Ferrari maintain advantage while Verstappen encounters problems

Ferrari maintained their advantage in Singapore Grand Prix practice, with Carlos Sainz setting the pace ahead of Charles Leclerc.

The Spaniard set a time of 1:32.120s which was 0.018s quicker than Leclerc, and 10 seconds faster than the times set in 2022 with the older layout.

The Marina Bay Street Circuit has been shortened this year due to redevelopment work, which means the old four-corner section that ran under the grandstand between Turns 16 and 20 is now just a long straight.

George Russell was third fastest ahead of Fernando Alonso, with the Mercedes driver two tenths slower than Sainz. Lewis Hamilton was a further four tenths slower, while Max Verstappen was seven tenths off.

Verstappen encountered some problems on his initial lap with his steering wheel, which caused him to abort his Soft tyre runs.

The Red Bull driver also had a near-miss with Carlos Sainz at Turn 12, while teammate Sergio Perez complained of having no rear grip.

Perez was running the new modified floor on the Red Bull after Verstappen run it in FP1, with the Mexican finishing the session ahead seventh quickest.

Notably the two Haas drivers were around the top ten quickest times, with Kevin Magnussen ninth fastest on at the end of the Soft tyre runs.

Albon hits power unit issues

Sainz set the early pace on the Medium tyres followed by Alonso and Leclerc, with track temperatures markedly lower compared to the earlier session.

This means they are more representative of what will happen in both qualifying and the race for the rest of the weekend.

Many of the drivers switched back to the Medium tyres for their long runs in the final quarter of the session.

Alex Albon reported engine issues over team radio, which prevented him from competing any further in the rest of the session after completing just five laps.