Sebastian Vettel remained the driver to beat in Singapore but Red Bull’s rivals narrowed the gap during the final practice session.
Vettel improved on his quickest time from yesterday by a tenth of a second but Romain Grosjean was within two tenths of a second of Vettel’s benchmark time.
However at the end of the session Grosjean warned his team he was concerned the braking problem he’d experienced yesterday still hadn’t been completely cured.
Nico Rosberg was third-fastest for Mercedes but over half a second slower than Vettel.
As in yesterday’s second practice session drivers found the super-soft tyre was in the region of two seconds per lap faster than the medium. Mark Webber was the quickest driver on the track before the drivers began using the super-soft tyre, edging team mate Vettel by less than a tenth of a second. He ended the session fourth.
The Ferrari remained the fourth-quickest car in Fernando Alonso’s hands, behind Lewis Hamilton and a full second slower than Vettel.
Both McLaren’s were inside the top ten, separated by Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber, and ahead of the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa.
Kimi Raikkonen didn’t set a representative time on the super-soft tyres and ended up 12th. The struggling Force Indias were also outside the top ten, Paul di Resta having a spin at turn 14 early in the session.
Singapore Grand Prix combined practice times
| Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’47.885 | 1’44.249 | 1’44.173 | -0.076 | 68 |
| 2 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’48.355 | 1’45.411 | 1’44.364 | -1.047 | 46 |
| 3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’48.239 | 1’45.258 | 1’44.741 | -0.517 | 75 |
| 4 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’47.420 | 1’44.853 | 1’44.906 | +0.053 | 64 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’47.055 | 1’45.368 | 1’44.921 | -0.447 | 67 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’48.362 | 1’45.691 | 1’45.257 | -0.434 | 66 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 1’49.267 | 1’46.025 | 1’45.500 | -0.525 | 63 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1’49.608 | 1’45.754 | 1’45.890 | +0.136 | 63 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus-Renault | 1’48.354 | 1’45.778 | 1’46.147 | +0.369 | 63 |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’50.222 | 1’46.808 | 1’45.876 | -0.932 | 72 |
| 11 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’49.493 | 1’46.870 | 1’45.935 | -0.935 | 62 |
| 12 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’50.092 | 1’46.002 | 1’47.249 | +1.247 | 66 |
| 13 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’49.348 | 1’46.429 | 1’46.084 | -0.345 | 71 |
| 14 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1’49.481 | 1’47.761 | 1’46.338 | -1.423 | 62 |
| 15 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’50.757 | 1’46.406 | 1’46.358 | -0.048 | 66 |
| 16 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1’49.887 | 1’46.606 | 1’46.879 | +0.273 | 67 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1’49.510 | 1’47.434 | 1’46.660 | -0.774 | 71 |
| 18 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’49.355 | 1’47.287 | 1’46.893 | -0.394 | 63 |
| 19 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1’52.920 | 1’49.434 | 1’48.931 | -0.503 | 75 |
| 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 1’53.647 | 1’49.526 | 1’49.037 | -0.489 | 75 |
| 21 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’52.359 | 1’49.731 | 1’49.182 | -0.549 | 67 |
| 22 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’52.673 | 1’49.619 | 1’49.982 | +0.363 | 68 |
2013 Singapore Grand Prix
- Penalty for third reprimand “disappointing” – Webber
- Di Resta still unsure over cause of Singapore crash
- Singapore showed Vettel’s true advantage – Hamilton
- Fourth Driver of the Weekend win for Vettel
- Second-lowest ever rating for Singapore Grand Prix
Chris (@tophercheese21)
21st September 2013, 12:14
Vettel is the clear favourite for pole, but I think Webber and the two Mercs will give him a good run for his money.
Todfod (@todfod)
21st September 2013, 12:20
Romains race pace looked strong in FP2 yesterday as well. Theres no way anyone can stop the Red Bull from winning tomorrow.. but I think Romains got the best chance of stopping Red Bull from taking a 1-2 on Sunday
scuderia_fan85 (@scuderia_fan85)
21st September 2013, 12:47
Kimi will better him. the only thing Romain has shown is plenty of speed is there.
Albert
21st September 2013, 12:57
In all fairness, let’s see how the qualifying. It wouldn’t be the first time we Hamilton making a jump ahead in quali.
Deej92 (@deej92)
21st September 2013, 12:36
Force India’s slump is quite extraordinary. A few races ago they were better than McLaren. Now Sauber are better than them, and arguable Williams have a slight edge.
Albert
21st September 2013, 12:54
I hope Hulkenberg/Sauber can keep the good pace in quali. He definitely deserves more time in the spotlight.
There are recent rumors McLaren is not happy with Perez, and with Alonso not leaving Ferrari, I’m hoping McLaren will be interested in him for 2015. Or, VERY wishful thinking, 2014 *very unlikely though.