Max Verstappen will start Saturday's sprint race in Singapore from pole, after a qualifying session clouded by another FIA software problem.

Verstappen's best lap was 1:31.156, BBC Sport reported. Mercedes driver George Russell was 0.120 seconds slower. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris fourth and fifth. Lewis Hamilton was sixth.

It was another good day for Red Bull. Verstappen won in Malaysia last weekend, his and the team's first win of the season. He said he had not expected pole. "I did not expect this but you take it, I'm happy for sure," he told BBC Sport. He added that Saturday's main qualifying is "still the main goal." Verstappen has never won a race in Singapore.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli had a hard day. He was seventh, 0.573 seconds behind Mercedes teammate Russell. Antonelli is running Mercedes' new upgrade, while Russell is on the older version. "Really the car is very difficult, very unpredictable," Antonelli said. He still leads Russell by 84 points.

The session had problems. After a red flag for a crash by Sergio Perez's Cadillac, a setting called overtake mode, which gives cars extra energy, was not turned back on. It was then switched on for about 27 seconds and off again. The FIA said this was a human error in race control. It said it affected some cars more than others, depending on when they ran, and that later sessions were not affected. Williams driver Carlos Sainz, knocked out in the first session, said half the field ran with a quicker engine than the rest.

The glitch came five days after a software bug slowed cars to a crawl on the formation laps in Malaysia.

What's next: the sprint and main Grand Prix qualifying are Saturday in Singapore. The Grand Prix runs Sunday, Oct. 11.

What we know: the sprint grid and the FIA's explanation of the error.
What we don't: who will win the sprint and the Grand Prix.