Singapore GP: Hamilton quicker in FP1 from Verstappen by 0.084s

Darshan Chokhani September 30, 2022

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Lewis Hamilton set the pace in FP1 of F1 Singapore GP by 0.084s from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

While the FP1 session in F1 Singapore GP is not the one which showcases how the weekend is to pan out, but with the Marina Bay circuit returning to the calendar after two years gap and under new regulations, the first session was as important as the other ones.

The drivers and teams needed this session to get used to the track again and be particular, with the likes of Mercedes’ George Russell and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll having some troubled times. The former managed to escape a major hit, but the latter didn’t.

He touched the wall and caused a red flag which ended his session early. Also, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz faced multiple moments as he chased a balanced set-up, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ran wide but managed to continue on without major issues.

It was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton on pace in FP1 of F1 Singapore GP with a 1m43.033s lap, where he pushed Verstappen (1m43.117s) to second by 0.084s as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m43.435s) was third. The Monegasque had brake troubles early in the session.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m43.839s) was fourth but had some trouble towards the end of the session from Russell (1m44.066s), with Sainz (1m44.138s) in sixth from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m44.736s). Despite his crash, Stroll (1m45.221s) was eighth from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m45.258s) and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m45.336s).

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel slotted in 11th from the leading McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo in 12th ahead of the leading Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and the leading Haas of Kevin Magnussen, with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in 15th.

Williams’ Alexander Albon was 16th as he returned to F1 action after missing Italian GP, with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Haas’ Mick Schumacher, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.

In terms of tyres, Stroll, Alonso, Vettel, Bottas and Guanyu set their best time on the medium tyres, where Norris was the driver who didn’t go for a fast lap as he carried the updates brought by McLaren and did co-relation work.