Max Verstappen Fumes Over Lando Norris Incident As Pole Effort Slips Away

A frustrated Max Verstappen has insisted he will 'remember' what he felt was impeding by Lando Norris at the end of qualifying for Formula 1's Singapore Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion will start Sunday's race at the Marina Bay Circuit from second on the grid having been beaten to pole by Mercedes' George Russell, who broke the lap record with his final effort of the session.

Red Bull driver Verstappen bailed out of his final lap after a mistake at the Turns 16/17 chicane, though he was left angry by what he and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was a lack of help from a slow-travelling Norris in front.

"It will be remembered"

Max Verstappen, Red Bull — Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Norris had been the first driver to set a second time at the end of Q3 and was out of sequence with the other nine drivers on track.

It meant that Verstappen caught the Briton in the final sector as Norris coasted back to the pits. When the Dutchman made a small error in the final chicane before pit-entry, where the McLaren ducked to the inside, he was left irate at what he felt was an impediment as he was forced to deal with dirty air.

With a gap between the two drivers on track, however, there is no danger of an investigation for Norris.

When asked after the session about the error that cost him the chance of leaping ahead of Russell for pole, Verstappen fumed: "That's what happens when there is a car in front of you just cruising two seconds in front.

"That's noted, it will be remembered as well."

Asked who he was referring to, Verstappen suggested it was Norris to blame by quipping: "Not Oscar." Video footage confirmed it was the other McLaren.

"That was a bit of a shame otherwise I think it would have been close for pole. It is always very exciting here in qualifying and of course, disappointed not to be first but for us, this weekend has been really good so far. The car has been very competitive so for us to be second again is very good."

Tomorrow's grid is an exciting prospect 👀

Let's take a look at how the drivers will line up 👊#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/CXSbP3Qjdo
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 4, 2025

Verstappen has played his way back into an outside shot of a fifth world championship with victories in Italy and Azerbaijan, though remains 69 points behind Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri.

Piastri will start the Singapore Grand Prix third, while Norris is separated from his rivals by the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.

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