Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, fastest at the end of Friday’s practice session, was third
Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, fastest at the end of Friday’s practice session, was third
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ran the fastest in the final Formula One practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday.
Monegasque overtook the 5km Marina Bay track in one minute, 57.782 seconds on intermediate tires to surpass Red Bull rival Max Verstappen by more than half a second.
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who was fastest at the end of Friday’s practice session, was third.
A tropical rain delayed track action before the start of the season as organizers started the clock on practice hours but kept the pit lane closed.
Cars were finally allowed on the track for half an hour into the session after conditions were eased with drivers opting for a mix of full wet and intermediate tyres.
Mixed conditions left some drivers out, including Mercedes racer George Russell, who was one of the many people on the escape route.
It also threw up a mixed-up running order with Fernando Alonso for Alpine ahead of Verstappen’s Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez.
Lance Stroll was the sixth fastest for Aston Martin, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Russell was ninth, while Daniel Ricciardo had placed McLaren in tenth.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, whose effort to top the season in early Friday practice saw him top the timesheet for the first time this season, was only 12th.
Verstappen, who celebrates his 25th birthday on Friday, will have his first shot at winning a second consecutive title this weekend.
The Dutchman is 116 points ahead of Leclerc and 125 points ahead of Perez in the overall standings.
With five races to go after Singapore, Verstappen will need to score at least 22 points ahead of Monegasque and at least 13 points more than his Mexican teammate to complete the task this weekend.