Fernando Alonso topped the first practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix with a 1:31.116 on soft tyres, edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.150s and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by a further 0.126s. The session was disrupted early for Williams as Alex Albon suffered a rear-brake fire that cut his run to just six minutes.
Session snapshot
Run in daylight and typically unrepresentative conditions for qualifying and the race, FP1 focused on systems checks and data gathering. As the track rubbered in, lap times tumbled. Alonso rose to the top late on softs, underlining Aston Martin’s one-lap potential and the effect of rapid track evolution.
Albon’s pit-lane drama
Albon reported a fire and stopped outside the Williams box, with smoke billowing from the rear brakes. Mechanics worked to quell the issue and the car was briefly wheeled before being returned to the pit-lane apron due to the smoke. Williams later confirmed a rear brake hardware problem and ruled Albon out of the rest of FP1, expressing confidence it would be resolved for FP2.
How the order shook out
- P1: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 1:31.116 (soft)
- P2: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +0.150 (soft)
- P3: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +0.276 from P1 (soft)
- Next best: Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris (all on softs)
- Standouts: Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) featured inside the top eight
- Carlos Sainz posted P8 on mediums, with Yuki Tsunoda ninth and Esteban Ocon rounding out the top ten
Notable notes
Traffic and the evolving surface skewed readings, but Aston Martin’s pace and Ferrari’s response point to a tight midfield-to-front battle. Franco Colapinto was the slowest runner, while Lance Stroll’s deficit underlined how sensitive the conditions were to timing and tyre state.
What it means for the weekend
With qualifying and the race held under lights, FP2 will be the truer competitive marker. Still, Alonso’s early authority and Williams’ need to bounce back set intriguing storylines for the rest of the Singapore weekend.
