Russell tops Singapore FP1 but Verstappen's medium-tyre pace raises eyebrows

George Russell clocked the quickest lap of Singapore Grand Prix free practice on Friday, posting a 1m32.274s on soft tyres, but it was Max Verstappen’s medium-compound effort that drew the most attention at Marina Bay.

The session was the only non-competitive running of the sprint weekend and took place in sweltering daytime conditions — a track temperature of 53°C — making direct comparisons with qualifying and the night-time race difficult. That context did not diminish the significance of Verstappen’s 1m33.006s on mediums, which left championship leader Kimi Antonelli half a second adrift on the same compound.

In the opening hard-tyre runs, Antonelli set the early benchmark with a 1m33.830s, edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.034s and his Mercedes team-mate Russell by 0.056s. Isack Hadjar was fourth but reported that his Red Bull was bottoming out heavily under braking and that his throttle pedal felt slippery. Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton all followed within 0.6 seconds of Antonelli’s benchmark.

The session was briefly neutralised by a virtual safety car after Nico Hülkenberg stopped on the main straight with around 20 minutes remaining, reporting a gearbox failure over the radio. The Audi driver had been the leading midfield runner at that point.

Once soft tyres were fitted for the final 15 minutes, Russell — running the older Mercedes specification — pulled clear of the field. Leclerc and Norris were two tenths back, while Hamilton and Piastri were half a second adrift. Only those five drivers, plus the Cadillac pair at the foot of the order, ran the soft compound.

Verstappen’s medium-tyre run in sixth was the session’s most telling data point. Hadjar, his Red Bull team-mate, was seven tenths slower on the same rubber, while Antonelli ran wide into the Turn 16 escape road on his final flying lap. Pierre Gasly led the midfield on mediums for Alpine with a 1m34.038s, followed by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Haas’ Oliver Bearman. Aston Martin, Williams and Audi were closely matched further down, though Fernando Alonso was responsible for the bulk of Aston Martin’s competitive showing.