George Russell set the fastest time in the sole practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, as the weekend's Sprint format left teams with just one hour to prepare at Marina Bay.
The Mercedes driver stopped the clock at 1'32"274, with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari second on 1'32"472 and Lando Norris of McLaren third on 1'32"547. Sprint qualifying was scheduled for 14:30 local time.
The session was not without incident. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Max Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton while yellow flags were displayed, and that race direction noted the episode. The outcome of that review was not immediately clear.
Why it matters
Singapore runs the sixth and final Sprint weekend of the season, following Shanghai, Miami, Montreal, Silverstone and Zandvoort. That format gives teams a single 60-minute practice session to settle a baseline setup, learn how the tires behave and let drivers build confidence on one of the calendar's least forgiving circuits.
The compressed schedule raises the cost of any mistake. A car that is badly out of balance on Friday can be difficult to recover before the grid is set, and a penalty from the stewards can reshape the order before a single racing lap is run.
Russell ahead as the field sorts itself out
Russell's benchmark came as Mercedes filled two of the top three places for much of the session. At the 30-minute mark, Kimi Antonelli led the standings on 1'33"830, with Russell 0.056 seconds behind and Leclerc a further 0.083 back. Isack Hadjar sat fourth for Red Bull, ahead of Norris and Hamilton.
The final order shifted considerably over the remaining half hour. Leclerc improved to second, Norris moved up to third, and Hamilton ended the session fourth on 1'32"773. Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren on 1'32"838, with Verstappen sixth on 1'33"006.
Antonelli, who had led at the halfway point, finished seventh on 1'33"525. Hadjar took eighth on 1'33"723, followed by Pierre Gasly of Alpine in ninth on 1'34"038 and Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls in tenth on 1'34"155.
The remainder of the field ran from Oliver Bearman in eleventh through Valtteri Bottas in 22nd, with the gap from Russell to the last-placed car spanning roughly 3.3 seconds.
There was early trouble for Nico Hulkenberg, who stopped at the pit lane exit with what La Gazzetta dello Sport describes as a gearbox problem. The Audi driver had been 13th at the 30-minute mark.
Audi is running a special livery for this round, and the session began under the late-afternoon light that typically marks the start of running in Singapore.
A milestone weekend for Verstappen and Hulkenberg
Verstappen is contesting his 250th Grand Prix this weekend. The Dutchman debuted at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, scored his first points at the following round in Malaysia, moved to Red Bull in 2016 and won on his first start for the team at that year's Spanish Grand Prix. He has since collected 48 pole positions, 71 wins, 134 podium finishes and four drivers' titles, taken in consecutive seasons from 2021 to 2024.
Hulkenberg, meanwhile, is set for his 266th race start. The German's first career fastest lap in a Grand Prix came at this circuit in 2012, when he set 1'51"033 on lap 52 of his 33rd appearance.
Singapore's history also shapes the weekend's storylines. This is the 17th running of the event as a World Championship round. It joined the calendar in 2008, appeared every year through 2020, was dropped in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and returned in 2022.
Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton share the record for pole positions here with four each. Vettel took his with Red Bull in 2011 and 2013 and with Ferrari in 2015 and 2017. Hamilton's came with McLaren in 2009 and 2012 and with Mercedes in 2014 and 2018.
Mercedes is the most successful constructor at the venue with five wins, a tally that includes victories for Nico Rosberg in 2016 alongside those taken by Hamilton and Russell. Red Bull Racing and Ferrari each have four wins, McLaren has two, and Renault won the inaugural edition.
Vettel remains the most successful driver at Marina Bay with five victories — three in a row for Red Bull from 2011 to 2013, then two more with Ferrari in 2015 and 2019. Hamilton can match that mark this weekend; his four wins came with McLaren in 2009 and Mercedes in 2014, 2017 and 2018.
Championship picture heading into the Sprint
Antonelli arrives with a substantial lead in the drivers' standings after finishing second at Sepang. The Mercedes driver has 320 points, 84 clear of teammate Russell, who retired in Malaysia with a technical problem. Hamilton sits third on 214, 22 behind Russell, with Leclerc fourth on 191.
Norris, who won at Sepang, and Verstappen are level on 188 points, while Piastri is seventh on 128.
In the constructors' table, Mercedes leads on 556 points, 151 ahead of Ferrari on 405. The fight behind them is tighter: McLaren and Red Bull Racing are separated by 18 points, with Red Bull having closed the gap after a strong weekend in Malaysia. Racing Bulls holds fifth on 90 points, 22 more than Alpine.
The circuit itself offers little room for error. Marina Bay measures 4.927 kilometers and contains 19 corners, with barriers lining most of the lap. The modified layout introduced in recent years has changed the challenge somewhat, but the margins remain thin.
Saturday's Sprint runs over 21 laps and will set part of the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix. Before that, Sprint qualifying at 14:30 will determine the starting order, and the stewards' review of the yellow-flag incident involving Verstappen and Hamilton may yet alter it.
