F1 Singapore GP: Leclerc leads FP1 by 0.076s from Norris

Ferrari driver Leclerc goes quickest as Singapore GP weekend kicks off

Charles Leclerc headlined the first Formula 1 practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, beating Lando Norris by a 0.076-second margin.

Norris spent the early laps turning the pace up on the medium tyres, setting a 1m33.903s and following that up with a 1m33.199s, a time that went largely untouched for the next five minutes.

The Ferraris were circulating on the hard tyre amid their early laps, which Leclerc took to a 1m32.702s to displace Norris from the top of the times.

Norris then responded on the soft compound and set a 1m32.165s as a benchmark for the performance runs, a time nobody was able to beat on their opening runs, although Carlos Sainz got within one-thousandth of the Briton's lap on his first attempt with the softest compound.

On a second run with the same set of tyres, Norris subsequently beat his own time with a 1m31.839s to raise the bar even further. The Ferraris again got close, Leclerc just 0.037s shy, and Sainz a tenth outside of the McLaren driver's effort.

Leclerc took what amounted to a third attempt on his soft tyres and found almost eight hundredths of a second over Norris to go fastest, a time that remained unbeaten as the drivers switched to the harder suite of tyres for the final stages of the session.

As FP1 was held in daylight conditions, it offered largely unrepresentative conditions in comparison to those expected for the night-time qualifying and race.

The early laps were characterised by runs on the hard and medium tyre, as the circuit was notably dusty throughout the opening phase of the session.

With Norris sandwiched between them, Ferrari had got both cars into the top three as Sainz was third-fastest - over a tenth-and-a-half over championship leader Max Verstappen.

Yuki Tsunoda took his denim-liveried RB to fifth fastest, exactly 0.5s off the pace, as Oscar Piastri's session was marginally delayed by a fix to his rear-left upright after McLaren detected an issue.

The Australian also survived a brush with the wall at the rear right, causing little but minor cosmetic damage to his wheel cover.

Daniel Ricciardo was seventh fastest over Alex Albon, while Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon completed the top 10 - the Frenchman just 0.003s faster than Franco Colapinto.

Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, in the Paddock

Oliver Bearman, Reserve Driver, Ferrari and Haas F1 Team

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, James Hinchcliffe, former Indycar driver and F1TV analyst

Liam Lawson, Reserve Driver, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team

Alex Albon, Williams Racing, Franco Colapinto, Williams Racing, in the Paddock

Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

McLaren fans show their support in the fan zone

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, are interviewed by Ariana Bravo, F1 Digital presenter, on stage in the fan zone

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, puts on his helmet

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Manager, Red Bull Racing, with a teammate

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, in the garage

Jock Clear, Senior Performance Engineer, Scuderia Ferrari, Felipe Massa in the Paddock

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, speaks with Helmut Marko, Consultant, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46

Fans in the grandstands watch the on track action

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, in the cockpit

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, in the cockpit

Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, in the garage

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, exits the pit lane

Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524

The car of Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, gets cooled down in the garage

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, talks to the media in the media pen

Felipe Massa and Jock Clear, Senior Performance Engineer, Scuderia Ferrari, in the Paddock

Peter Crolla, Trackside Operations Manager, Haas F1 Team, Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team, on the pit wall

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

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Cla	Driver	Car / Engine	Time	Delay	Laps
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1'31.763		26
2	Lando Norris	McLaren/Mercedes	1'31.839	0.076	25
3	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1'31.952	0.189	27
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull/Honda RBPT	1'32.097	0.334	22
5	Yuki Tsunoda	RB/Honda RBPT	1'32.263	0.500	26
6	Oscar Piastri	McLaren/Mercedes	1'32.369	0.606	25
7	Daniel Ricciardo	RB/Honda RBPT	1'32.375	0.612	21
8	Alexander Albon	Williams/Mercedes	1'32.451	0.688	25
9	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin/Mercedes	1'32.610	0.847	26
10	Esteban Ocon	Alpine/Renault	1'32.615	0.852	27
11	Franco Colapinto	Williams/Mercedes	1'32.618	0.855	25
12	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1'32.679	0.916	24
13	Pierre Gasly	Alpine/Renault	1'32.694	0.931	27
14	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull/Honda RBPT	1'32.767	1.004	22
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin/Mercedes	1'32.778	1.015	21
16	George Russell	Mercedes	1'33.334	1.571	25
17	Kevin Magnussen	Haas/Ferrari	1'33.377	1.614	21
18	Valtteri Bottas	Sauber/Ferrari	1'33.485	1.722	25
19	Zhou Guanyu	Sauber/Ferrari	1'33.585	1.822	24
20	Nico Hülkenberg	Haas/Ferrari	1'33.797	2.034	24