Source – f1.com
Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc set the quickest time in first practice, finishing a mere seven hundredths of a second ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren.
In the shimmering heat of Singapore, Daniel Ricciardo was the first to break the silence as the clock struck 17:30 local time, signaling the beginning of the first practice session. All eyes were on the Australian, a man whose future in F1 has been the subject of growing speculation. As the familiar sound of engines roared to life, Ricciardo’s return to the track carried with it more weight than usual. But while Ricciardo was keen to get to work, it was his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who faced early complications. A bizarre issue during a pit stop practice had left Piastri’s rear-left tyre firmly stuck in place, an incident that had the McLaren garage puzzled. “This isn’t an issue we’ve seen before,” the team admitted, as they raced to investigate and ensure no further problems would crop up over the weekend.
Despite the drama, the session rolled on. As the first timed laps appeared on the board, drivers opted for a mix of medium and hard tyre compounds. Leading the charge was Lando Norris, who set an early benchmark of 1m 33.903s on medium tyres, a lap that put him half a second ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. As the laps kept coming in, a sense of normalcy returned to the grid—until Ricciardo’s progress was halted by a bizarre issue of his own. Red Bull mechanics wrestled to remove an aero rake from his VCARB 01, sending the Australian back to the garage earlier than anticipated.
The slick conditions of the Marina Bay Street Circuit began to show their teeth. Sergio Perez had a brief moment of panic, running off the circuit at Turn 16, which momentarily brought out the yellow flags. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas had a different sort of frustration, reporting over the radio that he had been “blocked” by the Williams of Franco Colapinto, a driver still finding his rhythm in his third Formula 1 race weekend.
As the session progressed toward its midpoint, Charles Leclerc found his form, putting himself at the top of the timesheets with a blistering lap. Leclerc’s pace was clear, but it wasn’t long before drivers began bolting on soft tyres, ready for flying laps of their own. Norris, who had led the session earlier, reclaimed the top spot on the soft C5 compound. Impressively, the Williams pair—riding the momentum of a strong double points finish in Azerbaijan—managed to break into the top 10.
Not all moments were smooth, however. Fernando Alonso, ever the showman, pulled off a jaw-dropping save after attacking the kerbs too aggressively. His Aston Martin nearly spun out, but the two-time world champion kept it in check as lap times across the board continued to fall. Lance Stroll, Alonso’s teammate, wasn’t quite as smooth. The Canadian’s slow lap earned the ire of Yuki Tsunoda, who found himself blocked by Stroll’s Aston Martin.
When the chequered flag waved, it was Leclerc who finished the session at the top, setting the pace with a lap of 1m 31.763s. His closest competitor? Lando Norris, just 0.076s off the Ferrari driver’s time, while Carlos Sainz—who had claimed a stunning victory in Singapore the previous year—rounded out the top three for Ferrari. Max Verstappen, enduring a relatively quiet session by his standards, placed fourth.
The midfield scrap saw Tsunoda secure an impressive fifth place, ahead of Piastri, who had managed to shake off his early tyre woes and clocked the sixth-fastest time. But the Australian wasn’t unscathed—Piastri brushed the wall late in the session, picking up minor damage to his wheel hubcap. Ricciardo, despite his early aero rake issue, secured seventh, followed by Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, and Esteban Ocon, all of whom rounded out the top 10.
Behind them, Colapinto continued to show promise, securing 11th place, ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in 12th. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly took 13th, followed by a struggling Sergio Perez, who could only manage 14th after voicing concerns about the handling of his Red Bull, particularly in its ability to turn. Stroll finished 15th, while George Russell, coming off the high of a surprise podium in Baku, found himself languishing in 16th.
Further down the order, Kevin Magnussen returned to action with a 17th-place finish in his Haas. The two Kick Saubers of Bottas and Zhou Guanyu finished 18th and 19th, respectively, while Nico Hulkenberg closed out the session in 20th.
With the first practice session in the books, teams and drivers will retreat to their garages for crucial debriefs and assessments. The track will evolve further under the night skies, setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting second practice session at 21:00 local time. For now, Leclerc, Norris, and Sainz have laid down the marker, but as is always the case in Singapore, anything can happen.
