Singapore GP - Free Practice

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Singapore Airlines Singapore GP

Free Practice 1

Sep 20, 2024

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was the standout performer in the first practice session for the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix, setting the pace with a blistering lap time of one minute 31.763 seconds. His closest rival, McLaren's Lando Norris, was hot on his heels, trailing by a mere 0.076 seconds.

The daytime session at the Marina Bay street circuit was devoid of any major incidents, allowing the drivers to push their cars to the limit before the more crucial night-time practice. Leclerc's dominance and Norris' consistency set the stage for an exciting battle in qualifying.

Both Leclerc and Norris have been the only drivers to secure pole position in the last five races, underlining their exceptional form. With the Singapore track notorious for its limited overtaking opportunities, a strong qualifying performance will be paramount for success in the race.

Meanwhile, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, the championship leader, had to settle for the fourth-fastest time, struggling with understeer issues. On the other hand, Leclerc's Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, who triumphed in Singapore last year, expressed dissatisfaction with the brake balance of his car, highlighting the challenges faced by the drivers on the demanding street circuit.

"We need to sort out the brakes," Sainz communicated via the team radio.

 "It cannot be that we changed the brake balance so much."

RB's Yuki Tsunoda showcased an impressive performance, securing the fifth position in the race. On the other hand, McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who triumphed in Azerbaijan just the previous weekend, claimed the sixth spot after a nerve-wracking moment where he narrowly avoided a collision with the track wall.

During the race, Piastri encountered a minor setback when the rear-left wheel of his car got stuck during a pitstop practice, causing a slight delay in his pursuit for glory.

Meanwhile, the spotlight also fell on Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian driver, whose future with RB remains uncertain following the weekend's events. Despite the uncertainty looming over him, Ricciardo managed to secure the seventh position, outperforming notable drivers such as Williams' Alex Albon, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, and Alpine's Esteban Ocon.

Free Practice 2

Sep 20, 2024

McLaren's Lando Norris showcased his speed and skill as he topped the charts in the floodlit second practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, outpacing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who closely trailed behind. Meanwhile, Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen faced a challenging session, finishing in 15th place.

Norris impressed with a blistering lap time of 1:30.727 seconds, edging out Leclerc by a mere 0.058 seconds in a thrilling display of competition. This performance marked a significant turnaround from the earlier daylight session, with Norris asserting his dominance on the track. The gap widened further to 0.629 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz, the defending champion for Ferrari from the previous year.

Norr is said "The pace is good. I'm feeling good. It was a nice lap. I think we are doing what we expect, to be up at the front with Ferrari,"

"I was hoping to have a much bigger gap than I had, which means Ferrari are very, very fast. But things are going well so far."

With seven rounds left, Verstappen was 1.294 seconds behind the leader at the Marina Bay street circuit, while his teammate Sergio Perez finished eighth, 59 points ahead of Norris, his closest rival.

Perez mentioned that the car was unbalanced and currently not in good shape, indicating that there is still a lot of work to be done before the next day.

Verstappen acknowledged that it had been a challenging day due to the lack of grip.

George Russell, the Mercedes driver who finished seventh fastest, hit the wall at turn eight in the final minutes of the session. Despite losing the front wing, he was able to reverse back and make it to the pits.

"It was a really challenging Friday for us, we were really off the pace," He stated."We need to understand why that is.

"We made some big changes from FP1 into FP2 but the car is not really feeling that well-connected as it was this time 12 months ago and in recent races. So we need to try and get to the bottom of it.

"There's a lot of surprises out there. You've got the VCARBs (RBs) really quick, the Williams really quick, the Red Bull would seem to be off the pace and there seems to be a big gap to the McLaren and the Ferraris."

RB's Yuki Tsunoda managed to surprise everyone by securing the fourth fastest time in the session, outperforming McLaren's Oscar Piastri and his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo's future with the team remains uncertain, especially with speculations suggesting that Singapore could potentially be his final race with the team, leaving him in the sixth position.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion and a four-time winner in Singapore, found himself in the 11th position for Mercedes, with Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin trailing closely in 12th place.

Among the rookies, Argentine driver Franco Colapinto had an interesting moment when he mistakenly stopped at the Alpine pits instead of Williams, only to be waved onwards. Despite this confusion, he managed to secure the 16th fastest time, while his teammate Alex Albon finished in the ninth position.

Earlier in the session, Charles Leclerc set the pace with the fastest time of 1:31.763 during the incident-free first session, edging out Lando Norris by a mere 0.076 seconds.

Both Leclerc and Norris have been displaying strong performances, being the only drivers to have clinched pole position in the last five races. The upcoming qualifying session on Saturday is expected to be crucial for Singapore, a track where Red Bull faced defeat last season due to the challenging nature of overtaking opportunities.

Max Verstappen, who once dominated the races, is currently on a winless streak of seven races. It seems highly likely that this streak will extend to eight races as he aims to break the dry spell on Sunday.

Free Practice 3

Sep 21, 2024

McLaren's Lando Norris was the standout performer in the final practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday. His dominance was evident as he set the pace, clocking a blistering time that put him nearly half a second ahead of his closest competitor. The session had an unexpected interruption at the beginning when a large lizard made its way onto the track, causing a brief delay before the action resumed.

With this impressive performance, Norris solidified his position as a strong contender for victory in the upcoming floodlit night race on Sunday. Having topped the timesheets on both Friday and Saturday, he showcased his speed and consistency around the challenging Marina Bay circuit, setting a lap time of one minute 29.646 seconds that left his rivals trailing behind.

Following Norris, George Russell emerged as the second-fastest driver, despite having endured a crash with his Mercedes during Friday's practice. Russell's resilience was on display as he bounced back to claim the runner-up spot, finishing 0.479 seconds adrift from Norris. McLaren's Oscar Piastri completed the top three, showing promising pace but ultimately falling 0.785 seconds behind the leading McLaren driver.

Norris is currently 59 points behind Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 standings, with seven rounds and three sprint races still to go in the season. This puts Norris in a challenging position as he aims to close the gap and compete at the top.

Verstappen, a dominant force in the championship, faced difficulties in Singapore where he has never won a race. Last year, he had a tough weekend in the city-state, finishing fourth in the practice session and trailing Norris by 0.894 seconds.

The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz secured the fifth and sixth positions respectively, while Mercedes' seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished seventh. The competition among the top drivers is intense, with each race proving to be crucial in the battle for the championship.

During the practice sessions, Leclerc expressed concerns over the lack of grip through the team radio, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the track conditions in Singapore. This adds an element of uncertainty to the upcoming qualifying rounds and race, making strategic decisions all the more critical for the teams.

Notably, Williams showcased a strong performance with Alex Albon finishing eighth and Franco Colapinto ninth. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso rounded off the top 10 positions, emphasizing the competitive nature of the midfield teams striving for valuable points in the championship standings.