F1 Singapore Grand Prix: Lando gets pole position and a lizard gets a red flag

A lizard disrupted an F1 Singapore Grand Prix 2024 practice session

By Bruce Brown Published September 21, 2024

BWT Alpine F1 Team - 2024 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Friday practice. — BWT Alpine F1 Team - 2024 F1 Singapore GP, Friday practice. BWT Alpine F1 Team / BWT Alpine F1 Team

Leaping lizards! The 2024 F1 Singapore Grand Prix is on Sunday, September 22. Friday and Saturday’s practice sessions and the qualifying event featured competitive driving, but a practice session was red-flagged while race officials chased a lizard from the track. The three-stage qualifying session ended with McLaren’s Lando Norris in pole position for Sunday’s race.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton scored the second and third starting positions on the Grand Prix Grid, respectively. Verstappen leads in this season’s Driver Championship competition with 313 points, and Norris is his closest competitor with 254 points. Six-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is in sixth place this season with 166 points.

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Why a lizard was red-flagged

A monitor lizard disrupted a F! practice session. — Monitor lizard SS-Lw / Pixabay

Animal sightings on F1 tracks are not unusual. Earlier this season, a groundhog ran across the track during the Montreal Grand Prix in June. The Monitor lizard that disrupted Saturday’s Free Practice 3 is native to Singapore — a Monitor lizard was also on the track during the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

According to the F1TV broadcasters, track officials classified the red flag stoppage as due to “slippery conditions.” Track marshalls attempted to catch the lizard with a plastic bag, but eventually, the lizard escaped by running off the track.

2024 F1 Driver Champion points

Lando Norris wins pole position in Qualifying for 2024 F1 Singapore GP. — McLaren driver Lando Norris will be in the pole position for the 2024 F1 Singapore GP. Formula One / Formula One

Going into the Singapore Grand Prix, the following are the points standings for the F1 World Driver Championships:

Max Verstappen	Red Bull	313
Lando Norris	McLaren	254
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	235
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	222
Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	184
Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	166
Sergio Perez	Red Bull	143
George Russell	Mercedes	143
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	58
Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	24
Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	22
Tsunoda	RB	22
Daniel Ricciardo	RB	12
Alex Albon	Williams	12
Oliver Bearman	Ferrari	7
Kevin Magnussen	Hass	6
Esteban Ocon	Alpine	5
Franco Colapinto	Williams	4
Guanyu Zhou	Sauber	0
Logan Sargeant	Williams	0
Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	0

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