Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Edition

Australia Australia
Formula 1 Singapore GP

F1 Singapore GP: Norris tops FP3 by half a second from Russell

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

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

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 allowed the session to resume with just over 45 minutes left on the clock.

Once the session was shed of the lizard's legacy, the circuit became much more popular. 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.

In a seemingly improved Red Bull, Max Verstappen set a 1m32.044s on the medium, winding that down to a 1m31.630s on a second tour on the same tyres. This withstood a few efforts from Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz over the next few minutes, as George 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 completed the top 10 over Yuki Tsunoda.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, arrives at the track
 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, waves at the fans in the Fan Forum
 Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, arrives at the track
Alexandra Saint Mleux, partner of Charles Leclerc, arrives at the track
 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, on stage in the Fan Forum
 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, arrives at the track
 Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, on stage in the fan zone
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, arrives at the track
Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, arrives at the track
Stoffel Vandoorne, Test and Reserve Driver, Aston Martin F1 Team, arrives at the track
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing,  on stage in the fan zone
 Fan atmosphere in the Fan Forum
Franco Colapinto, Williams Racing, arrives at the track
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, arrives at the track
 Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, on stage in the Fan Forum
Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, arrives at the track
Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, arrives at the track
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team, Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team, on stage in the Fan Forum
Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, arrives at the track
Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, on stage in the fan zone
Alex Albon, Williams Racing, is interviewed in the Paddock
Fans show their support for Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, during the pit lane walk
 George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, wave at the fans in the Fan Forum
 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, on stage in the Fan Forum
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, signs autographs for fans
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, gives an interview
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing in the Press Conference
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, in the garage
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, in the cockpit
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, arrives at the track
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, puts on his balaclava
A marshal waves the red flag
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, in the pit lane
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Mechanics push Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, back into the garage
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, in the pit lane
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24
Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, in the cockpit
The car of Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, is cooled down with dry ice
Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, line up on the grid for a practice start
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Consultant, Red Bull Racing
Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, puts on his HANS device in the garage
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, leaves the pits
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, climbs out of his damaged car after a crash in Qualifying
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, walks away from his damaged car after a crash in Q3
The damaged car of Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, on a truck
A marshal with the damaged car of Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, on a truck
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, walks back to the garage after crashing out of Qualifying, as Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, passes to head back to the pits
Sparks fly as Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, approach
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44
Aerial view of the Paddock
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Alex Albon, Williams FW46
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24
Sparks fly from Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Lando Norris, McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, in Parc Ferme after Qualifying
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Pole Man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, debriefs with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
The Qualifying top three: Pole Man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, watches on as Pole Man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team
Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team
Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
93
1
 - 
4
1
 - 
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

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article F1 live: Final Singapore GP practice as it happened
Next article How F1 teams evolved the humble spring

Top Comments