Norris and Leclerc in Singapore shoot-out as Verstappen flounders

Lando Norris was fastest in the second free practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix, ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.

Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three, whilst Yuki Tsunoda and Oscar Piastri were fourth and fifth, respectively.

McLaren and Ferrari maintained their imperious form, having locked out the top three in FP1 on the back of winning the three previous grand prix between them.

Red Bull, as predicted, continued to struggle at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Current drivers' standings leader and reigning champion Max Verstappen would end the session down in P15, whilst Sergio Perez would slot in eighth-quickest.

RB, sporting its jeans-inspired one-off Singapore livery, enjoyed a decidedly strong session whilst the parent team faltered. Tsunoda split the McLaren-Ferrari dominance with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in sixth.

Full session report below.

Opening salvo

The majority of the F1 field promptly filed from the pit lane under the lights in Singapore for the most representative practice session of the weekend.

George Russell was the first driver to cut the beam, with the entire pack soon on track - all on either the medium or hard-compound Pirellis.

He was soon displaced by Leclerc at the top of the timing board. Meanwhile, his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was on the radio complaining of "very bad" traction.

Perez would quickly find himself under investigation by the stewards. The 34-year-old had to take avoiding action to miss Fernando Alonso on pit exit, meaning he went outside the white line.

Williams continued to look strong in the early running, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto moving into the top three with just under nine minutes gone.

Under-pressure RB driver Ricciardo went fastest before being usurped by Sainz. The Spaniard setting a 1:32.644. The lead Williams driver would soon go one better than before, heading the pack as the clock ticked towards the quarter hour mark.

Red Bull anticipates a difficult weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and Verstappen had the first hairy moment of the session, running wide and over a kerb.

In just his third full grand prix weekend, Colapinto visited Alpine's pit box in error before quickly realising his mistake.

The combination of Ferrari and Leclerc has proved formidable of late, and the Monegasque put himself over half a second clear of the rest of the field, and into the 1:31s, as the first third of the session ticked down. 

mid-point

The first driver on red-walled soft tyres was Albon, who reclaimed the fastest lap time, but the thin +0.015 margin by which he did suggested it was not his best effort.

He was bested by Russell and Piastri, but neither was convincingly quicker until Norris put seven-and-a-half tenths on his McLaren team-mate to go top.

As the clock ticked past the half-way mark, the Briton led Leclerc and Tsunoda. The former would also radio into Ferrari to make the Italian team aware of a love tap against the wall.

Track action calmed down as the final third of the session loomed. Hamilton, still unhappy with his W15, told Mercedes it was "unbelievable" when his eleventh-quickest lap time was confirmed to him.

Sainz took to the run-off area into Turn 16 after a heavy lock-up under braking but was able to avoid anything more serious.

The same could not be said of Norris, who was on the radio to McLaren to inform the team he hit the wall "pretty bad" on the exit of Turn 3, despite being able to continue.

Closing stages

Sainz would provide further clarity as to what caused his lock-up, complaining of an issue with the brakes on his Ferrari.

The majority of the field would be back on medium or hard tyres as the session approached the final 10 minutes.

The session calmed considerably in the closing stages, with long-run plans the order of the day. However, there was still enough time for some action.

Norris went sideways, dirtying his tyres prior to a trip to a side road. The 24-year-old managed to get his McLaren facing the right direction, but compatriot Russell would end the session without a front wing.

The Mercedes driver found the wall with only a couple of minutes to run, meaning the session ended under the yellow flag. He was ultimate able to remove himself from the barriers, returning his damaged W15 back to the pits.