Sainz on pole for F1 Singapore Grand Prix with Red Bull out of the top 10

SINGAPORE: Carlos Sainz put Ferrari on pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on a shocking Saturday (Sep 16) for dominant Red Bull, whose record run of 15 wins in a row appeared to be reaching the end of the road.

The pole was the Spaniard's and Ferrari's second in succession as well as the Italian team's third in four races.

Red Bull's runaway championship leader Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez both failed to make the top-10 shootout, an astonishing turnaround for a team that had been in a league of their own but suddenly looked lost.

Verstappen's hopes of a record-extending 11th successive victory looked a long shot on a city circuit where overtaking is never easy.

The Dutchman, who has never won in Singapore, qualified 11th but was facing a potential further drop after stewards' enquiries for allegedly impeding.

"That was ... shocking, absolutely shocking experience," the 25-year-old said at the end of phase two, after realising he would play no further part in qualifying.

Mexico's Perez qualified only 13th for what will be his 250th Formula One start.

Without the Red Bulls on track, their rivals had everything to play for and Sainz made his lap count with a best time of 1min 30.984sec.

Leclerc looked like securing a front-row sweep for the Italian team but Britain's Russell came through in 1:31.056 to beat the Monegasque by a mere 0.007sec.

McLaren's Lando Norris will start fourth with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton fifth on the grid and Haas' Kevin Magnussen sixth.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso starts seventh with Alpine's Esteban Ocon eighth, Haas's Nico Hulkenberg ninth and AlphaTauri's Liam Lawson 10th.

The pole was the second in a row for Ferrari and Sainz.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll crashed heavily at the final