Leclerc tops Norris in first Singapore GP practice

Charles Leclerc topped Lando Norris for the top spot in opening practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ferrari, the winner from last year’s race, is anticipating another strong weekend in Singapore, with its car having performed well in Azerbaijan last weekend and circuit with similar characteristics during the season. Leclerc gave those hopes a boost with a benchmark time of 1m31.763s, pipping title contender Norris by 0.076s.

It was Leclerc’s second push lap on the soft tire after botching his first, though several drivers were finding the red-striped rubber was good enough for multiple flying laps around the green and dusty street track.

Carlos Sainz gave Ferrari further cause for optimism over its new-for-Singapore front wing, lapping just 0.189s slower than his teammate to complete the top three, though the 2023 Singapore winner complained of brake problems on his way back to pit lane at the end of the session.

Max Verstappen was fourth in what looked like a scrappy session for Red Bull Racing. a year on from its worst race of 2023 at this circuit. The Dutchman was 0.334s off the pace.

However, the daytime first practice hour is unrepresentative of the night-time conditions of qualifying and the grand prix, giving the lap times limited weight in the narrative of the weekend.

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Yuki Tsunoda was fifth for RB and exactly half a second slower than Leclerc.

Oscar Piastri was 0.606s off the pace after a troubled start to the session. The Australian’s car was waylaid in his garage with a stuck rear-left wheel following pit stop practice in pit lane, requiring his mechanics to chisel off the wheel nut to free the tire from the car. It cost Piastri around 12 minutes before he could join the circuit, and he was then unable to set a tidy lap on the soft tires, including a wall tap exiting Turn 10, sleaving him down the order.

Daniel Ricciardo was seventh and 0.612s off the pace after losing a similar amount of time as his compatriot in his garage, in his case due to a stuck aero rake after two installation laps at the start of the hour. Alex Albon, led Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon to round out the top 10.

Franco Colapinto was 11th in his first timed session in Singapore ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly.

Sergio Perez was 14th after a handful of wide moments, after which he complained to his team that he couldn’t stop the car with his front-right tire.

Lance Stroll was 15th ahead of George Russell, the returning Kevin Magnussen, Sauber teammates Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and Nico Hulkenberg at the back of the pack.