F1 championship leader Oscar Piastri ended Friday’s second practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix at the top of the timesheets, emerging fastest in a stop-start hour that featured crashes, collisions, and a reshuffled order.
The McLaren driver posted a 1m30.714s to secure the quickest time, edging out Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a session that lost more than 20 minutes to red flags.
McLaren looked immediately sharper than they had in FP1. Lando Norris opened the bidding with a 1m32.226s on medium tyres, before Piastri delivered a 1m31.716s on his third flying lap to go quickest.
Norris nearly responded with a stronger lap but faded in the final sector, falling just 0.007s short of his team-mate.
Mercedes’ George Russell brought an early halt to the action when he spun and smacked the wall at Turn 16. The impact snapped off his front wing and scattered debris, while barriers required repair.
Once the track was cleared, Lewis Hamilton briefly vaulted to the top, only to be displaced as soft-tyre runs began in earnest. Esteban Ocon was the first to take advantage, registering a 1m31.480s.
Momentum was lost once more when Liam Lawson clipped the wall at Turn 17 and suffered a dramatic right-front tyre failure, stopping on the pitlane entry and triggering the second red flag.
When the track reopened, chaos spilled into the pitlane. Charles Leclerc exited the Ferrari garage directly into Norris’ path, clattering the McLaren and forcing it into the wall. Norris’ front wing was knocked off in the clash, sparking a flurry of radio frustration and adding further drama to an already messy evening.
Both drivers and their team's representative were summoned to the stewards post-session.
Despite the interruptions, the final 20 minutes allowed a compressed showdown on soft tyres. Hadjar impressed with a 1m31.440s to briefly head the order before Fernando Alonso, FP1’s fastest driver, fired into the 1m30s with a 1m30.877s.
Verstappen quickly bettered Alonso by two-hundredths, but Piastri had the last word. The Australian hooked up a 1m30.714s to reclaim the top spot, underlining McLaren’s strong single-lap pace.
Hadjar produced one final flourish to split Piastri and Verstappen, demoting Alonso to fourth. Norris salvaged fifth after his pitlane clash, though he voiced frustration over the near half-second deficit to Piastri, blaming his own driving.
Lance Stroll claimed sixth ahead of Ocon, with Carlos Sainz, Leclerc, and Hamilton completing the top ten.
The session ultimately left more questions than answers. While McLaren appear quick, their drivers endured contrasting fortunes.
Ferrari must deal with the fallout of Leclerc’s pitlane error, while Aston Martin and Red Bull again showed strong pace.
With conditions only set to get hotter under the Singapore lights, FP2’s drama may be just a taste of what’s to come this weekend.
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