Autosport has reported:

George Russell set the fastest time in the only free practice session of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix sprint weekend, while Max Verstappen led the medium-tyre runners by about half a second. Russell’s best lap was 1:32.274, recorded on soft tyres, as teams prepared for a weekend with little opportunity for non-competitive track running.

The session took place in a track temperature of 53C, conditions that did not represent those expected for either qualifying session or the main race, both scheduled at night. All teams rushed onto the circuit when the pit lane opened. Every car except the two Cadillacs began on hard tyres, and drivers set about finding the limits.

On the white-walled hard compound, Kimi Antonelli initially set the pace with a 1:33.830. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was 0.034 seconds behind, and Russell was 0.056 seconds back in third. Isack Hadjar placed fourth after reporting that his Red Bull was bottoming out too much, particularly in braking zones, and that his throttle pedal felt slippery.

Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton were also within six-tenths of Antonelli’s early benchmark. The rest of the field was more than a second behind, led by Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg. Verstappen was ninth, followed by Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso, while Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon were another couple of tenths further back.

Hulkenberg stopped on the main straight with 20 minutes remaining. “Something bad happened on the gearbox,” he said over team radio. He was brought into the pit lane as the virtual safety car neutralised the session.

The cars continued on hard tyres, with Lawson moving ahead of Verstappen into ninth, before teams fitted softer rubber for the final 15 minutes. Russell, using an older Mercedes specification, recorded a 1:32.274 on softs and finished well clear of the rest. Leclerc was 0.198 seconds behind, Norris 0.273 seconds back, Hamilton 0.499 seconds off the pace and Piastri 0.564 seconds behind.

Those five were the only drivers outside Cadillac to use the soft compound. Cadillac’s Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas finished at the foot of the order, in 21st and 22nd respectively. Perez’s best lap was 1:35.299 and Bottas’s was 1:35.620.

Verstappen led the medium-tyre group in sixth overall with a 1:33.006, 0.519 seconds faster than Antonelli, who was seventh at 1:33.525. Antonelli ran into the Turn 16 escape road on his final flying lap. Hadjar was eighth, seven-tenths slower than his Red Bull team-mate, with a 1:33.723.

Gasly was the leading midfield driver on mediums, placing ninth for Alpine in 1:34.038. Lawson followed in 10th for Racing Bulls, one-tenth behind, and Haas’s Oliver Bearman was 11th, three-tenths off Gasly’s pace. Lawson’s best time was 1:34.155, while Bearman recorded 1:34.331.

Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad was 12th in 1:34.476, just ahead of Haas driver Esteban Ocon, who was 13th in 1:34.481. Alonso was 14th for Aston Martin in 1:34.495. The Aston Martin, Williams and Audi drivers were closely grouped further down the order, although Alonso accounted for the green team’s stronger showing as Lance Stroll reported brake problems.

Carlos Sainz was 15th for Williams in 1:34.651, followed by Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto in 1:34.736 and Williams’ Alex Albon in 1:34.805. Hulkenberg was 18th after completing 16 laps, with a best time of 1:34.884 on hard tyres. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto placed 19th in 1:34.983, and Stroll finished 20th in 1:35.268.

Russell’s session-leading lap gave Mercedes the top spot ahead of the sprint weekend’s competitive sessions. Verstappen’s medium-tyre pace provided the main alternative benchmark, while the conditions and the limited practice schedule left teams with a single session to prepare for night-time qualifying and the race.