Charles Leclerc

Championship leader Max Verstappen settled for eighth but teammate Sergio Perez was quick enough for second. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The German, who is retiring after this season, holds the record for most wins in Singapore (five) ahead of Hamilton (four). Dutchman Verstappen, who leads the championship race by a whopping 116 points, faces an uphill task on Sunday. Mercedes' second driver George Russell did not have a great session as he was unable to keep pace with seven-time world champion Hamilton and settled for 11th.

Charles Leclerc edged out Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton for pole in a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix qualifying session, as Max Verstappen was left fuming ...

10) Yuki Tsunoda 9) Kevin Magnussen 8) Max Verstappen 7) Pierre Gasly 6) Lando Norris 5) Fernando Alonso 4) Carlos Sainz 3) Lewis Hamilton 2) Sergio Perez 1) Charles Leclerc "Of course, it's always a team effort. 1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Charles Leclerc can be mathematically eliminated from winning the 2022 Formula 1 world championship in the Singapore Grand Prix.

The reason he needs to be within 137 points and not 138 points is because Verstappen has already clinched the tiebreaker. Leclerc must be within 137 points of Verstappen after this race to keep his world championship hopes alive. Race winners score 25 points and there is an additional point on offer for the driver who runs the race’s fastest lap. Leclerc is one of five drivers still in championship contention following the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and he is one of four who could be eliminated in the season’s next race, the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit this Sunday, October 2. [Formula 1](http://beyondtheflag.com/formula-one) driver standings, which is where he has been for much of the time since losing the lead with his Spanish Grand Prix retirement back in May, but he could be eliminated with five races remaining on the [22-race 2022 schedule](https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2022.html). Charles Leclerc can be mathematically eliminated from winning the 2022 Formula 1 world championship in the Singapore Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc took a "special" pole in Singapore after switching to dry tyres in Q3, but admitted there was indecision within Ferrari.

But if we do the perfect execution, I’m sure we can win.” “I’m very happy with today’s results, especially considering the Friday we had. I did a mistake on my last lap, so I thought we wouldn’t get pole but it was just enough. Then in Q3, we didn’t really know what to do,” Leclerc said after the session. “We went for the softs at the very last minute and it paid off. Q1, Q2 with the inters.

While Charles Leclerc stormed to pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, Max Verstappen had to settle for P8 after abandoning his final lap.

While Charles Leclerc stormed to pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, Max Verstappen had to settle for P8 after abandoning his final lap. Verstappen looked set to join the trio, going almost a second quicker than Leclerc through the middle sector, and claiming that he had been almost three seconds up on his own delta time – only for his final lap to be called off by Red Bull when he “ran out of fuel”. Ferrari driver Leclerc came out on top amid a flurry of late improvements in Saturday’s qualifying session, the Monegasque’s benchmark time of 1m 49.412s putting him 0.022s clear of Red Bull rival Sergio Perez and 0.054s ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.