The Singapore Grand Prix has looked like a two-horse race from the very first moments of practice. McLaren and Ferrari started the weekend as favourites. Both cars are well suited to the various extreme demands of Marina Bay — the bumps, the kerbs, the relentlessness of the layout — and both are in good form.
Charles Leclerc topped first practice ahead of Lando Norris by 0.076 seconds. Norris reversed the order in FP2 to lead Leclerc by 0.
058 seconds. Every qualifying session and race from the 2024 FIA Formula One World ChampionshipTM LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today > But it was what happened to the rest of the field in FP2 that was most notable.
George Russell was the fastest Mercedes at 0.761 seconds adrift, while Sergio Pérez again led the way for Red Bull Racing 0.871s down.
No-one was within half a second of the leading two. Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri will surely close the gap to their teammates on Friday. Sainz suffered a brake imbalance all day, the absence of which would surely move him up.
Piastri admitted he was simply uncomfortable in the car, but the Australian has a reputation for making massive steps forward between Friday and Saturday. But even then, it’ll be hard to close what’s effectively a day’s head start for their teammates at the front of the field. “It just felt good straight away,” Norris said.
“To be honest, I think we’re always pretty good at that — I think one of our strengths is just arriving and perfo.