Verstappen, Piastri, and McLaren locked in tight pole battle in Singapore, separated by less than a tenth

BERLIN, Oct 4 — Max Verstappen set the pace in a closely contested final practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix, as he continues his pursuit in the Formula 1 championship battle, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

The four-time reigning world champion posted a time of 1 minute 30.148 seconds on the 4.927km Marina Bay Street Circuit in his Red Bull on Saturday.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren trailed just 0.017 seconds behind, followed by Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Lando Norris matched Antonelli’s time, 0.089 seconds off Verstappen’s pace, but was classified fifth as he set his lap later — in a session where the top five were separated by less than one-tenth of a second, setting the stage for an exciting qualifying later in the day.

Verstappen, who finished third in both Friday sessions, has closed to within 69 points of Piastri and 44 of Norris in the drivers’ standings after victories in Italy and Azerbaijan reignited the title fight with seven races remaining.

Piastri, meanwhile, will be eager to recover after crashing out in Baku, marking his first race this season without points.

McLaren also stands on the verge of clinching their second consecutive constructors’ title. They need just 13 points on Sunday to secure the championship without relying on other teams’ results.

Lewis Hamilton finished eighth in the session, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc placed 10th. However, Hamilton may face a penalty for a suspected red-flag infringement.

The session was briefly red-flagged about 15 minutes in after Liam Lawson crashed his Racing Bull into the barriers — his second incident in as many days. — Bernama-dpa