Charles Leclerc will start the Singapore Grand Prix on pole position following a dramatic finish to qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton seemed set for a first pole of 2022 as he led going into the dying moments of Q3, only for Ferrari man Leclerc and then Sergio Perez to push him down to third. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Max Verstappen, who could secure the world title on Sunday, was left raging after having to abort his final lap over team concerns over whether he'd have a sufficient fuel sample left afterwards. He finished behind Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly in eighth, whilst Kevin Magnusson and Yuki Tsunoda made up the top 10.
However, he was overheard on radio lambasting his team's decision with an expletive-laden rant. "I don't get it?! What the **** is this about?!" Verstappen shouted over the team radio after he was told to pit in the final moments of Q3. The reigning world champion was then told the team would explain once he had got out of the car.
The build-up to qualifying had been dominated by allegations that Red Bull had exceeded the F1 budget cap in 2021, potentially endangering Verstappen's world title. In a fiery press conference on Saturday morning though, Christian Horner threatened legal action against rival boss Toto Wolff for publicly voicing the claims.
But when the on-track action did get underway, choice of tyres became critical, with the track still wet following the downpours that plagued final practice. On four occasions yellow flags came out but were quickly dispelled, with Verstappen at one point narrowly avoiding going into the wall.
It was the Red Bull man who ultimately finished top at the end of Q1 though, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. There were also notable eliminations, with Valtteri Bottas confined to 16th and Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon, and the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi also being cut behind him.
The conditions continued to prompt conflicting tactics from teams in Q2, with Lance Stroll spinning off after stopping for slick tyres. Russell was also notably off the pace, and having managed to rise to seventh with his final lap, slipped back into 11th and was a surprise elimination.
Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher followed behind him, and it was also a miserable end to qualifying for Sebastian Vettel. In his final Grand Prix weekend at Singapore, he came off the track in his own final lap, ending up 14th, one place above teammate Zhou Guanyu.
It was Leclerc who finished quickest this time around, from Hamilton and Verstappen. They were followed by Perez, Alonso, and Sainz, with Gasly, Tsunoda, Norris, and Magnusson also making it into the final session.
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Getty Images,)Afterwards, a frustrated Russell told team radio "I just couldn't do anything" as he tried to make sense of his lack of pace. Despite wet patches remaining on the track, all drivers except for Tsunoda opted for dry tyres for the finale, but an early warning was served when Magnusson almost lost control on his opening lap.
It was AlphaTauri man Tsunoda who then set the surprise early pace, before Hamilton went quickest - raising the prospect of his first ever pole in 2022. In a dramatic few moments, the British driver was then surpassed by Leclerc and Alonso, before promptly regaining top spot.
The drama went down to the final minute though, with Leclerc and Perez pushing Hamilton down into third. Verstappen had one final dart at pole, but aborted his lap as Leclerc held on - and the Dutchman proceeded to unleash a foul-mouthed rant at at his team afterwards over radio.