Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday's (Oct 11) Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, putting himself in a strong position to claim his first race victory at Marina Bay.
The four-time world champion clocked 1min 31.373sec in the final qualifying segment (Q3) on Saturday night, finishing 0.123 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
The Dutchman had already put himself in a strong position with his first flying lap in Q3, which proved quick enough to secure pole. He did not need to improve on his time with a final attempt.
While Verstappen has 72 race wins under his belt, the Singapore Grand Prix remains one of the races he has yet to win. His pole position gives him a chance to end that drought on Sunday.
"It's special to take a pole here," Verstappen said after qualifying.
Despite securing pole position, Verstappen said getting a good start would be crucial to his chances of winning Sunday's race.
"We know that's not really been our strong area, so we need to work on that for tomorrow," he said.
The pole position was also the 50th of Verstappen's Formula 1 career.
Asked whether reaching the milestone meant anything to him, the Dutchman quipped: "Better than 49, not as good as 51. So we just try and keep going."
His pole comes after he won Singapore's inaugural F1 Sprint race earlier on Saturday, following a chaotic race that saw Mercedes' George Russell crash out of the lead on the opening lap.
Qualifying took place under the circuit's 1,600 floodlights, with the track significantly drier than during the rain-hit Sprint earlier in the day.
The change in conditions meant drivers had to readjust to the track, with several struggling to find their braking points around the tight street circuit.
Haas' Esteban Ocon also went into the barriers during his out-lap, adding to the early drama.
Hamilton came closest to challenging the Red Bull driver, but his lap was not enough to dislodge Verstappen from the top of the timesheets.
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