Alonso Tops Opening Session at Singapore Grand Prix

Singapore Grand Prix

3-5 October will see the main event beginning at British Summer Time on race day.

Real-time commentary available on digital platforms and BBC Sport.

Practice Session Summary

Aston Martin's Spanish veteran was fastest ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and reigning champion in FP1 for the Marina Bay race.

McLaren's drivers Australian rookie and British talent wrapped up the session in P5 and P6.

Piastri was a notable margin quicker than his teammate.

The experienced Spaniard was 0.150secs leading of the Ferrari driver and over a quarter of a second quicker than Verstappen.

Ferrari's British icon was just outside the top three.

Car Performance

Unlikely that Aston Martin will be front-runners for the top spot.

Nonetheless, the squad are hopeful of a strong showing on a technical venue that is better matched to their car, which performs better when significant amounts of aerodynamic grip are needed.

Double world title winner Alonso is also known as a Singapore specialist, and typically performs well on the Marina Bay street track.

However he was almost certainly using reduced weight or a increased power than his rivals, or both, to achieve that pace.

Session Details

Partner Lance Stroll was 1.918secs slower in P18.

He had issues with his cockpit during the initial runs and was also running new components.

FP1 in Marina Bay is not reflective of conditions under lights as it is conducted in daylight in the daytime, while the shootout and the main event are held after dark.

Title Battle

Piastri is ahead of Norris by 25 points with the final stretch to go as they approach the event in the Lion City.

The Woking-based team are set to clinch the manufacturers' crown on the weekend.

Sole scenario they can miss out in this race is if Mercedes surpass them by 31 points or the Scuderia achieve that by a similar margin.

Rival Teams

Red Bull are hopeful of a good performance after Max's wins in the previous rounds preceding this event.

The team breathed a sigh when drizzle coming down ahead of FP1 cleared by the moment the machines went out on a circuit that had not been wet.

Motorsport adviser Red Bull's advisor commented ahead of practice that they wanted a dry hour to get underway on optimizing their chassis settings for the Grand Prix.

Deborah Rodriguez
Deborah Rodriguez

A seasoned travel writer and photographer with a passion for uncovering hidden gems and sharing authentic stories from around the globe.