Singapore’s race week opened with a little bit of everything: surprise pace, pit-lane drama, red flags, and a sharpening title narrative. Fernando Alonso set the early tone by topping a humid, stop-start FP1 for Aston Martin with a 1:31.116, edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as the field reacclimated to Marina Bay under heavy air and lingering damp patches from afternoon showers. The FIA’s pre-weekend “heat hazard” designation—introduced after the punishing conditions seen in Qatar last year—was in effect, and teams ran special Driver Cooling Systems as track temperatures and humidity spiked. Most drivers began on the hard tire, but Alonso’s medium-compound runs clicked immediately; he lowered the mark several times while others searched for grip, with Lando Norris catching a wobble at Turn 17 and Leclerc locking the fronts into Turn 13. Williams’ Alex Albon suffered the session’s biggest scare when smoke poured from the rear brakes—Williams later traced it to a rear-brake hardware issue that ended his FP1 but said they were confident of a fix.
Formula 1
As FP1 evolved, times fell in line with last year’s opening benchmark. Williams’ Carlos Sainz briefly went quickest with a 1:31.812 before Alonso reclaimed P1 late. Behind them, Verstappen slotted into third, Lewis Hamilton put Ferrari fourth after an earlier brush with the Turn 14 wall, and Oscar Piastri rallied from an understeery start to pip Norris for fifth. Rookie Isack Hadjar impressed in seventh for Racing Bulls, with Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, and Haas’s Esteban Ocon completing the top ten. Mercedes had a muted opener—George Russell 11th, rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli 14th—split by Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly. Liam Lawson, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, and the sidelined Albon rounded out the table.
When the floodlights flipped on for FP2, the pace and the jeopardy both ticked up. McLaren’s Piastri topped the session with a 1:30.714 in conditions much closer to qualifying and race trim, but the hour was punctuated by two red flags and one eyebrow-raising pit-lane incident. Russell clipped the wall at Turn 16 and limped back with a broken nose, triggering the first red. Later, Lawson hit the outside at Turn 17 and stopped near pit entry, drawing another stoppage just as soft-tire runs ramped up. In the interlude, Leclerc was released from his box into the path of Norris; the McLaren brushed the pit wall and needed a new front wing. Both drivers rejoined, and the stewards subsequently fined Ferrari €10,000 for an unsafe release.
Formula 1
Even with the interruptions, the times condensed at the sharp end. Hadjar delivered a tidy lap to go second, 0.132s off Piastri. Verstappen held third, Alonso fourth, and Stroll fifth, with Norris sixth after a self-critical radio message about execution. Ocon impressed in seventh for Haas, followed by Sainz (Williams), Leclerc, and Hamilton to round out the top ten. Tsunoda (11th) headed Bearman, a recovered Albon, Hülkenberg, and Bortoleto, with Gasly, Lawson, Antonelli, Colapinto, and the delayed Russell completing the order.
The competitive picture—and the championship stakes—came into sharper focus afterward. Verstappen, fresh from consecutive wins in Monza and Baku that sliced into McLaren’s once-comfortable advantage, was encouraged but pragmatic. He called the day “quite satisfactory,” adding that Red Bull doesn’t need wholesale changes—just fine-tuning front and rear grip and better tire life across the lap in Singapore’s heat, where over-temperature rubber can cascade into time loss sector by sector. Tsunoda, ninth and 11th across the day, bristled at the chopped-up running, noting the now-familiar FP2 pattern of red-flag interruptions.
On the McLaren side, Norris—second in the standings and last year’s Singapore winner—was unequivocal that Verstappen and Red Bull are “genuine challengers” again. McLaren’s midseason upgrades moved the bar; Red Bull’s recent step has put them back on comparable pace, he said, and the team expects bruising battles with Verstappen through the run-in. He also flagged venues like Las Vegas—another low-downforce circuit—as potential Red Bull strongholds. Piastri, meanwhile, rebounded from a bruising Azerbaijan weekend with crisp execution under the lights. His FP2 best suggests the #81 crew found a window on the soft tire despite traffic, stops, and a track that tightened up late.
Formula 1
All of it feeds a title picture that suddenly feels three-handed again. With seven rounds and three Sprints to go, Verstappen trails leader Piastri by 69 points and Norris by 44; the Dutchman has never won at Marina Bay, but recent momentum—and a car that looks happier since its latest aero step—puts pressure on McLaren to be flawless. For Woking, the team goal is even closer: McLaren can clinch back-to-back Constructors’ titles here with 13 points, a mark they’re accustomed to clearing, though Friday’s incidents were a timely reminder that Singapore rarely grants straight-line progress.
Beyond the championship math, there are plenty of weekend storylines worth circling. Alonso’s single-lap bite looked real in FP1 and broadly carried into FP2; Aston Martin’s long-run balance will dictate whether that pace is sustainable over stints. Williams’ headline pace spike with Sainz in FP1 cooled in FP2, but their execution looked tidy—useful on a circuit where track position is everything. Haas and Ocon produced a quietly efficient day that could translate into Q3 shots if they thread the needle on tire warm-up as the sun drops. Among the rookies, Hadjar’s composure was a standout—second in FP2 at Singapore is no small feat—and Bearman’s top-12 turn suggests confidence in the car’s rear end on the many traction zones.
Saturday brings a final read in FP3 at 17:30 local before qualifying at 21:00, where the usual Marina Bay fundamentals will rule: nail the out-lap, manage front-axle temperature for the esses, and keep the rears alive for the traction bursts out of Turns 5, 13, and 17. With Alonso’s early marker, Piastri’s night-session statement, Norris’ history here, and Verstappen’s gathering form, the grid could compress into a knife-edge fight for pole—and a pivotal swing in a title race that felt settled a month ago but now crackles with tension.
