Free Practice – Singapore: Red Bull puts pressure on Mercedes

The first session started during the day, with very little grip due to the urban nature of the Singapore circuit. Nevertheless, at the end of this first hour and a half of the session, the top two spots were once again held by the two Mercedes drivers. This time, Nico Rosberg managed to get the better of Lewis Hamilton, with a margin of over three-tenths.

But on a circuit as winding as Singapore, engine power makes much less of a difference than on a circuit like Monza. Daniel Ricciardo was thus able to place his Red Bull within two-hundredths of the championship leader. Behind the Australian, we logically find the two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen. The German from Scuderia had a bit of a scare in the last half-hour when he lost control of his car. Nevertheless, he managed to stop it completely just before hitting the wall.

For his official debut in a Grand Prix, Alexander Rossi did not have that luck as he crashed into the wall four minutes before the end. Until then, he had managed to hold his own against his teammate, Will Stevens. The gap between the two Manor drivers was only 15 thousandths of a second.

The battle for the midfield was of rare intensity, with just over a tenth of a second separating Carlos Sainz in 9th and Felipe Nasr in 13th.

If Valtteri Bottas posted the 6th fastest time in his Williams, Felipe Massa had much more difficulty as he only managed the 17th best time of the session. Daniil Kvyat also experienced new issues with his fuel system, explaining why the Russian was only able to complete 8 laps and the 18th fastest time of this session.

But these reliability issues were well resolved for the second session since it was Daniil Kvyat who set the fastest time. It is the first time this season that a session has not been dominated by a Mercedes or a Ferrari. Indeed, the two Mercedes did not impress as Lewis Hamilton was only ranked in 4th position. The session was even more complicated for Nico Rosberg, who was outpaced by Sergio Perez and finished only 7th.

The form of the Red Bull is confirmed by the final position of Daniel Ricciardo, who ranks 3rd, just a tenth of a second behind his teammate. The two Milton Keynes drivers thus surrounded Kimi Räikkönen, while Sebastian Vettel had to settle for the fifth fastest time of the session.

The rest of the standings also revealed pleasant surprises as Fernando Alonso was able to nose his McLaren into 8th position, just ahead of Nico Hülkenberg’s Sahara Force India and Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso. The developments made by these last two teams seem to have paid off, while those of Sauber appear more modest, with Felipe Nasr finishing 12th, just ahead of Marcus Ericsson.

As usual, the two Williams drivers spent their Friday on various adjustments, without seeking performance since Felipe Massa finished in a modest 11th place while Valtteri Bottas did no better than 17th. We will see tomorrow if they have once again hidden their game to be ready for the qualifications and the race.

The session was also marked by a red flag, once again caused by a Manor, this time Will Stevens’. Alexander Rossi, meanwhile, managed to come back out for the last twenty minutes, after his mechanics finished the repairs on his single-seater.