Charles Leclerc set the pace during the first practice ahead of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, with the Ferrari driver topping the timesheets, narrowly edging McLaren’s Lando Norris by just seven-hundredths of a second.
Daniel Ricciardo – currently the subject of speculation about his future – was the first to take to the track, but one driver who initially appeared set to remain in the garage was Oscar Piastri. An unusual problem had affected the Australian’s car during a pit stop practice earlier in the day.
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The rear-left tyre on Piastri’s McLaren had seemingly become stuck, with the team later stating, “this is not an issue we’ve encountered before,” adding that they would “assess the problem fully to ensure there are no further issues this weekend.”
As the first lap times were recorded, with drivers running a mix of medium and hard tyres, Norris set the early pace on the medium compound with a lap of 1m 33.903s, half a second ahead of championship rival Max Verstappen.
While Piastri was eventually able to join the session after spending the first 10 minutes in the pits, his compatriot Ricciardo soon found himself back in the garage as the RB team struggled to remove an aero rake from his car.
The slippery conditions caused a few incidents on track, with Sergio Perez briefly bringing out a yellow flag after going into the run-off area at Turn 16. Elsewhere, Valtteri Bottas reported being “blocked” by the Williams of Franco Colapinto.
By the halfway point, Leclerc – yet to secure a win in Singapore – had moved to the top of the timesheets, just as others began to switch to soft tyres for some flying laps. Norris soon reclaimed P1 on the C5 compound, while the Williams pair caught attention by breaking into the top 10, following their double points finish in Azerbaijan.
Fernando Alonso pulled off an impressive save after taking too much kerb, nearly losing control of his Aston Martin as the track continued to evolve and lap times tumbled. Meanwhile, his teammate Lance Stroll angered Yuki Tsunoda, with the RB encountering the Canadian running slowly in his path.
Leclerc ultimately set the fastest time of the session, with a 1m 31.763s lap, finishing just 0.076s ahead of Norris, while his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz – last year’s stunning winner in Singapore – took third.
Verstappen finished fourth, followed by Tsunoda in fifth, and Piastri – who had a brush with the wall late in the session, damaging his wheel hubcap – in sixth. Ricciardo was seventh, with Albon, Alonso, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon rounding out the top 10.
Colapinto took 11th in just his third F1 race weekend, ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in 12th and Pierre Gasly in 13th for Alpine. Perez was 14th, after complaining of difficulty turning his Red Bull during his final laps, with Stroll in 15th.
George Russell was down in 16th after his surprise podium finish in Baku the previous week, while the returning Kevin Magnussen placed his Haas in 17th, ahead of the Kick Sauber pair of Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, with Nico Hulkenberg rounding off the field in 20th.
Singapore GP FP1 Results
2024 Singapore Grand Prix FP1, 20 September 2024
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