Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris beat title rival Max Verstappen to pole position in a dramatic qualifying session at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris was 0.203 seconds quicker than Verstappen, with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in third and fourth places.

Their times came in a one-lap shootout after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz forced the session to be stopped with a crash early on at the start of his first flying lap.

Norris heads into Sunday’s race looking to eat into Verstappen’s 59-point championship lead.

But Verstappen will be pleased with a strong performance on a track where Red Bull struggled last season and were expecting to do so again in 2024.

Read the full report here

Image source, Getty Images

A mouthwatering start to the Singapore Grand Prix awaits us tomorrow.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on the front row, the two Mercedes drivers sat just behind, the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and the RB of Yuki Tsunoda representing the midfield runners in the top-10 fight.

Please deliver us an exciting race, F1 gods.

Right, there's still a decent chuck of Saturday left to enjoy, so I'll set you all free.

We'll be firing up the live page at 12:00 BST on Sunday to build up to the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lights out at the Marina Bay Street Circuit are at 13:00 BST.

See you tomorrow!

Rosanna Tennant, BBC F1 correspondent, Andrew Benson, and editor-in-chief at Autosport, Rebecca Clancy, preview the Singapore Grand Prix.

The team discuss the title battle, if Red Bull will struggle again this weekend and whether Lando Norris can continue to close the gap on Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.

Listen on BBC Sounds here

And don't forgot the team will be back with a qualifying review tonight.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton will start the race on the second row in third. He said: “The crowd has been incredible today, huge thank you to everyone for the support.

“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long and I’ve just been working and working trying to get back up there. The car all of a sudden came alive in qualifying for the first time in a while, it’s a little bit of a shame because we were getting into a rhythm, the same for all of us.

“Getting that lap at the end was a little bit tricky but I think there was a tiny bit more left in the car. The mechanics we’ve been moving up and down on balance changing everything each day, the mechanics have just been faultless. I hope we are in a good position to fight for the front tomorrow.

On what the race pace might be like, he added: “I have no idea, one day at a time. It was a lot better today, the first time we had any front end and we’ve seen the McLarens be so quick each weekend. With management I’m hoping we can try and keep up with these guys, maybe not the McLarens, but we will be giving everything.”

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who will line up alongside Lando Norris on the front row in P2: "I think the whole of qualifying went quite well. We managed to improve the car, run after run, after FP3. I'm happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday.

"Q3 was tough. Of course, your lap gets cancelled because of the double yellow, then everyone only has one run to do the lap, so you don't want to overdo it. I'll take second. I'm happy with that.

On issues with the tyres during qualifying: "They're always quite difficult to get in the window. Tyres can give you a lot of lap time or lose you a lot of lap time. I think for us in qualifying it worked quite well.

On Sunday's race: "Tomorrow, of course, a bit difficult to say. Singapore a lot of things can happen but at least we have a shot at it like this."

Lando Norris, who seals his fifth pole of the season in the McLaren, said: “It was tough especially through qualifying I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and to get a lot of lap time.

“All the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker so it put me under a bit more pressure especially with just one lap at the end.

“It was good enough for pole and I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore, it’s a good feeling. I’ve felt good all weekend, I’ve felt confident, maybe not so much in qualifying but we got the job done.”

On the last lap, he added: “I like it, it gets your heartrate going and it’s good fun, my lap wasn’t as good as my lap previous to the red flag so there’s always that little bit more in it. The car has been feeling good and when you have that and you feel confident you can go out and push and get the lap times. I did the job I had to do today so I’m excited to see what we can do tomorrow.”

On digging deep and trusting the car, he said: “I had faith we were quick, I didn’t have to over push and I could just do what I’ve been doing the whole weekend so that’s a nice feeling.

“It’s tricky, the car is moving around, it’s bumpy and it’s easy to break one metre too late, you pay the price for overdriving and over pushing, but I kept it cool and I did what I had to do so I’m happy.”

Image source, BBC Sport

Modified rear wings, community service for swearing, the title contenders on the front row at Marina Bay; it's been a busy old time in the Singapore paddock so far this weekend.

BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson is here to answer any of your questions, so send them through to the F1 Q&A using the link here.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on the front row together. Who is winning this Singapore Grand Prix?

Left thumb for Lando, right thumb for Max.

Image source, Getty Images

11. Alex Albon (Williams)

12. Franco Colapinto (Williams)

13. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

14. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

16. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)

17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

19. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

20. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

We are in for a great battle tomorrow night, a battle with two championship contenders.

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:29.525

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.203

3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.316

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.342

5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.428

6. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +0.590

7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.689

8. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +0.829

9. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) lap time deleted

10. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) no time set

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Charles Leclerc has had his lap time deleted for track limits. The two Ferraris who looked so strong this weekend are down in ninth and tenth. It's a disaster for Ferrari, it's elation for Norris.

Lewis Hamilton goes onto the front row in second but Max Verstappen boots outs the Mercedes man and takes his place alongside his title rival Lando Norris!

Hamilton is third, George Russell is fourth and Oscar Piastri is fifth.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

It will be a one lap dash for the entire field!

Oscar Piastri improves on his opening lap time and hits a 1:29.953 but Lando Norris goes one better by 0.428 seconds. A McLaren one-two in qualifying is on the cards.

RB and Red Bull are instructing both Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen they may need to do some strategic passes to get a decent position on track.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Singapore

The drivers all look very tired and these are the ones who have done one or two parts of qualifying, this one takes it out of them.

Now, I don't want to be selfish here, but I'm going out after this. So if we can avoid any red flags in this one-lap shootout, that would be tremendous.

Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg are the only two drivers with a time on the board in Q3, with the McLaren man the quicker of the two.

Carlos Sainz has been noted by race control for crossing the track on foot.