Singapore GP: Lando Norris tops FP2 as Lewis Hamilton laments ‘unbelievable’ W15

A smiling Lando Norris

Lando Norris set the pace in the first representative session of the Singapore Grand Prix race weekend, with Ferrari in hot pursuit.

Charles Leclerc ended FP2 only 0.058s down on Norris with Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz also in the top three, while Lewis Hamilton continued to be plagued by understeer issues as he missed out on the top 10.

Lando Norris sets the pace in Singapore GP FP2

For the first time this race weekend, the lights took effect around Marina Bay, creating representative conditions for FP2 as drivers continue their preparations for qualifying and the race.

Max Verstappen – who has been ordered to carry out “work of public interest” after swearing in the FIA driver press conference – was having early issues with his team radio button on a race weekend where the governing body has begun its swearing clampdown, while Sergio Perez in the sister Red Bull received an early black and white flag for crossing the pit exit line, in avoidance of an Aston Martin.

Daniel Ricciardo was setting the early pace for VCARB, on the race weekend being speculated as potentially his last, Liam Lawson linked with that seat for Austin.

After a difficult FP1, Hamilton continued his complaints about the Mercedes, saying he had “no rear end” in the W15, while Verstappen went over and beyond the kerbs in a rough ride and off at Turn 7.

With the medium and hard tyres in use, Alex Albon clocked a 1:32.238 on the mediums to go fastest, a tenth up on Mercedes’ George Russell using the same compound, earning applause in the Williams garage.

Sainz was on to go P1 until a scruffy final sector where he lost eight tenths, while Albon’s Williams team-mate Franco Colapinto stopped by at the Alpine pit box as he was promptly ushered next door.

Sainz’s Ferrari team-mate Leclerc meanwhile hooked up all three sectors, purple throughout, as he went to the top of the timings by almost six-tenths over Albon.

No such joy for Perez, who was “all over the place” on the hard rubber, while Hamilton was still battling those oversteer woes. George Russell meanwhile was in limp home mode in his Mercedes, but found a quick fix.

Albon was enjoying his foray at the sharp end of the grid, bolting on the softs to return to P1, 0.015s up on Leclerc.

Russell found the fix just in time to start his flying lap on the softs, briefly going P1, very briefly in fact, as Norris, Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda became the new top three after those opening soft-tyre runs, Leclerc within a tenth of Norris.

Sainz would displace Tsunoda from the top three, but with over half a second to find on Leclerc, had work to do.

Tsunoda was asking race engineer Ernesto Desiderio if he was being “sarcastic” after praising his out-lap work when it came to the delta, after pointing out the front-left and brakes to work on.

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Hamilton was continuing to have an “unbelievable” experience, and not in a good way, as he improved to P11 only, just under a second off the pace.

For the final third of the session, race simulations took over, Norris managing to continue after a whack of the Turn 3 wall with McLaren reporting no cause for concern from the data. Oscar Piastri was also checking out the wall coming out of the Turn 17, McLaren assessing and clearing him to continue.

Sainz was reporting a “strange” issue with the brakes as he kept locking the front-right on his Ferrari, while Norris and Leclerc were getting too close to comfort with a Sauber, Norris taking to the run-off at Turn 1 and Turn 7.

But it was job done for Norris, who topped FP2 from the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz, a session which almost ended a few minutes early as Russell found the barriers at Turn 8, the Brit reversing and leaving his shattered W15 front wing at the scene.

FP2 times

1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:30.727
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.058
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.629
4 Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.741
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.747
6 Daniel Ricciardo RB +0.751
7 George Russell Mercedes +0.761
8 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.871
9 Alexander Albon Williams +0.923
10 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +0.940
11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.982
12 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.023
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +1.066
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.230
15 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.294
16 Franco Colapinto Williams +1.330
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.392
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.495
19 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +1.632
20 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +2.059

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