SINGAPORE —
Ferrari’s
Charles Leclerc was fastest in a rain-shortened final practice
Saturday for the Singapore Grand Prix, half a second quicker than championship
leader Max Verstappen.
اضافة اعلان
Heavy afternoon
rain at the Marina Bay Circuit meant that only 30 minutes of running time was
possible with Leclerc handling conditions the best as the track began to dry
out, clocking 1min 57.782sec.
Verstappen’s
fastest effort in his Red Bull was 1:58.308 with the second Ferrari of Carlos
Sainz third in 1:58.848.
Lewis Hamilton had
sprung a surprise to be quickest in Friday’s dry first practice, but struggled
for grip on the intermediate rain tires and was 12th, more than three seconds
adrift of Leclerc.
Hamilton’s Mercedes
teammate
George Russell was ninth quickest in a session that left more questions
than answers just two hours before the all-important qualifying session under
floodlights later Saturday.
Single-lap pace in
qualifying is crucial at Singapore, where pole position is a huge advantage on
a tight track that affords few opportunities to overtake.
Spain’s Fernando
Alonso, who will start a record 350th grand prix on Sunday — one more than Kimi
Raikkonen’s previous all-time mark — was fourth fastest in his Alpine, 1.647sec
slower than Leclerc.
Sergio Perez was
fifth in the second Red Bull, Lance Stroll was sixth in the Aston Martin
followed by Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.
Sebastian Vettel,
who won in Singapore for Ferrari the last time the race was run in 2019, was
eighth in his
Aston Martin.
Verstappen has an almost unassailable lead in the title
chase but must win Sunday’s race and see his closest rivals falter to retain
his crown, or the fight will move on to Japan next week.
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