2026 F1 Round 17 Singapore FP1: Russell leads Leclerc and Norris

On October 9, Round 17 of the 2026 F1 season, the Singapore Grand Prix, completed its only free practice session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. George Russell led with a 1:32.274, Charles Leclerc was second at 0.198 seconds behind, and Lando Norris third at 0.273 seconds.

The last five minutes change the leader

The 16:30 local session began with most on hards. Improving grip brought fastest laps successively from Norris, Leclerc and Antonelli. Hamilton's late 1:32.821 briefly led before Russell set the best in the last five minutes.

Hamilton finished fourth, 0.499 seconds behind, with Piastri fifth at 0.564 seconds. Verstappen's 1:33.006 was sixth and highest among medium-tire best laps; Antonelli also used mediums in seventh and ran wide at Turn 16 on his last try.

Hülkenberg's stop triggers a brief VSC

Near the final twenty minutes he stopped by pit exit and reported gearbox trouble. Race control briefly deployed the Virtual Safety Car, and the car was then pushed back into the pits. Hülkenberg completed 16 laps, the fewest of any driver, while Sainz completed the most with 31. Norris also used Turn 9's escape road to avoid the wall.

Hadjar, Gasly and Lawson completed the top ten. Alonso was fourteenth, Sainz fifteenth, Cadillac drivers Pérez and Bottas occupied the final two positions. All 22 set valid times.

The order must be read in the context of tyres and timing: Russell and other leading drivers set late single-lap times on softs, whereas Verstappen and Antonelli set their best laps on mediums. Track temperature reached 53°C during practice, while evening Sprint Qualifying would bring different conditions. Singapore’s Sprint format gives drivers only this one hour of practice before Sprint Qualifying; practice positions do not determine the starting grid.

Complete Singapore FP1 results