2026 Singapore GP FP1: Russell sets the pace

George Russell delivered the fastest lap of Singapore’s sole practice session, putting Mercedes ahead of Ferrari and McLaren as teams compressed their preparations into one busy hour at Marina Bay. With Sprint Qualifying still to come on Friday, the session offered the first indication of the competitive order at Round 17 of the 2026 F1 World Championship.

Russell’s benchmark of 1m 32.274s left Charles Leclerc 0.198s behind in second, with Lando Norris taking third for McLaren, 0.273s off the pace. It was an encouraging start for the Briton, whose Sunday prospects are already compromised by power unit changes that will send him to the back of the Grand Prix grid.

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2026 Singapore Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Singapore Grand Prix FP1, 9 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:32.274	28
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.198s	26
3	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.273s	24
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.499s	26
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.564s	27
6	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.732s	22
7	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+1.251s	28
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+1.449s	27
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.764s	26
10	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.881s	25
11	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+2.057s	29
12	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+2.202s	27
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+2.207s	25
14	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.221s	27
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.377s	31
16	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+2.462s	25
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.531s	30
18	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+2.610s	16
19	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+2.709s	27
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.994s	26
21	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+3.025s	21
22	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+3.346s	25

A dusty start and little time to spare

The pit lane opened at 16:30 local time, prompting teams to send their cars straight onto the circuit. With only 60 minutes available to assess balance, build confidence and prepare for competitive running, every lap mattered—even on a dusty surface that initially offered less grip than drivers wanted.

As daylight faded, sparks traced the cars’ progress over Marina Bay’s bumps. Russell’s early assessment was that his Mercedes felt “very stiff”, highlighting the challenge of finding a setup that could handle the uneven streets while delivering the precision needed between the barriers.

Most drivers began on Pirelli’s Hard compound, working through their opening programmes as the track improved. There were early reminders of the limited margin for error: Lance Stroll took his Aston Martin into the Turn 1 run-off, while Norris used the escape road at Turn 16.

By the 15-minute mark, Norris had brought the leading time down to 1m 34.367s. Grip was building and temperatures were edging lower as the session moved towards evening, allowing drivers to push progressively harder.

Audi trouble interrupts the running

Leclerc subsequently became the first driver beneath 1m 34s, recording 1m 33.969s, before championship leader Kimi Antonelli moved the benchmark to 1m 33.830s for Mercedes.

Norris then narrowly avoided the barrier at Turn 9, abandoning the corner and heading into the run-off. A more consequential interruption followed when Nico Hulkenberg stopped his Audi in front of the pit lane exit after reporting that “something bad happened on the gearbox”.

With less than 20 minutes remaining, a brief Virtual Safety Car allowed Hulkenberg’s car to be rolled back into the pits. The stoppage interrupted a phase in which teams were still gathering longer-run data on the Hard tyre before switching their attention to qualifying simulations.

Russell wins the late battle on Softs

Russell was the first to move onto Soft tyres and immediately lowered the fastest time to 1m 32.864s. Oscar Piastri came within 0.034s of that effort in the McLaren, while Leclerc abandoned his first attempt after complaining that he had been impeded at Turn 5.

Lewis Hamilton then moved Ferrari to the top with 1m 32.821s, but Russell had a stronger response ready. Inside the final five minutes, he produced the decisive 1m 32.274s, a lap that remained unbeaten through the chequered flag.

Leclerc and Norris finished closest to the Mercedes, while Hamilton claimed fourth, 0.499s behind, and Piastri completed the top five at 0.564s.

Different compounds add context to the order

Max Verstappen finished sixth for Red Bull, the highest-placed driver to record his best lap on the Medium compound. Antonelli also used the yellow-walled tyre for his fastest effort and ended seventh, having run deep at Turn 16 on his final attempt.

Isack Hadjar put the second Red Bull eighth, followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson to complete the top 10.

Haas driver Ollie Bearman finished 11th, ahead of Arvid Lindblad in the second Racing Bulls, Esteban Ocon’s Haas, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz for Williams.

Gabriel Bortoleto placed 16th for Audi, followed by Williams driver Alex Albon, Hulkenberg, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Stroll. Cadillac pair Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas completed the 22-car classification.

Russell therefore heads into Friday’s Sprint Qualifying with the fastest practice lap, although the differing tyre choices leave an important qualification to the order. With practice complete, teams must now turn that single hour of preparation into performance when grid positions are at stake.