Lando Norris beats Max Verstappen for pole position at F1's Singapore Grand Prix

SINGAPORE (AP) — Advantage Lando Norris, but not by much.

Formula 1's two main title contenders will start together on the front row at the Singapore Grand Prix as Norris edged ahead of his title rival Max Verstappen in qualifying on Saturday.

The session turned into a one-lap shootout for the top positions when a crash for Carlos Sainz Jr. interrupted the final session on a troubled day for Ferrari.

“I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and to get a lot of lap time and more of the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker,” Norris said.

“So it put me under a little bit more pressure, especially with just one lap at the end, but it was good enough for pole and I’m happy with that.”

The McLaren driver was .203 of a second ahead of Verstappen to start on pole, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes, .316 off Norris' time.

Pole position for Norris was a contrast to qualifying in Azerbaijan last week, when he was 15th on the grid after a yellow flag warning ruined his lap, but recovered to finish fourth, ahead of Verstappen.

Verstappen, who said he was happy with second after struggling for grip in practice in his Red Bull, leads Norris in the standings by 59 points. There are seven rounds of the championship remaining, including Sunday's race. A front-row start means Verstappen could limit the damage to his lead even if Norris wins.

Verstappen has never won in Singapore, which was also the only track where the all-conquering Red Bull team didn't win last season.

Hamilton had his best qualifying result since the British Grand Prix in July — which he went on to win — in a season where the seven-time champion has struggled for single-lap pace.

“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long and I’ve just been working and working and working, trying to get myself back up there,” he said. “All of a sudden the car came alive in qualifying for the first time in a long time.”

Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri, the winner in Azerbaijan last week, was only fifth after going slower in the top-10 session than he had earlier in qualifying.

After Hamilton, Mercedes also had George Russell fourth in one of its better qualifying sessions this year, but it was a day to forget for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc had his lap time deleted in the final session for going off track and Sainz crashed.

Sainz, the Singapore winner in 2023, spun into the wall in what he called a “big snap” of the steering, possibly caused by cold tires. The car was left with damage to the rear end and Sainz, who seemed unhurt, qualified 10th.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was only 13th in another disappointing result this season.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified 16th, eight places behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda, as the Australian’s place with RB comes under threat. Red Bull’s second team could replace Ricciardo with reserve driver Liam Lawson for the last six rounds of the championship, starting from the United States Grand Prix next month.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain leaves after he crashed into the track wall during the qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain leaves after he crashed into the track wall during the qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain leaves after he crashed into the track wall as Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, bottom, steers his car during the qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, centre, celebrates his pole position after qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain leaves the pit lane during the qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, left, talks with second placed Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands after qualifying session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden is looking to showcase the Indo-Pacific partnership he has nurtured since taking office as he hosts the leaders of Australia, Japan and India in his hometown Saturday with an eye on his legacy as well.

When Biden entered the White House he looked to elevate the so-called Quad, which until then had only met at the foreign minister level, to a leader-level partnership as he tried to pivot U.S. foreign policy away from conflicts in the Middle East and toward threats and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. This weekend's summit is the fourth in-person and sixth overall gathering of the leaders since 2021.

Biden put a personal touch on the engagement — potentially the last of the group before he leaves office on Jan. 20 — by opening his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to each of the leaders and hosting a joint meeting and formal dinner at the high school he attended more than 60 years ago.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came for the meetings before their appearances at the U.N. Nations General Assembly in New York next week.

“You guys have heard the president say many times that all politics is personal, all diplomacy is personal,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters as meetings were set to get underway. “And developing personal relationships has been core to his approach to foreign policy as president. So opening his home to the leaders of India, Japan and Australia is a way of him showing, not just saying, but these leaders matter to him.”

On Friday afternoon, Biden welcomed Albanese to his home on a pond in a wooded area several miles west of downtown. On Saturday, he was hosting Kishida and Modi there before convening all the leaders for consultations at Archmere Academy in nearby Claymont.

Sullivan described the vibe of the meeting with Albanese as “two guys — one at the other guy’s home — talking in broad strokes about where they see the state of the world.” He said Biden and Albanese also swapped stories about their political careers.

Reporters and photographers were prohibited from covering Biden’s individual meetings with the leaders, and Biden does not plan to do a news conference — a question-and-answer appearance that is typical at such international summits.

As part of the summit, the leaders were set to announce new initiatives to bolster maritime security in the region — with enhanced coast guard collaboration through the Pacific and Indian oceans — and improve cooperation on humanitarian response missions. The measures are meant to serve as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China.

Sullivan said he expected Biden and Modi would discuss Modi's recent visits to Russia and Ukraine as well as economic and security concerns about China. Modi is the most prominent leader from a nation that maintains a neutral position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sullivan said Biden would underscore “that countries like India should step up and support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity” and that “every country, everywhere, should refrain from supplying inputs to Russia’s war machine.”

The gathering is also an opportunity for Biden and Japan's Kishida to bid each other farewell. Biden and Kishida, who are both stepping away from office amid sliding public support, count the tightening of security and economic ties among the U.S., Japan and South Korea as one of their most significant accomplishments. The two leaders sat down for their one-on-one conversation on Saturday morning.

The improved relations between Japan and South Korea, two nations with a deep and complicated history that have struggled to stay on speaking terms, have come amid worrying developments in the Pacific, including strides made by North Korea in its nuclear program and increasing Chinese assertiveness.

The U.S. and Japan are negotiating through a rare moment of tension in the relationship. Biden, as well as presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, have opposed a $15 billion bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel to take over American-owned U.S. Steel.

Biden administration officials indicated this week that a U.S. government committee's formal assessment of the proposed deal has yet to be submitted to the White House and may not come until after the Nov. 5 election.

Sullivan pushed back against speculation that the expected timing of the report could suggest Biden is having second thoughts about his opposition to the deal.

The Biden administration promised that the leaders would issue a joint statement containing the strongest-ever language on China and North Korea to be agreed upon by the four countries.

The White House said the leaders would also roll out an announcement related to Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, a long-running passion project of the president and his wife, Jill Biden, aimed at reducing cancer deaths. The Bidens’ son Beau died in 2015 at the age of 46 of brain cancer.

As Biden’s time in office draws down, the White House also was celebrating the bipartisan, bicameral formation of a “Quad Caucus” in Congress meant to ensure the longevity of the partnership regardless of the outcome of the November election.

Madhani reported from Washington

On this photo provided by AAP IMAGE, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a question time at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves towards the crowd as he arrives to address the election rally in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

President Joe Biden's speaks with football players at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Del., Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, during a walkthrough visit ahead of his meetings with world leaders there on Saturday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)