Live text
Formula 1
Singapore GP
F1 Singapore GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
All of the action from Friday's sessions at the Marina Bay Circuit
Live AppleTV Race Audio
F1's first ever night race back in 2008, Singapore's Marina Bay circuit blends a challenging layout with hot, tropical conditions to work the drivers hard throughout the 61-lap race.
Sebastian Vettel won last time out in 2019, beating Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc to claim his final victory for the Scuderia - and his most recent win in F1.
Max Verstappen could theoretically win the F1 title this weekend if he wins and Leclerc is unable to score, but the Dutchman has admitted that it would be "unrealistic" to wrap it up before Japan.
Live Standings
presented by
Stopped
Summary
-
- Sainz leads Ferrari 1-2 in Singapore GP second practice
- Hamilton topped FP1 from Verstappen and Leclerc
- Airbox fire for Gasly, Verstappen stuck in garage for majority of FP2 session
-
Leaderboard
- Sainz, Ferrari
- Leclerc, Ferrari
- Russell, Mercedes
- Verstappen, Red Bull
- Hamilton, Mercedes
- Ocon, Alpine
- Bottas, Alfa Romeo
- Alonso, Alpine
- Perez, Red Bull
- Stroll, Aston Martin
Live Text
Sort by
After three years away, it's back: Formula 1 returns to Singapore after some...global unpleasantness interrupting its stay on the calendar. And, after three weeks, we're back too. Did you miss us? No? Okay.
Just about 10 minutes until FP1 at the Marina Bay circuit gets going, and it'll be nice to see the cars sparking along the Raffles Boulevard again.
It's not dark yet in Singapore, so the session might not be 100% representative of what we'll get on race day, but the sun should drop over the course of the session.
It's very humid - 74% humidity out there in 30 degree weather. Having been in Jakarta for Formula E earlier this year, it's a situation where you're loathe to leave cool, air-conditioned media centre. Everyone's sweating buckets.
So we've got Singapore at Marina Bay, Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina, and Miami with a, erm, fake marina.
Green flag
And there's a green light - let's go.
Stopwatch
Leclerc reckons there's something off with his brakes, and doesn't look entirely comfortable on his sighter lap. Meanwhile, Bottas kicks us off with a 1m51.264s, beaten by record lap-holder Magnussen with a 1m51.074s.
Stopwatch
Norris has brought the times down into the 1m49s, but Verstappen immediately throws down the gauntlet with a 1m47.329s.
Leclerc's back into the pits, and Ferrari begins to fiddle with his brakes. Of all the things you need at Singapore, braking confidence is up there. And a fan.
Stopwatch
And there's 2008 winner Fernando Alonso with a 1m47.291s to go top.
Stopwatch
Verstappen then smashes Alonso's time with a 1m45.466s, looking very comfortable already.
Yellow flag
There's a brief yellow flag for a spinny George Russell, but the Briton is back facing the right way. There's also a lot of yellow on Norris' McLaren, as he tests a series of new aero parts.
Russell actually went into the barrier, but looks to have got away scot-free. No visible damage to that front wing.
Stopwatch
And there's a 1m44.748s for Verstappen, who's continuing to exert his control over this session.
Quote
"I went in straight on, there's nothing wrong with the steering or anything like that" says Russell.
Quote
"There's a lot of bouncing for me," Norris reports. There's lots of flow-viz around the new sidepod, with the revised undercut around the front face of the inlet, with a clear channel towards the rear end of the car.
Stopwatch
Verstappen's on a 1m44.236s now as he comes into the pits, as Alonso pops into P2 to split the Red Bulls. Perez is 1.6s off Verstappen at this juncture.
Leclerc's finally on the road after his earlier brake issue - he's one of four cars on track as the others retreat to find ice water, Cornettos and the blast of an air conditioner.
Quote
"It's very clear the setup change we need to do guys, the changes we talked about," Sainz says. He's P4, 1.3s off Verstappen's time but has only lapped on hard tyres thus far.
Albon's up to seventh after returning to his car, following the one-race lay-off with appendicitis. Soft tyres, but he's seemingly up to speed.
Five-time Singapore GP winner Vettel moves up to fourth, on the medium tyre. He's got a matte-black helmet for this weekend that looks incredibly dapper, complete with fluorescent styling.
Stroll fires his Aston Martin up into second place, 0.9s off Verstappen on the same compound. Red Bull, Aston and Alpine look solid so far, as the other teams wrestle with setups.
"What's going on with this torque overrun in Turns 8 and 9? Do you see it?" Russell asks - Riccardo Musconi reports that it's on the data, and thus Mercedes will investigate. He's asked to lock the differential.
Sainz had a big snap - "I had a moment," he says, as he keeps the Ferrari out of the wall.
Crash
Stroll's hit the wall! His Aston Martin is crabbing with bent rear-left suspension, and he'll have to try and drag it back to the pitlane.
Red flag
Scratch that - it's a red flag. Stroll's stopped and pulled over - he just couldn't get the car fully turned into Turn 5 and clunks the rear of the car.
Stopwatch
This comes as Verstappen and Perez just posted laps on the soft tyre - a 1m43.117s for Verstappen and a 1m43.839s for Perez.
Green flag
We're back under green flag conditions, and Sainz, Tsunoda and Latifi kick us back off. 15 minutes remain.
Sainz logs a 1m44.138s on the softs - a second off Verstappen's time, as the Ferrari goes "slightly" wide into the final corner and kept his car out of the wall.
Leclerc gets up to second with a 1m43.435s - that's much closer to Verstappen now. Perez is third from Russell, Sainz and Ocon.
Perez has trundled back to the pitlane with a box full of neutrals. Looks like it's session over for the Mexican driver.
Stopwatch
Hamilton goes fastest with a 1m43.033s, on the soft tyre.
Sainz, meanwhile, reports that the soft tyre is struggling for grip on the second lap. Verstappen has a spin in sector three, but he's back on the road.
Checkered flag
And that's the chequered flag - last orders, gentlemen!
And that's P1 for Hamilton, from Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez, Russell and Sainz. Ocon was seventh from the wall-bothering Stroll, with Gasly and Alonso completing the top 10.
Breaking news
Here's the report from FP1 at Singapore: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-singapore-gp-hamilton-leads-verstappen-and-leclerc-in-fp1/10376657/
We'll catch you in a bit for FP2, see you in about an hour's time!
Breaking news
Hello once again! It is not long until second practice in Singapore, and it has been quite the interval off of the track.
Breaking news
Focus on cost cap breaches has intensified, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff urging FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to take a "robust" approach if any teams are judged to have broken the rules.
Full story: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/wolff-fia-must-take-robust-stance-if-f1-teams-broke-budget-cap/10376743/
By: autosport.com
Published:
Page:
