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Practice report
Formula 1 Singapore GP

F1 Singapore GP: Norris sets FP3 pace over Russell, Piastri

McLaren's Norris threw down the gauntlet with a 1m29.646s, as Ferrari took a step back from Friday pace

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Alex Albon, Williams FW46

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Alex Albon, Williams FW46

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Lando Norris headlined Formula 1's final free practice session ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix with a 0.479-second margin over George Russell.

During the end-of-session qualifying simulations, Norris broke past Russell's earlier effort with a 1m29.646s on the soft tyres, setting the fastest lap ever recorded at the Marina Bay circuit in the process.

Oscar Piastri completed the top three, almost 0.8s shy of his team-mate in a distinctly spread field; Mercedes and Red Bull looked marginally improved throughout FP3 compared to Friday's running, while Ferrari noticeably took a step back.

Aside from a monitor lizard, only the Aston Martins broke onto the circuit in the opening 10 minutes, using the free track to scrub a few sets of tyres.

The defiant lizard continued to amble around at Turn 18, prompting a red flag and the appearance of marshals to clear it from the circuit. The amusement scaled new heights as the reptile indulged in a race with a marshal down the circuit, but it eventually left the track and the session resumed with just over 45 minutes left on the clock.

Amid the early runs on medium tyres, Piastri set the first time within the 1m32s as the drivers sought to adapt to the change in grip thanks to overnight rain.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

In a seemingly improved Red Bull, Max Verstappen set a 1m32.044s on the medium tyres, winding that down to a 1m31.630s on a second tour. This withstood a few efforts from Norris and Carlos Sainz over the next few minutes, as Russell also got close to the Dutchman's time.

Charles Leclerc then posted a 1m31.525s to go fastest, concluding the medium runs among the top teams before attention shifted towards qualifying preparation.

Russell kicked it off with a 1m30.125s on the soft tyre, while Piastri went 0.3s slower on his subsequent lap. Verstappen couldn't beat this either, looking tentative at the apex of the slower corners. Norris then fired his way to the top by almost half a second over Russell.

Verstappen's lap was good enough for fourth in the order, above the two Ferraris; Leclerc reported "no grip" during his qualifying run, perhaps a result of taking two build laps before going for a lap that fell 0.9s shy of Norris' benchmark. Sainz was sixth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto continued Williams' good form with the eighth and ninth-best times, as Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin completed the top 10 over RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.

F1 Singapore GP - FP3 results

   
1
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4
   
   
1
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2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval km/h
1 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 16

1'29.646

  198.380
2 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 19

+0.479

1'30.125

0.479 197.325
3 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 16

+0.785

1'30.431

0.306 196.658
4 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull 16

+0.894

1'30.540

0.109 196.421
5 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 20

+0.913

1'30.559

0.019 196.380
6 Spain C. Sainz Ferrari 55 Ferrari Ferrari 20

+1.161

1'30.807

0.248 195.843
7 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Mercedes 44 Mercedes Mercedes 19

+1.218

1'30.864

0.057 195.721
8 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 13

+1.303

1'30.949

0.085 195.538
9 Argentina F. Colapinto Williams 43 Williams Mercedes 15

+1.343

1'30.989

0.040 195.452
10 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 23

+1.436

1'31.082

0.093 195.252
11 Japan Y. Tsunoda RB 22 RB Red Bull 16

+1.468

1'31.114

0.032 195.184
12 Germany N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team 27 Haas Ferrari 14

+1.541

1'31.187

0.073 195.027
13 Denmark K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team 20 Haas Ferrari 14

+1.619

1'31.265

0.078 194.861
14 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault 22

+1.721

1'31.367

0.102 194.643
15 Mexico S. Perez Red Bull Racing 11 Red Bull Red Bull 15

+1.794

1'31.440

0.073 194.488
16 France E. Ocon Alpine 31 Alpine Renault 20

+1.913

1'31.559

0.119 194.235
17 Australia D. Ricciardo RB 3 RB Red Bull 17

+1.915

1'31.561

0.002 194.231
18 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 24

+2.073

1'31.719

0.158 193.896
19 Finland V. Bottas Sauber 77 Sauber Ferrari 17

+2.452

1'32.098

0.379 193.098
20 China Z. Guanyu Sauber 24 Sauber Ferrari 19

+3.006

1'32.652

0.554 191.944

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