Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in opening practice for the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc finishing second and third respectively.
The gleaming Marina Bay street circuit returns to the F1 calendar after a two-season absence, with Max Verstappen set to secure his second Drivers’ Championship – but needs results for Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez to clear his way a path.
READ MORE: ‘If you survive Singapore you’re ready for anything else in F1’ – Drivers gear up for toughest race on calendar
The session was red flagged with 20 minutes remaining for Lance Stroll (P8) hitting the barriers with the left side of his Aston Martin at Turn 5, before stopping and jumping into the Turn 7 run-off zone.
With five minutes left, Lewis Hamilton equipped the softs to shoot up with a time of 1m 43.033s, beating Verstappen’s benchmark by 0.084s. The Red Bull driver – who passed Turn 16 late in the session – set the pace early on the medium. Leclerc completed the top three, 0.402 seconds off Hamilton’s time.
Sergio Perez was fourth in the other Red Bull, 0.806 seconds off the pace, while George Russell completed the top five for Mercedes – leaving Carlos Sainz sixth as he struggled with the balance of the car.
|
1 lewis hamilton HAM mercedes |
1:43.033 |
|
2 Max Verstappen WORM Running of the red bulls |
+0.084s |
|
3 Charles Leclerc LEC Ferrari |
+0.402s |
|
4 Sergio Perez BY Running of the red bulls |
+0.806s |
|
5 george Russell RUS mercedes |
+1.033s |
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was seventh as Alpine raced further stages in Singapore, with Stroll eighth on the mediums having missed the chance for a lap on the soft tires after his crash at Turn 5.
Pierre Gasly took 9th place for AlphaTauri to let Fernando Alonso complete the top 10 for the other Alpine. The Spaniard was confined to the garage for the last 25 minutes with a suspected gearbox oil leak.
Sebastian Vettel finished 11th for Aston Martin, ahead of McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas in P13 for Alfa Romeo.
FP1 Highlights: Singapore Grand Prix
Kevin Magnussen finished 14th for Haas ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in 15th for AlphaTauri.
Alex Albon, who missed the Italian Grand Prix with appendicitis and suffered complications from the ensuing surgery, returned to finish 16th in FP1 for Williams. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu used medium tires to finish three tenths behind the Thai driver.
Mick Schumacher took 18th for Haas while Lando Norris, with a splash of flo-vis paint on the right side of his car as McLaren brought new sidepods and floor updates to Singapore, took 19th place – with Nicholas Latifi completing the standings, the 20 drivers divided by 4.059s.
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