George Russell set the pace in the sole practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Russell finished 0.198 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris third for McLaren. Lewis Hamilton was fourth-fastest for Ferrari – over five tenths adrift.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli has one hand on the title, after team-mate Russell’s power-unit failure in the closing stages last week gave the Italian an 84-point lead with just seven rounds to run.
Russell will start the race from the back of the grid after taking a new power-unit, in a further blow to his slender title hopes.
But the 28-year-old, who has returned to the car that won him the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a fortnight ago while Antonelli runs Mercedes’ upgraded version from Malaysia, started the weekend in fine fashion.
Antonelli ended the session in the escape road after locking up at turn 16 and was only seventh fastest – albeit on the slower medium tyre.
Max Verstappen, who claimed his first win of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia last weekend, was sixth in his Red Bull.
The sole practice session was run in daylight, as Saturday’s sprint will be, but the main event on Sunday will take place under lights in somewhat cooler track conditions.
Singapore has been affected by haze as a result of wildfires in Indonesia which have been raging in recent weeks, with reports that air quality has dropped to its worst level so far this year.
The city’s famous landmarks, including the Marina Bay Sands, have been shrouded in it as the F1 circus arrived this week, while many schools in neighbouring Malaysia have been shut due to the pollution.
But Grand Prix organisers are confident it will have no impact on the planned programme both on and off the track, stating that all weather conditions including haze will be monitored as normal across the weekend.
An F1 spokesperson added: “There is absolutely no risk to the event and the conditions where the event is taking place is not a concern.”
Sprint qualifying for Saturday’s 21-lap dash around Singapore’s streets gets under way at 8:30pm local time (1:30pm BST).
PA
