George Russell topped the timesheets in the only free practice session for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, but Max Verstappen delivered a warning shot on medium tyres as Formula 1 teams prepared for a sprint weekend with little room for error.
With just 60 minutes of practice available before competitive running begins, teams wasted no time getting to work.
However, the blistering 53C track temperature offered a poor representation of the conditions expected for qualifying and Sunday’s night race.
Almost the entire field initially opted for hard tyres, with Kimi Antonelli setting the early benchmark at 1m33.830s. The Mercedes driver edged Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.034s, with team-mate Russell another 0.022s behind.
Isack Hadjar was fourth despite reporting excessive bottoming from his Red Bull, particularly under braking, while also complaining about a slippery throttle pedal. Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton completed the top seven, all within six-tenths of Antonelli.
Verstappen languished ninth in the early running, behind Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, who led the midfield pack.
The session was interrupted with 20 minutes remaining when Hulkenberg stopped on the main straight, reporting over the radio: “Something bad happened on the gearbox.”
His stricken Audi prompted a virtual safety car as the car was recovered. Running continued on hard tyres before teams switched to softer compounds for the closing stages.
Russell quickest, but Max makes his point
Russell made the most of the soft tyres to clock a 1m32.274s, despite running an older Mercedes specification. He finished two-tenths clear of both Leclerc and Norris, with Hamilton and Piastri around half a second off the pace.
Those five were the only drivers outside Cadillac to sample the soft compound, leaving the outright pecking order somewhat incomplete.
Verstappen, meanwhile, offered a more intriguing reference on mediums. His 1m33.006s put him sixth overall but made him half a second quicker than championship leader Antonelli on the same compound.
The Italian also ran wide into the Turn 16 escape road on his final flying lap, while Hadjar finished seven-tenths behind his Red Bull team-mate.
Pierre Gasly led the midfield on mediums for Alpine, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Haas rookie Oliver Bearman. Aston Martin, Williams and Audi were closely matched further back, with Fernando Alonso responsible for much of Aston Martin’s encouraging showing.
With representative conditions still to come, Russell had the headline time, but Verstappen’s medium-tyre pace offered a reason for Mercedes to remain cautious.
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