Charles Leclerc topped the timesheet in the opening practice session for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix beating Lando Norris by 0.076s, while defending world champion Max Verstappen was fourth behind Carlos Sainz.
McLaren driver Norris set the pace in the opening minutes of the hour-long session. The Briton posted a lap of 1:33.903 on Medium compound Pirelli tyres before lowering the benchmark to 1:33.199, a lap that was good enough to keep in top spot until Leclerc, with Hard tyres on board his Ferrari SF-24, deposed him with a lap of 1:32.702 to displace Norris from the top of the times.
Norris then bolted on a set of Soft tyres and he reclaimed P1 with a lap of 1:32.165. The McLaren driver then went for a second run on the same set and this time he improved by over tenths to set a new benchmark of 1:31.839. On his first run Sainz had got close to Norris’ own opener and on his second run the Spanish driver also improved, though he remained a tenth off Norris.
Leclerc got even close with his next run as he crossed the line just 0.037s off Norris and then a third attempt on Softs found him the time he needed and he scraped into P1 just under eight hundredths of a second ahead of the McLaren driver.
Verstappen had a solid session but ended up 0.334s off the pace in fourth place and almost 0.145s behind Sainz.
TB’s Yuki Tsunoda ended the session in fifth, exactly 0.5s off the pace, while Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri took sixth for McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo was seventh fastest in the other RB ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon. Fernando Alonso was ninth for Aston Martin and the top 10 order was completed by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.763 26 193.803
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:31.839 0.076 25 193.643
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:31.952 0.189 27 193.405
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.097 0.334 22 193.100
5 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:32.263 0.500 26 192.753
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:32.369 0.606 25 192.532
7 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:32.375 0.612 21 192.519
8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:32.451 0.688 25 192.361
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:32.610 0.847 26 192.031
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:32.615 0.852 27 192.020
11 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1:32.618 0.855 25 192.014
12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:32.679 0.916 24 191.888
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:32.694 0.931 27 191.857
14 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.767 1.004 22 191.706
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:32.778 1.015 21 191.683
16 George Russell Mercedes 1:33.334 1.571 25 190.541
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:33.377 1.614 21 190.453
18 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:33.485 1.722 25 190.233
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:33.585 1.822 24 190.030
20 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:33.797 2.034 24 189.600