Fernando Alonso had set the tone in FP1 with a 1:31.116. Come FP2, it was Piastri who found the sweet spot when it mattered.
At 21:00 local, Nico Hülkenberg hustled the pack out into slightly cooler night air. Alex Albon, sidelined by a rear-brake hardware gremlin in FP1, was clearly eager to put miles under him.
Red Flag #1: Russell brushes the wall
A few minutes later, George Russell discovered that Turn 16 still bites. One glance, one snap, and the W16 was nursing a broken nose. “That was weird,” came the radio understatement of the night as the red flag was waved.
Quali sims and Red Flag #2
With just over half an hour to go, the circus restarted and the softs came out for qualifying simulations. Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc stayed on mediums, while Esteban Ocon briefly rose to the top with a 1:31.480 for Haas.
A kiss of the wall on exit Turn 17 resulted in Liam Lawson and his Racing Bull rolling to a halt at the pit entry, cueing the second red flag of the day.
Pit-lane pinball: Leclerc vs Norris
As the session was announced to resume, we got the night’s eyebrow-raiser. Leclerc emerged alongside Norris in the pit lane, the Ferrari’s release leaving the McLaren squeezed into the wall.
Norris was wheeled back in for a new front wing. The stewards subsequently issued a €10,000 fine for Ferrari for unsafe release.
The final dash: Papaya to the top
When the track fell green again, everyone hustled to make up lost time. In the closing five minutes, Piastri lit the board with a 1:30.714, nudging Max Verstappen off the summit. Isack Hadjar then split them, sliding his Racing Bulls into P2, just 0.132s back, as the majority ran the soft.
Alonso banked P4 in another tidy showing for Aston Martin, with Lance Stroll close by in P5. Norris, annoyed with himself on the radio, still wedged himself between the green cars.
Behind them, Ocon took P7; Williams’ Carlos Sainz and the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton rounded out the top ten
Just outside, Yuki Tsunoda (P11) headed Ollie Bearman (P12), Albon (P13), Hülkenberg (P14) and Bortoleto (P15). Pierre Gasly was P16 for Alpine, with Lawson, Antonelli, Franco Colapinto and Russell completing the order from P17 to P20.
FP3 fires up at 17:30 local, with Qualifying at 21:00 on Saturday, a familiar Marina Bay two-step that rewards those who can thread the needle when the walls are a handshake away.
Read more content at Burnpavement.
