Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was quickest in FP1, while Sainz set the fastest time of the day in the darkness of FP2.
Singapore FP1 Grand Prix results: Verstappen’s fastest Hamilton
What happened during free practice 1 of the Singapore GP?
In the early evening daylight, Verstappen set the initial pace at 1m47.329s on medium tyres. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso briefly beat that with 1m47.291s before Verstappen lowered the bar to 1m45.466s, then 1m44.748s and 1m44.236s.
Charles Leclerc had a brake problem, which cost him valuable track time at the start, and George Russell pushed his Mercedes into the barriers at Turn 11.
The teams turned to the softs in the second half of the session, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz having a massive moment coming out of Turn 5 but keeping it off the wall.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez reset the P1 bar with 1m43.839s, before Lance Stroll closed out his Aston Martin at Turn 5. Verstappen just managed to lap, a 1m43.117s, before the red flag went out for retrieve Stroll’s wrecked car with 20 minutes to go.
Sainz, who was third fastest at this stage, had a great moment in the final corner but again emerged unscathed. With his brake issue resolved, team-mate Leclerc jumped to second place, three tenths behind Verstappen.
Hamilton then shocked everyone by becoming P1 in a session for the first time this year with 1m43.033s, 0.084s quicker than Verstappen, who passed Turn 16 on his long run on the mediums. Leclerc was third, ahead of Russell and Sainz.
Perez suffered a driveshaft problem which forced him to pit late in the session.
Singapore FP2 Grand Prix results: Sainz fastest over Leclerc
What happened during free practice 2 of the Singapore GP?
After the sun went down, Russell ran early on new mediums, setting the pace at 1m44.661s before his teammate Hamilton went half a second quicker in 1m44.091s. Leclerc was again delayed, as his side pulled the floor to fix a problem, and Verstappen lost the first 20 minutes due to a configuration change on the front of his RB18.
Sainz topped the times with 1m43.710s before Hamilton regained P1 with 1m43.668s, despite Williams catching Nicholas Latifi. Sainz then went even faster in 1m43.231s.
Verstappen emerged on the hard tyres, taking fifth place on his first lap among the average riders, 1.4 seconds off the pace.
As in FP1, the teams switched to softs around halfway through the race, Sainz remaining in the lead by lowering his best time to 1m42.751s then 1m42.587s. Russell jumped to second, with Hamilton three tenths clearer in third.
Leclerc, who was running out of time, grabbed P2 on the mediums, although 0.295s behind his teammate. He emerged on the softs in the final 10 minutes and lapped in 1m42.795s, 0.208s off the fastest time.
Verstappen again stayed in the garage, making more changes, only rejoining the track on softs in the final five minutes. But he could only manage 1m42.926s, a third of a second off the pace, in fourth place behind Leclerc and Russell.
Esteban Ocon was the best of the rest for Alpine in sixth.
Russell repeated his FP1 but didn’t hit the barrier this time, while Hamilton had a big moment on the curbs at Turn 1. Kevin Magnussen spun his Haas at Turn 14 and continued.
Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri caught fire as he was being pushed back into the garage, but then rejoined the session after the fire was extinguished.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was quickest in FP1, while Sainz set the fastest time of the day in the darkness of FP2.
Singapore FP1 Grand Prix results: Verstappen’s fastest Hamilton
What happened during free practice 1 of the Singapore GP?
In the early evening daylight, Verstappen set the initial pace at 1m47.329s on medium tyres. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso briefly beat that with 1m47.291s before Verstappen lowered the bar to 1m45.466s, then 1m44.748s and 1m44.236s.
Charles Leclerc had a brake problem, which cost him valuable track time at the start, and George Russell pushed his Mercedes into the barriers at Turn 11.
The teams turned to the softs in the second half of the session, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz having a massive moment coming out of Turn 5 but keeping it off the wall.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez reset the P1 bar with 1m43.839s, before Lance Stroll closed out his Aston Martin at Turn 5. Verstappen just managed to lap, a 1m43.117s, before the red flag went out for retrieve Stroll’s wrecked car with 20 minutes to go.
Sainz, who was third fastest at this stage, had a great moment in the final corner but again emerged unscathed. With his brake issue resolved, team-mate Leclerc jumped to second place, three tenths behind Verstappen.
Hamilton then shocked everyone by becoming P1 in a session for the first time this year with 1m43.033s, 0.084s quicker than Verstappen, who passed Turn 16 on his long run on the mediums. Leclerc was third, ahead of Russell and Sainz.
Perez suffered a driveshaft problem which forced him to pit late in the session.
Singapore FP2 Grand Prix results: Sainz fastest over Leclerc
What happened during free practice 2 of the Singapore GP?
After the sun went down, Russell ran early on new mediums, setting the pace at 1m44.661s before his teammate Hamilton went half a second quicker in 1m44.091s. Leclerc was again delayed, as his side pulled the floor to fix a problem, and Verstappen lost the first 20 minutes due to a configuration change on the front of his RB18.
Sainz topped the times with 1m43.710s before Hamilton regained P1 with 1m43.668s, despite Williams catching Nicholas Latifi. Sainz then went even faster in 1m43.231s.
Verstappen emerged on the hard tyres, taking fifth place on his first lap among the average riders, 1.4 seconds off the pace.
As in FP1, the teams switched to softs around halfway through the race, Sainz remaining in the lead by lowering his best time to 1m42.751s then 1m42.587s. Russell jumped to second, with Hamilton three tenths clearer in third.
Leclerc, who was running out of time, grabbed P2 on the mediums, although 0.295s behind his teammate. He emerged on the softs in the final 10 minutes and lapped in 1m42.795s, 0.208s off the fastest time.
Verstappen again stayed in the garage, making more changes, only rejoining the track on softs in the final five minutes. But he could only manage 1m42.926s, a third of a second off the pace, in fourth place behind Leclerc and Russell.
Esteban Ocon was the best of the rest for Alpine in sixth.
Russell repeated his FP1 but didn’t hit the barrier this time, while Hamilton had a big moment on the curbs at Turn 1. Kevin Magnussen spun his Haas at Turn 14 and continued.
Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri caught fire as he was being pushed back into the garage, but then rejoined the session after the fire was extinguished.
