Russell leads Singapore FP1 on softs as Verstappen dominates medium-tyre running

George Russell clocked a 1m32.274s to top the only free practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix sprint weekend on Friday, but Max Verstappen’s medium-tyre pace drew the sharper attention — the Red Bull driver was half a second quicker than anyone else on that compound.

The session ran in the heat of the afternoon, with track temperatures reaching 53°C — conditions far removed from the night-time qualifying and race that will follow — prompting every team to treat the 60-minute outing as exploratory rather than representative.

Almost the entire field bolted on hard tyres at the start, with Kimi Antonelli setting the early pace at 1m33.830s, edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.034s and Mercedes team-mate Russell by 0.056s. Isack Hadjar was fourth despite complaining of excessive bottoming under braking and a slippery throttle pedal, with Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton all within 0.6 seconds of the benchmark.

The session was briefly neutralised by a virtual safety car when Nico Hulkenberg stopped on the main straight with around 20 minutes remaining. The Audi driver reported a gearbox failure over the radio, ending what had been a promising afternoon for the German manufacturer.

Once soft tyres were fitted for the final quarter-hour, Russell pulled clear of the field with a lap two tenths faster than Leclerc and Norris. Hamilton and Piastri were half a second adrift, and only those five drivers — plus the Cadillac pair, who propped up the order — ran the soft compound.

Verstappen’s medium-tyre effort was the session’s most significant data point for the championship picture. His 1m33.006s left Antonelli, the current points leader, half a second behind on the same rubber after the young Mercedes driver ran wide into the Turn 16 escape road on his final flying lap. Hadjar was seven tenths slower than Verstappen on mediums.

In the midfield, Pierre Gasly led Alpine’s charge on a 1m34.038s, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson one tenth back and Haas’ Oliver Bearman three tenths adrift. Aston Martin’s afternoon was complicated by Lance Stroll reporting brake problems, leaving Fernando Alonso to carry the team’s representative times alone.