close I think between us [the frontrunners] throughout the whole of Qualifying,” he said. “Of course, I’m very happy to be on pole, because this is the one that I wanted. The car has been pretty strong the whole weekend… it was enough for pole, so I’m very happy with that.”

The pole is the 50th of Verstappen’s Grand Prix career. The Dutchman also noted that Singapore is one of only two venues—along with the new-for-2026 “Madring” track—where he has not yet taken a Grand Prix win, underscoring the significance of Sunday’s race for him.

When asked why the outlook appears more favourable for Red Bull this year, Verstappen pointed to regulatory change and the way the car performs under the current rule set. He said: “Yeah, new regulations, and I think our car now works a little bit differently compared to the previous regulations, where we were stronger in different areas of the corner.” He added that the team is trending in a positive direction and called the pole “very special to take… here.”

Verstappen also addressed a potential race-day concern tied to the start, after he described his getaway in the Sprint as “awful.” During that Sprint, the Red Bull driver lost out to Mercedes’ George Russell on the run down to Turn 1, and he acknowledged similar issues earlier in the year at Sepang. “Well, you have to look at it positively,” Verstappen said when asked if he still had concerns heading into Sunday. “It cannot get worse. It can only get better, right? We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”