FP1: Red Bull takes the lead in Singapore
Red Bull Racing have made the best possible start to the Singapore race weekend by seeing both its cars at the sharp end of the timesheet of FP1. Daniel Ricciardo was faster than his team mate while Sebastian Vettel ended a close third fastest for Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen, who announced his Ferrari departure just days ago, was 4th fastest, ahead of Nico Hülkenberg. Hamilton was only 6th fastest, although it should be noted that this session is hardly relevent for any further running this weekend, given it's just afternoon, while other session will be completed at later hours. Furthermore, neither Mercedes used Pirelli's hyper soft tyre, a choice that might explain up to a second a lap.
Hamilton therefore ended up in between both Renault drivers as Sainz was 7th fastest, ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
Sauber's Leclerc and Romain Grosjean completed the top 10. The former however clipped the wall near the end of the session, breaking the front right suspension and forcing him to park his car slightly earlier than expected.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:39.711 | - | 27 |
| 2 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:39.912 | +0.201s | 27 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:39.997 | +0.286s | 23 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:40.486 | +0.775s | 21 |
| 5 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:41.105 | +1.394s | 26 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:41.232 | +1.521s | 28 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1:41.329 | +1.618s | 23 |
| 8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:41.429 | +1.718s | 28 |
| 9 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber Ferrari | 1:42.035 | +2.324s | 24 |
| 10 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:42.108 | +2.397s | 21 |
| 11 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | 1:42.408 | +2.697s | 23 |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 1:42.412 | +2.701s | 25 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:42.452 | +2.741s | 20 |
| 14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Mclaren Renault | 1:42.630 | +2.919s | 23 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India Mercedes | 1:43.177 | +3.466s | 25 |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:43.240 | +3.529s | 25 |
| 17 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:43.485 | +3.774s | 30 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams Mercedes | 1:43.849 | +4.138s | 30 |
| 19 | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams Mercedes | 1:44.036 | +4.325s | 29 |
| 20 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mclaren Renault | 1:45.160 | +5.449s | 11 |
