George Russell set the fastest time in the only free practice session of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, but Max Verstappen stood out as the quickest driver on medium tyres, half a second ahead of everyone else on that compound. The session was non-competitive and took place in unrepresentative conditions, with a 53C track temperature, ahead of qualifying and a main race that will be run at night.
With everyone except the Cadillacs starting on hard tyres, Kimi Antonelli initially set the pace with a 1m33.830s lap, narrowly ahead of Charles Leclerc and Russell. Isack Hadjar was fourth, having complained that his Red Bull bottomed out too much under braking and that his throttle pedal was slippery. Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton followed within 0.6 seconds of the benchmark, while Verstappen was ninth on the hard-tyre run.
Nico Hulkenberg stopped on the main straight with about 20 minutes left, reporting a gearbox problem over the radio, and the session was neutralised under a virtual safety car. Once softer tyres were fitted for the final 15 minutes, Russell dominated with a 1m32.274s lap, two tenths clear of Leclerc and Norris. Verstappen led the medium-tyre runners with a 1m33.006s, though Antonelli ran wide at Turn 16 on his final lap.
Pierre Gasly led the midfield for Alpine on medium tyres, while Fernando Alonso's progress in the Aston Martin was notable given that team-mate Lance Stroll reported brake issues.
Source: Autosport F1 News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing