In a surprising turn of events, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso emerged as the top performer in the first free practice for the Singapore Grand Prix. The challenging street circuit saw no significant incidents. Under a thick cloud cover, Max Verstappen clocked the third fastest time.
For Oscar Piastri, this marks his first time back behind the wheel of his McLaren after his double crash in the Azerbaijan GP weekend. The current leader in the World Championship standings opts for a cautious approach to his session, avoiding taking any risks. He finishes the first hour of training with the fifth fastest time. However, he does lightly graze the wall towards the end of the session, but without causing any damage.
The first practice in Singapore starts dramatically for Alexander Albon. He reports a fire on board his Williams car, a result of overheated brakes. Amidst a huge cloud of smoke, he parks the car in front of the team’s pit box. This marks the end of the session for Albon.
Overheated Brakes
Midway through the training, Fernando Alonso surprisingly leads the pack with a time of 1 minute 32.054 seconds, achieved on medium tyres, ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on the hard compound.
In the second part of the session and in the early twilight, the drivers switch to soft tyres, resulting in a significant reshuffling of the timesheet with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc initially as the fastest man. In the final stages, ‘good old’ Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin unexpectedly records the fastest time (1 minute 13.117 seconds).
Top-10: Alonso, Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton, Piastro, Norris, Hadjar, Sainz, Tsunoda, Ocon.
