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F1 free practice returned from dazzling lights under the Singapore night sky, to find day running had become somewhat more treacherous for FP3. With torrential rain occupying much of the afternoon, there was concern that the final practice session wouldn’t begin at all.
Shortly following a disrupted W Series qualifying, which saw two red flags, the horrendous conditions continued to worsen as FP3 approached. The threat of bad weather had loomed over much of the build-up to the first Singapore Grand Prix since 2019. However, dry running prevailed for both free practices on Friday.
In FP1, Lewis Hamilton topped his first session of the season, setting a 1:43.033 – less than a tenth quicker than Max Verstappen. Although, the Mercedes driver did complete his fastest lap later in the session, on a track that was rapidly evolving.
Night running returned to the streets of Singapore for the first time in the COVID-19 era for FP2. In the only representative session prior to qualifying for the teams to get dialled in, Ferrari set the pace.
A difficult Friday for Charles Leclerc saw a break issue limit him to precious few laps – making FP3 all the more critical for him. But, the Monegasque driver did have enough time to set the second fastest lap time of the evening. It was, however, his teammate, Carlos Sainz who topped the order with a 1:42.587 – the quickest time of the day.
Pathetic fallacy
A storm is brewing in the F1 paddock – two teams allegedly in breach of the 2021 cost cap. And the weather reflected that atmosphere with monsoon-like conditions for FP3.
The F1 day began with the team principals’ press conference, and Christian Horner did not mince his words when he spoke of potential defamation lawsuits in response to the rumours from other teams linking Red Bull to a potential major breach of the spending rules.
“We stand absolutely 100% behind that submission”
Christian Horner says Red Bull are confident they have complied with the cost cap ? pic.twitter.com/tJlGuMODOO
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 1, 2022
Meanwhile, due to the conditions on track, each team was awarded an extra set of intermediate tyres per driver. As the clock reached 18:00 local time, the FP3 timer began ticking down from the hour set aside for the session. However, the pitlane remained closed in Singapore. A “novel” solution to the schedule for qualifying Saturday, as put by Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz.
Whilst the threat of rain is seemingly ever-present when F1 takes to Singapore, the pinnacle of motorsport has somehow managed to largely evade such conditions in years prior. Save for one notable exception – the start of the 2017 grand prix. No prizes for remembering what happened then. (Help below, if needed.)
The 2017 #SingaporeGP start was not without incident ? pic.twitter.com/To2Qz5nWUW
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 27, 2022
As the session passed the 20-minute mark, the track remained untested with the pitlane closed. Marshalls set about trying to clear standing water and the drivers slowly began readying themselves. News came through suggesting that running would be started at 18:30 local time, leaving a 30-minute wet sprint to get prepared for a likely wet qualifying.
Into the second half
The pitlane opened, as promised, at the halfway point of the session. But still, no one ventured onto the circuit. After a few minutes of standoffishness from the F1 field, Pierre Gasly entered the fray adorning full wet tyres.
He was soon joined by teammate Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas. The Frenchman had to tip-toe around during his first flying lap, still clearing the water for the rest of the pack.
It wasn’t long before Bottas was suggesting that the intermediates might be the tyre to be on. With just 20 minutes to go, Gasly’s 2:09.894 remained the benchmark to beat around the streets of Singapore.
As the session approached the 45-minute point, intermediates were the order of the day. Max Verstappen came out on track for the first time in FP3, and immediately lowered the reference point to 2:02.098.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc brought the marker down to 2:00.983 with eight minutes to go, but Verstappen quickly responded. In doing so, the Dutchmen set the first sub-2 minute time of the day, a whole second and a half clear of Leclerc.
The track was quickly ramping up as the Ferrari man better the Red Bull the next time around, with a 1:58.899.
Into the final five minutes of running, Hamilton was the last man to set a time. It was, however, not representative, and beat only Nicholas Latifi, who made a mistake in his Williams.
Full session results to follow…