Leclerc Tops First Practice Session at Singapore Grand Prix

The initial practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix saw Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc setting the pace, narrowly edging out Lando Norris of McLaren by a mere 0.076 seconds. Leclerc demonstrated strong form early on, particularly with the soft compound tires, to outpace his rivals on the challenging Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Norris began the day by setting early competitive lap times on the medium tires, recording a 1m33.903s before improving to a 1m33.199s, a time that initially kept him at the top of the leaderboard. However, the Ferraris, running on hard tires early in the session, soon challenged Norris’s lead, with Leclerc recording a 1m32.702s.

In response, Norris switched to the soft tires and set a faster benchmark of 1m32.165s. Despite this, Leclerc managed an impressive lap of 1m31.763s, securing the fastest time of the session. Carlos Sainz, Leclerc’s teammate, also showed strong pace, ending the session just 0.189 seconds behind in third place.

Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen, who was not far behind, set a time of 1m32.097s, placing him fourth. Yuki Tsunoda followed closely, securing the fifth fastest time with a lap of 1m32.263s. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri‘s session was briefly delayed due to an issue at McLaren, but he eventually recorded a competitive time to finish sixth.

Other noteworthy performances included Daniel Ricciardo, who placed seventh, while Alexander Albon, Fernando Alonso, and Esteban Ocon completed the top ten. The session, conducted under daylight, provided conditions that were not entirely representative of those expected for the night-time qualifying and race.

As the teams prepare for the following practice sessions, the focus will be on adapting to the track conditions, which are expected to differ significantly under the illuminated night sky of the Singapore track.