Report: Singapore Sprint and Qualifying
Carlos Sainz made Q2, with Alex Albon eliminated in Q1, following a wet Sprint that ended in P12 for Carlos and a DNF for Alex
Published
10 OCT 2026
Est. reading time
4 min
A busy, changeable, attrition-filled Saturday at the Marina Bay Street Circuit is complete, with Carlos Sainz qualifying P14 and Alex Albon P18 after a Sprint that brought a P12 and a DNF, respectively.
Both drivers took to the track on softs in Q1, but a series of yellow flags interrupted the early running. Alex was forced to lift on his opening push after finding Lance Stroll off track at Turn 7, while Esteban Ocon and Isack Hadjar caused brief yellows of their own at Turn 13 and on the Esplanade Bridge.
Carlos set the first Atlassian Williams F1 Team time of 1:34.868 before improving to 1:34.350 as Alex put down his first representative lap, a 1:35.162.
With the track ramping up, both cars returned on fresh softs with a flap adjustment. Alex went to a 1:34.550, provisionally placing him P16, while Carlos moved up to P12 with a 1:33.774. A final push saw Alex improve to a 1:34.289, though that left him P18 and 0.12s shy of the cutoff. Carlos couldn't better his third lap, but it was enough to send him through in P14.
In Q2, Carlos opened with a 1:33.526 on softs, initially 0.361s off the cutoff. That time left him provisionally P14, just 0.034s behind Ollie Bearman in P13. A fresh set of softs was fitted for one last attempt, but the lap was compromised and he was unable to complete it.
Both drivers will gain at least one position on the grid tomorrow owing to grid penalties for other drivers.
Earlier in the day, Singapore's Sprint had begun with a delay as a rain cell sat over Marina Bay, leaving different parts of the circuit in very different conditions. Once it passed, the field took to the grid on intermediates, with two formation laps behind the Safety Car.
The race itself was neutralised at the end of the first racing lap. Race leader George Russell spun on the pit straight on lap 2, bringing out the Safety Car. During this period, Lance Stroll, Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto also stopped on track. Alex made up places from the start and climbed to P15, with Carlos up to P17 as the attrition mounted.
The race resumed, but not for long for Alex. Valtteri Bottas, Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex collided at Turn 16 before the restart owing to a concertina effect, and all three came into the pits. Alex took fresh intermediates and a new front wing before rejoining in P15, some 45 seconds behind the pack. With floor damage to assess, the team made the call to retire the car, and Alex was back in the garage by lap 16.
Carlos, meanwhile, had worked his way forward after starting from the pit lane. He ran as high as P13 as the track dried out. Though the dry line was growing, nobody risked a stop for slicks and, with the time loss too great, the whole field stayed on intermediates.
On the final lap, the two McLarens collided ahead, and Carlos took the flag in P12. Nine cars failed to see the chequered flag in total.
James Vowles, Team Principal
“A better showing in qualifying than we had yesterday and more in line with where we expected the pace to be in what is a very tight midfield. Carlos did good laps. We missed out on the very last lap by intentionally pushing late to maximise track evolution. One of the systems indicated that he had crossed the line after the flag but in reality he hadn’t and we need to make sure we tighten up that process and keep pushing until such time as we are confident. With Alex, it took a large amount of work following the accident in the Sprint and he wasn’t quite as comfortable with the car, but the team in the garage did a great job to get the car ready. We will have a look overnight and see what changes we need to do so both drivers can come back stronger tomorrow. There are plenty of opportunities, we saw that in the Sprint and we just need to be there to pick up the points when it matters."
Carlos Sainz
“We did some great laps in Q1 - I was feeling confident and the performance was looking solid, so it’s disappointing that we didn’t nail the execution in Q2. We waited too long in the garage and everything got messy from there, as we rushed to the line and got impeded by an Audi in sector 1 on my final push, so hopefully we’ll start tomorrow from P13 and on the clean side. Although overtaking here is extremely difficult, we will do our best to bring home a good result."
Alex Albon
“I was relatively happy with my lap, but it wasn't enough for Q2 today. We had to make several changes to the car following the incident in the Sprint, so thanks to the team for getting the car ready for qualifying. It is a long race tomorrow so you never know what might happen. Tyre degradation is looking okay currently, so will be interesting to see how strategy develops across the grid, especially knowing that overtaking is tricky here. Regardless, we'll give it everything in front of the fans tomorrow."
Make your best guess!
Play our free game. Climb the global leaderboard, or join private and public groups!
Play Now
Earn WClub points
Latest
Trending
© 2026 The Williams Group, under licence to Williams IP Holdings LLC
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Services LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with company registration number OC456938 and whose registered address is at Station Road, Grove, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 0DQ.
Powered By