George Russell claimed pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, putting in a magnificent lap between the walls of the Marina Bay street circuit for Mercedes under the floodlights. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took second but was not close to Russell’s time.

In the championship fight Oscar Piastri had the advantage with third while his title rival Lando Norris – 25 points behind his McLaren teammate – managed only fifth. Kimi Antonelli was impressive to take fourth for Mercedes, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were in sixth and seventh for Ferrari.

The pole is a major statement for Russell as speculation around his future with Mercedes continues, with the British driver’s contract up at the end of this season. It is his first pole in Singapore, a race he has not yet won and where Mercedes last took pole in 2018, with Hamilton at the wheel. The team’s performance was hugely impressive having brought a new front wing to Singapore, which appears to have delivered in spades.

Russell took pole and the win in Canada earlier this season in what has been a strong year for the driver and he is fourth in the championship 43 points behind Verstappen.

Having stepped up to lead the team after Hamilton left to join Ferrari this season Russell has made an enormously strong case to be retained. He has shown consistently good form, taking six podiums and the win, making the most of the Mercedes when at times it has been the closest contender to the McLarens.

As the track rubbered-in through the session, the times came down and the final shootout in Q3 was finely poised. Before the opening runs in Q3 neither McLaren had quite found their pace and on the openers Russell went out first and laid down a mighty marker with a 1min 29.165sec lap, despite brushing the wall. Norris and Piastri could not match him and while Verstappen went hard through the last two sectors, he remained two-tenths back in second.

Max Verstappen in action during qualifying. Photograph: Vincent Thian/AP

Norris went early on the final runs but could not improve as behind him Russell had found even more pace in the middle sector and improved his time by seven-thousandths of a second. Verstappen was the last driver out but felt he had been forced to back off by a slow-moving Norris and aborted his final lap, ensuring Russell had secured an immense pole with a 1min 29.158sec, still almost two-tenths up on the Dutchman, who believed he would have gone much closer but for having to back off.

McLaren can still seal the constructors’ championship this weekend and take a second consecutive title and the team’s 10th if they score just 13 points. A podium finish for either driver would be enough, regardless of other results.

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Quick GuideSingapore GP gridShow

1 George Russell (GB) Mercedes 1min 29.158secs

2 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull 1:29.340

3 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:29.524

4 Andrea Kimi Antonelli (It) Mercedes 1:29.537

5 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 1:29.586

6 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Ferrari 1:29.688

7 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:29.784

8 Isack Hadjar (Fr) Racing Bulls 1:29.846

9 Oliver Bearman (GB) Haas 1:29.868

10 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Aston Martin 1:29.955

11 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Kick Sauber 1:30.141

12 Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:30.202

13 Carlos Sainz Jr (Sp) Williams 1:30.235

14 Liam Lawson (NZ) Racing Bulls 1:30.320

15 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull 1:30.353

16 Gabriel Bortoleto (Br) Sauber 1:30.820

17 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:30.949

18 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine 1:30.982

19 Esteban Ocon (Fr) Haas F1 1:30.989

20 Pierre Gasly (Fr) Alpine 1:31.261

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Heading into the weekend the F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has warned that the place of historic circuits on the calendar is far from guaranteed. Speaking to the Italian Passa dal BSMT podcast he pointedly noted that with the sport attracting so many new, younger fans and the demand for places on the calendar increasing exponentially, tracks that have long been considered integral to F1, such as Monaco, no longer held the weight they once did.

“Competition has changed, the context is much more aggressive and obviously … affection alone is not enough,” he said. “For the new fans who follow Formula One the ability to turn the page, to scroll through news, to forget who won last year, is very high.

“So for many young fans today, racing in Monte Carlo compared with the new Las Vegas circuit makes no difference. So history is not a fundamental element for us.”