Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session at the Singapore GP ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.
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Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz finished third whilst World Championship leader Max Verstappen in fourth with Yuki Tsunoda and Oscar Piastri rounding up the top 6.
Daniel Ricciardo was in seventh whilst Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon finished in the top 10.
The top 13 drivers were all within one second of each other, leaving an interesting qualifying session ahead on Saturday.
Drivers had to acclimatise quickly to the tricky street circuit, with track evolution ramping up as the session went on.
Although lap times seemed to be quicker than 12 months ago, with last year’s quickest time being a 1:33:3, with Leclerc’s time being a 1:31:7.
Sergio Perez had a moment heading into the final chicane as he locked up and went down the escape road before rejoining the track just in front of McLaren’s Piastri.
Whilst it wasn’t the greatest of opening outings for Mercedes this weekend, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finishing P12 & P16.
Hamilton seemed to be struggling with too much understeer throughout the session.
The nature of the Singapore track saw a few small errors throughout the field as drivers were searching for grip on an ever evolving surface.
RB’s Tsunonda showed his annoyance towards Lance Stroll with the Aston Martin holding him up through turn seven.
Fernando Alonso had a moment on the exit of turn seven with a snap of oversteer which caused concern on the pit wall as he pressed the pit button when correcting the oversteer.
Piastri managed to clip the wall on the exit of turn 10 but avoided any major damage to his car.
Kevin Magnessun’s return to Formula 1 after his race ban in Baku saw him finish in P17, with teammate Nico Hulkenberg topping up the time sheets.
Teams will be hoping that they will dial into the setups and get them correct ahead of the second practice session, with track temperatures and conditions more suited to the race in comparison to the opening session at the Marina Bay circuit.
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Feature Image: Ferrari