#F1 #SingaporeGP FP3: @LandoNorris quickest ahead of @GeorgeRussell63, @OscarPiastri.
Lando Norris, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL38, Free Practice 3, Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore. Image credit to Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images. Norris Singapore GP FP3, Singapore GP FP3 Results, F1 Singapore GP FP3, 2024 Singapore Grand Prix FP3 Results
Norris Singapore GP FP3 – Lando Norris ended the FP3 session top of the time-sheets ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri who completed the top three.
Norris posted the session-topping benchmark of a 1:29.646 on the C5 red side-walled softer rubber (the fastest ever lap recorded at the Marina Bay Street Circuit) and was 0.479 seconds quicker than Russell whilst Piastri was a further 0.785 seconds adrift of his team-mate.
Mercedes and Red Bull appeared to have improved whilst Ferrari noticeably have fallen back.
Aside from a monitor lizard, the Aston Martin AMR24 entries hit the circuit in the opening ten minutes of proceedings, using the free track to scrub a set of the mediums.
The lizard continued to crawl his way around at turn 18, bringing out a red flag and bringing on the marshals to clear it from the circuit. Amusement followed as the reptile charged with the marshal down the track, but it eventually left the circuit and allowed the session to continue with just 45 minutes remaining on the clock.
Once the session was lizard-free, the circuit saw a hive of activity; amid the early stints on the C4 mediums, Piastri registered the initial benchmark with the 1:32’s bracket as the drivers had to get up to speed with the change of grip after last night’s downpour.
In an improved Red Bull RB20, championship leader Max Verstappen posted a 1:32.044 on the mediums, bringing it down to a 1:31.630 on his second hot-lap on the same rubber. This withstood a few flyers from Norris and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz over the next few minutes, as Mercedes’ Russell got close to the Dutchman’s effort.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc posted a 1:31.525 to top the leaderboard, concluding the stints on the medium tyres amongst the top teams before the attention switched to the qualifying simulation runs.
Russell kicked it off setting a 1:30.125 on the C5 softs, whilst Piastri went 0.3 seconds slower on his next tour. Verstappen was unable to beat this either, looking hesitant at the apex of the slower corners. Norris then fired his way to the top of the pile by almost half a second over Russell.
Verstappen’s tour was only good enough for fourth in the order, ahead of the Ferrari pairing; as Leclerc reported “no grip” during his qualifying stint, perhaps after taking two build up laps before his flyer, which fell 0.913 adrift of Norris’s effort. Sainz took sixth, in-front of Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Williams duo Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto were eighth and ninth as Aston Martin’s Alonso rounded out the top ten.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda finished outside the top ten in 11th place and in-front of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen who were 12th and 13th respectively whilst Alpine’s Pierre Gasly followed in 14th.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ended final practice a low-15th and in-front of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo who placed 16th and Aston Martin’s Stroll who came 17th in the classification.
BWT Alpine’s Esteban Ocon took 18th as Sauber pairing Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu finished at the rear.
You can see the full Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024 Free Practice 3 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1246/singapore/practice/3
#F1 #SingaporeGP FP2: @LandoNorris quickest ahead of @ScuderiaFerrari duo.
#F1 #SingaporeGP FP1: @CharlesLeclerc pips @LandoNorris by 0.076s.
