Max Verstappen lit up the streets of Singapore to pip George Russell to sprint pole.
The Dutchman, who claimed his first win of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia last weekend, was in imperious form again as his Red Bull showed further signs of progress.
Russell saved his best until last but was unable to topple the four-time world champion, finishing 0.120 seconds adrift as he bumped Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc down the third.
Oscar Piastri claimed fourth for Saturday’s 21-lap dash, ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli was off the pace throughout the session and could manage only seventh – 0.693 seconds off the pace to raise further doubts over the upgrade Mercedes brought last weekend.
Antonelli has one hand on the title, after team-mate Russell’s power-unit failure in the closing stages last week gave the Italian an 84-point lead with just seven rounds to run.
Russell – running the Mercedes car without the upgrade – will start the main race on Sunday from the back of the grid after taking a new power unit, in a further blow to his slender title hopes.
Verstappen does face a stewards’ investigation for overtaking under yellow flags.
Hamilton was on the radio to accuse his old rival of overtaking him as the flags waved following Sergio Perez’s contact with the barriers and resulting debris in the opening qualifying run.
There was a delay to the start of the second part of sprint qualifying after the FIA discovered an issue with the timing system, with some times in the opening session not initially registered.
The governing body confirmed it was “investigating whether we can proceed with the rest of the session”.
Thankfully it could, after a 16-minute halt before the crowds gathered under the lights around the Marina Bay Circuit had cars back on track.
Leclerc led Hamilton in a Ferrari one-two in the second session, after Verstappen had topped the first, to hint at an open fight for pole.
So it proved but it was Verstappen who pulled the stellar lap out the bag in the closing stages and the four-time world champion will hope to continue his step forward with sprint victory on Saturday.
Singapore has been affected by haze as a result of wildfires in Indonesia which have been raging in recent weeks, with reports that air quality has dropped to its worst level so far this year.
The city’s famous landmarks, including the Marina Bay Sands, have been shrouded in it as the F1 circus arrived this week, while many schools in neighbouring Malaysia have been shut due to the pollution.
But Grand Prix organisers are confident it will have no impact on the planned programme both on and off the track, stating that all weather conditions including haze will be monitored as normal across the weekend.
An F1 spokesperson added: “There is absolutely no risk to the event and the conditions where the event is taking place is not a concern.”
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