Singapore Virtual Grid Walk: Russell vs Verstappen into Turn 1

Let's be honest here, Russell and Verstappen do not share the best track record, and whenever they are fighting for the same piece of tarmac, things get spicy.

And to make matters even more interesting, the reigning Formula 1 Champion, who was livid to miss out on pole, blaming Lando Norris for that, will not want to stay long behind the #63 Mercedes, so look out for some Turn 1 action as the lights go out on Sunday night at the Marina Bay Circuit.

Mercedes surprised everyone with their pace in Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, and Russell's lap in Q3 was too good to be challenged, and while Verstappen attempted to deny him, his incident with Norris meant it was a case of what could've been.

But while Russell and Verstappen will be busy fighting into Turn 1, neither could emerge in the lead, as the cool Oscar Piastri will be lurking in third place, biding his time, while Kimi Antonelli in fourth also has something to prove after recent criticism from Toto Wolff—the rookie has improved since, mind you.

Lando Norris starts from fifth on the grid on a day where McLaren, once again, did not live up to the hype that they were the team to beat; they were beaten.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc qualified sixth and seventh after showing earlier promise, especially Hamilton, who was fastest in Q1.

And while the seven-time F1 Champion can be happy for beating his teammate this time, he was bitter, as he felt Ferrari did not execute their qualifying properly, which meant his tyres were not in the proper temperature window on his outlap. Leclerc, on the other hand, lamented an unpredictable SF-25.

Hamilton has done well around Singapore historically, so will he deliver something special in the race, and how will the Ferrari duo behave going into Turn 1?

Behind the Ferraris we have two drivers with a lot to prove. Isack Hadjar starts from eighth, which he was unhappy with, and will be pushing for more, while Ollie Bearman will be hoping for points after an impressive qualifying on Saturday night at the Marina Bay Circuit.

Fernando Alonso starts from P10, a disappointment given how fast his AMR25 appeared to be on Friday, but then Aston Martin cannot defy the laws of physics, and the Spaniard did well to make Q3, while Lance Stroll starts from 15th, promoted two places after Williams' disqualification.

As we leave the top ten, we start with Williams, who were hoping for better than the P12 and P13 that Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz delivered initially.

But then the situation became even worse as the FIA scrutineering found the rear wings on both FW47s to be illegal and sent them packing down the order, as they will start from the last row.

As for the others, Nico Hulkenberg responded to the recent qualifying beating he was getting from Gabriel Bortoleto and starts from P11; the Brazilian starts from P14.

But behind Hulkenberg, we have a driver who will be looking to redeem himself after crashing twice this weekend. Liam Lawson starts from P12 and will be targeting a decent result. Mind you, he scored points here back in 2023.

And despite his woes, Lawson managed to outqualify Yuki Tsunoda—sorry, the ever-improving Tsunoda—who was one second off Verstappen's pace. We know the Japanese driver does not have the new front wing Verstappen has, but that doesn't justify the one-second gap.

It was a horrible weekend for Alpine so far, with Pierre Gasly breaking down in Q1 and starting from P18, while his teammate, Franco Colapinto, starts two positions ahead in P16.

What kind of miracles can the Aston Martin pit wall do to help Stroll finish ahead of Alonso? What prospects does Ocon have starting from P17?