Norris claims Singapore GP pole ahead of Verstappen

Lando Norris will start at the front of the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix after securing pole position Saturday.

Norris' achievement marks the fourth pole position in the last six races for the McLaren driver and his first pole in Singapore.

"A good feeling. I felt good all weekend, felt confident, maybe not so much in quali, but I got the job done," he said after the event.

Norris starts the race 59 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen, who qualified second.

"I'm happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday," Verstappen said. "I'll take second."

Lewis Hamilton grabbed a surprise P3 as Mercedes locked out the second row. He's won in Singapore four times, but not since 2018.

"Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long and I've been working and working and working, trying to get myself back up there," Hamilton said. "All of a sudden, the car came alive in qualifying for the first time in a long time."

Carlos Sainz, who won in Singapore last year, lost control on the final turn and crashed into the barriers in Q3, causing a red flag. Fellow Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had his lap time deleted in Q3 and starts 9th.

Sergio Perez struggled in qualifying once again and will start 13th.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified 16th in what could be his final race for Red Bull.

The Singapore GP gets underway Sunday at 7:55 a.m. ET.