George Russell insisted he would not "get carried away" with his pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix, given the fact he starts one place in front of Max Verstappen. 

Russell finished 0.182 seconds ahead of Verstappen to clinch his first pole since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, a race he went on to win ahead of the Dutchman. 

Indeed, it was Mercedes' first pole at Marina Bay Street Circuit since 2018 when Lewis Hamilton, who will start Sunday's race in sixth, set his famous lap around the track. 

The McLaren of championship leader Oscar Piastri will line up in third, with the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli in between the Australian's title rival and team-mate Lando Norris. 

Charles Leclerc, Isack Hadjar, Oliver Bearman and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10, but the day belonged to Russell, who gatecrashed Norris and Piastri's fight. 

The talk ahead of this weekend was about whether Verstappen could beat the McLarens to a third consecutive race win, which would further bolster his hopes of the title. 

Norris conceded Vertsappen was a genuine contender for the Drivers' Championship, and Russell backed up that claim ahead of Sunday's race. 

"Singapore has not been the kindest to me in the past, and that has been through my own doing the majority of the time," Russell said.

"I'm not going to get carried away with this pole position. It's the best place to start and there is a good pole side advantage here, so I would like to think I can hold the lead. 

"This guy [Max Verstappen] on my left is obviously pretty good at race starts and sending it down the inside, so I will be keeping an eye."

A MARINA BAY MASTERCLASS FROM GEORGE! GET IN - THAT'S POLE! pic.twitter.com/KmhZw0CWiZ

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 4, 2025

Russell had finished third in the final practice session earlier on Saturday, having finished 11th and 20th respectively during the first two sessions 24 hours earlier. 

With temperatures set to soar on Sunday, the Briton acknowledged the difficulties the race would bring, having suffered a panic attack after last year's Grand Prix. 

Russell, however, is aiming to tackle those issues head on, expressing his delight at the improved pace on show in Mercedes' car during such a short turnaround. 

"It's amazing to be on pole position," he added. "Yesterday was a very challenging day for many different reasons, but it’s good to come back and get a good result today.

"It's a long, sweaty race tomorrow, but I knew there was potential in the car. Kimi [Antonelli] was doing an amazing job all weekend.

"I actually changed quite a lot from seeing what he was capable of doing yesterday afternoon. I'm very happy to be on pole."

Qualifying Top 10

1. George Russell (Mercedes)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

5. Lando Norris (McLaren)

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

9. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)