Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz set the fastest time after the first two practice sessions of the Singapore GP came to a close.
The 28-year-old Spaniard completed the fastest lap around the circuit in 1:42.587s to finish 0.208 seconds ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari one-two after the Monagesque had to sit out most of the FP1 session following a break issue.
Geroge Russell finished third 0.324s behind Sainz with championship leader Max Verstappen only managing fourth 0.339s behind the leader but sounded unworried in his interviews as he did go second fastest in the first practice session. Red Bull has also prioritised race pace instead of qualifying and practice superiority
The Dutchman can wrap up the title if things go his way during the Singapore GP but Sainz and others may have different ideas if the practice is any indication.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton ended the day 5th after topping the FP1 charts and admitted to his car suffering porposing issue once again.
Esteban Ocon was sixth with Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas splitting the Alpine drivers as Fernando Alonso finished 8th in the other Alpine. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez could only manage 9th with Lance Stroll rounding out the top 10 after practice sessions.
The Singapore Grand Prix, making its return to the calendar for the first time since 2019 this season, is set up nicely with no clear winner on the cards yet which should make for an exciting race.
