Oscar Piastri was the quickest driver come the end of the first day of the Singapore Grand Prix. The championship leader set a best time of 1’30”714 in FP2. Three more drivers, from three different teams, also got under the 1’31” barrier, suggesting the field is evenly matched: Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) was second in 1’30”846, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) third in 1’30”857 and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) fourth in 1’30”877.

THE DAY ON TRACK:
Both sessions were almost identical in how they were run: eight teams and 16 drivers ran one set of Hard and one of Soft in FP1 and then in FP2 with one set of Medium and another of Soft for the qualifying simulations. The only exceptions were the Aston Martin drivers who first went out in FP1 on Mediums before using Hards in FP2 and the Mercedes drivers went from Hard to Medium in FP1. In fact their driver George Russell was unable to do any running on the Soft today as he crashed at the start of FP2 when still on Mediums.

Simone Berra: Chief Engineer:
“Today’s practice was somewhat inconclusive because of several interruptions to FP2 which reduced the available track time and therefore the amount of data gathered, especially when it comes to how the tyres behave over a long distance. However, there are some interesting takeaways. First of all, the track is providing a good level of grip, partly because the organisers have done a good job with high—pressure water jets and because several sections have been resurfaced, offering more grip than last year. The improvement in performance was more obvious in FP1 than in FP2, as the latter was really complicated because off all the interruptions. But anyway, there is still a big margin for improvement.

“All three compounds worked as expected and the performance differences between them are in line with our prior simulations. Almost all the drivers used the same number of tyres: two sets of Soft, one of Hard and one of Medium, except the Mercedes duo as they alternated between Medium and Hard in FP1 and Russell was unable to try the softest compound because of his crash. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the two sets of Mediums are managed during tomorrow’s free practice, in view of Sunday’s race.

“The increase in the speed limit here from 60 to 80 km/h could have an impact on strategies. With the time required to change tyres reduced by around six seconds, a two-stop could in theory be a viable option, even if we know the teams usually prefer to extend the stints and minimise time lost in pit lane. What we can be sure of is that, now, if the race was to be neutralised, it could make a second pit stop a much more attractive proposition than in the past.

“Finally, it’s worth noting that at first glance all three compounds, including the Soft, seem viable for the race: those choosing the C5 at the start might aim to exploit the extra grip to gain some positions in the early stages, or alternatively, use it at the end of the race."