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Carlos Sainz will start the 2023 F1 Singapore GP on pole position after his stunning lap left everyone behind. In a session that left many confused, the Spaniard did not put a foot wrong from start to finish and even beat Singapore specialist, teammate Charles Leclerc.
The Ferrari driver will be accompanied by George Russell on the front row after the Mercedes driver pulled off a blinder in the dying stages of the session.
There's that and more, as Lance Stroll had a major crash in Q1 that brought out the red flag. We also had both Red Bull cars getting eliminated in Q2 which was a shocker for everyone involved.
In all of the mayhem that we called the 2023 F1 Singapore GP qualifying, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Singapore GP Qualifying: Top 5 key takeaways
#1 Red Bull and Max Verstappen are having a weekend from hell
Anything and everything that could go wrong went wrong for Max Verstappen during the 2023 F1 Singapore GP qualifying session.
He's got as many as three investigations after the session and he's only qualified in P11. There's a very high chance that we see Verstappen starting the race lower than P11 as well.
In all of this though, it has been disappointing to see how the Red Bull driver has reacted to adversity. Instead of hooking everything up and trying to get the maximum out of the car, he was seen complaining, which hasn't sat well with fans.
Verstappen will need to get his head back in the game for the 2023 F1 Singapore GP on Sunday because if he doesn't, his 10-race win streak could come to an end.
#2 Carlos Sainz is in the form of his life
Saturday marked a second pole position in a row for Carlos Sainz and was also the second time he's beaten teammate Charles Leclerc on pace. The Spaniard undeniably seems to be going through the best phase of his career at the moment.
At this moment, with the kind of griot and determination he is driving with, Sainz might just be the favorite to win the 2023 F1 Singapore GP.
#3 George Russell just dunked half a second over Lewis Hamilton at Singapore
George Russell was one driver who truly caught the ire of many heading into the summer break. The Mercedes driver has not come anywhere near Lewis Hamilton since the team introduced the major upgrade in Monaco. Post the summer break, however, Russell has continued to get better.
This was the third race in a row where he outclassed Hamilton. A half-a-second gap on a track where the latter has been just stunning to watch is a true testament of where Russell is in terms of performance right now.
He will be truly happy with that as he tries to snare a win this weekend.
#4 Kevin Magnussen deserves a tip of the hat
Kevin Magnussen's contract extension was taken with questions of favoritism as the Danish driver has not been that impressive this season. Coming into the 2023 F1 Singapore GP, he was 3-11 down on Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.
At this race, however, Magnussen turned things around and finally found a sweet spot that he could work with. As a result, we're looking at a race weekend where he's done a brilliant job outqualifying Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.
#5 Lance Stroll is a major liability now
For how long will Lance Stroll continue to waste Aston Martin's opportunities and still get the seat because he is the "boss's son"? Any F1 fan might now be able to see that Stroll is just not on the level of Fernando Alonso.
He has been impressive on occasion, but those moments seem to come only once or twice a season. Stroll seems to be wasting a brilliant car and Aston Martin is turning into a one-driver team.
Those teams don't tend to win titles.
