With the Russian GP canceled, this was the drivers’ first competitive time on the track since the September 11 running of the Italian GP.
SINGAPORE—Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc proved Friday evening that the Ferraris could match their rivals from Red Bull and Mercedes. They finished 1-2 at Marina Bay, with Sainz posting the day’s quickest time at 1:42:587. George Russell was third in his Silver Arrows entry.
Max Verstappen, who came out late in the evening session, took fourth but was more successful earlier in the day, finishing in second behind Lewis Hamilton, who ended up in fifth overall.
Valtteri Bottas finished between the two, taking seventh in his Alfa Romeo. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who also went onto the circuit late, could do no better than ninth. Lance Stroll wrapped up the top ten finishers overall in his Aston Martin.
With the circuit back for the first time in two seasons and only two support races this weekend, Singapore is undoubtedly the most formidable challenge for all the drivers. There are many turns on this street circuit, and safety issues loom. Friday practice was no exception. Stroll struck the barriers at turn five with 20 minutes to go in the opening session, putting out a red flag as the Canadian stopped and jumped out of his car at the turn seven run-off area.
The second session had another incident. Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly entered the pits and was wheeled back to the garage, only to have a fire start in the back of his car. The Frenchman extracted himself from the vehicle and escaped unharmed. The cause of the problem was a wrongly fitted fuel breather system.
Despite the Friday practice session having perfect weather, the situation might change over the weekend.
