The little donkey of F1, because he hasn’t signed a new contract with Mercedes and has few options to join other teams, has turned adversity into triumph. A little donkey no more, George Russell transformed into a stallion as he horse-powered his way to pole position at the 2025 Singapore GP qualifying session.

Russell produced a stellar lap for pole, edging Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in a tense qualifying session. After topping Q2, the Mercedes driver delivered a 1m29.158s in Q3 – brushing the walls as he unleashed the car’s full potential – to secure his second pole of 2025. Verstappen, 0.182s adrift and hampered by traffic, settled for P2, with Piastri completing the top three.

Behind them, rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed with P4 ahead of Lando Norris, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc could manage only sixth and seventh. Isack Hadjar shone with P8 for Racing Bulls, joined in the top ten by Ollie Bearman and Fernando Alonso.

Williams’ Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz initially qualified 12th and 13th but were later disqualified for a technical infringement, promoting the rest of the field.

That handed gains to Liam Lawson in 12th, Yuki Tsunoda 13th, and Gabriel Bortoleto 14th, with Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly filling the final rows after a tough day for Aston Martin, Haas, and Alpine.

2025 Singapore GP: Qualifying Results