F1 News
Singapore Grand Prix: Saturday Summary - Leclerc gets pole position hattrick!
Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
What a Saturday we've been treated to in Singapore! Charles Leclerc made it three consecutive pole positions while multiple drivers grazed the wall at the Marina Bay Circuit, and Ferrari suddenly look like the quickest car on a street track! Here are the main stories from Saturday.
Qualifying - Leclerc hattrick
You might not realise it, but Charles Leclerc now has more pole positions in 2019 than any other driver. He now has five, compared to Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas' four.
The Monegasque was up against it as teammate Sebastian Vettel had put in a blistering lap in the first run in Q3, but the 21-year-old reached deep and found an extra gear, beating Vettel's time by two-tenths. Hamilton also beat the German's time, meaning he'll line up on the front row next to Leclerc.
Nobody expected Ferrari to be this good on a street circuit that is all about downforce. It's become clear the SF90 has developed massively since the start of the year!
Ricciardo disqualified
After investigating his RS19, the FIA have opted to exclude Daniel Ricciardo from qualifying and thus placing him at the back of the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Aussie originally qualified in eighth but had an illegal MGU-K which made the stewards opt to disqualify him altogether from the session, meaning the 12 drivers underneath him will move up a place.
Mercedes "have to get act together
After their disappointing outing in qualifying, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted his team needs to "get their act together" if they want to get a good result at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.
In the first run of Q3, both Silver Arrows were a full second off the pace, and if it wasn't for Lewis Hamilton pulling eight-tenths out of hit magic hat, if would have been an embarrassing outing for the reigning champions.
Wolff, ever the realist, knows that things need to improve.
