Max Verstappen tops final Singapore GP practice, Piastri and Russell close behind
Verstappen has claimed the fastest time in the final practice session ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri just behind in second and Mercedes’ George Russell completing the top three. Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressed with fourth, while Lando Norris finished fifth.
The session started with McLaren showing strong early pace on medium tires. Norris initially led his teammate by about a tenth of a second before Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz briefly jumped to the top spot as the Williams drivers became the first to switch to soft tires.
Disaster struck for RB’s Liam Lawson just 15 minutes into the session. The New Zealander crashed for the second time this weekend, hitting the wall while exiting Turn 7 and bringing out the red flag.
After a 10-minute delay, the session resumed with Norris still leading the pack, posting a 1:31.0 on medium tires.
In a flurry of late activity, Mercedes rookie Antonelli briefly claimed the top spot, only to be outdone by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The rapid succession of improvements continued as Norris, Hamilton, and Piastri all took turns at the front.
Verstappen ultimately delivered when it mattered, beating Norris’ time by a tenth of a second to claim P1 for Red Bull.
Russell came incredibly close to matching the Dutchman, finishing just 0.049 seconds behind in second place.
Aston Martin seems to have lost the promising pace they showed in earlier practice sessions. Fernando Alonso could only manage 13th, while teammate Lance Stroll struggled down in 18th.
The close times at the front suggest we could be in for an exciting qualifying session later today, with Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes all showing competitive pace.
