Three P1s. One Missing Win. Verstappen Targets a Singapore Sweep.
His 50th career Grand Prix pole completes three first-place results this weekend, but nine previous Singapore Grand Prix starts have produced four podiums and no victory.
First in Sprint qualifying. First in the Sprint. First in Grand Prix qualifying.
Max Verstappen has put together three P1 results at Marina Bay. The remaining task is the one his Singapore record still lacks: winning the Grand Prix.
Saturday’s Sprint victory has already given him a win here. It doesn’t change his Grand Prix statistics, which remain nine starts, four podiums and zero victories heading into Sunday.
As of October 10, 2026, after Grand Prix qualifying and before Sunday’s race. Historical Grand Prix results run through 2025; Sprint results are counted separately.
Pole number 50, Singapore pole number one
Verstappen’s 1:31.373 beat Charles Leclerc by just 0.054 seconds, delivering his first Singapore Grand Prix pole and the 50th of his Formula 1 career.
Those milestones measure different things. Fifty poles reflect his record across the championship. This first at Marina Bay fills a gap that remained through nine previous visits.
Friday’s Sprint pole is separate from that career total. It supplied the first P1 of the weekend, while Saturday’s Grand Prix qualifying result supplied number 50.
The margin also matters. Leclerc finished only 54 thousandths behind, with Lewis Hamilton third. Verstappen secured the best qualifying position, but Ferrari gave him little room to spare.
Nine starts, three second places
His previous Singapore results show that the missing victory hasn’t meant an absence of competitive finishes.
2015: 8th
2016: 6th
2017: Retired
2018: 2nd
2019: 3rd
2022: 7th
2023: 5th
2024: 2nd
2025: 2nd
Three runner-up finishes account for most of his four podiums, including second place at both of the last two editions.
He has also scored points in every Singapore Grand Prix he has finished. The retirement in 2017 is the sole exception to eight points finishes from nine starts.
That makes this weekend’s opportunity more specific than simply overcoming a difficult circuit. He has repeatedly reached the podium here. Now he has added Grand Prix pole and a Sprint victory to the picture.
One result still to come
Verstappen finished Saturday’s 20-lap Sprint 2.591 seconds ahead of Hamilton, then returned to qualify fastest for the Grand Prix.
The three P1s describe the final positions in three separate competitive sessions. They don’t mean he led every lap or topped every qualifying segment.
What he has assembled is an opportunity to complete the sequence. Sunday’s task is to turn his first Singapore Grand Prix pole into his first Singapore Grand Prix victory.
