Fernando Alonso edged the Mercedes drivers by a tenth of a second in the first practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver set the quickest time of the first 90 minute session using the soft tyres – the same compound used by all 22 drivers.
Behind the Mercedes pair were the two Red Bulls, led by Sebastian Vettel. However the world champion came to a stop moments before the end of the session, suspecting a failure in his car’s Renault engine.
He was far from the only driver to hit trouble on one of the most punishing venues on the calendar. Jean-Eric Vergne, who was sixth-fastest, also hit trouble in his Toro Rosso. The team detected a battery problem on his car early in the session, and shortly before the end he stalled at the pit lane exit as a result of the fault.
Kimi Raikkonen came into the pits with a burning front-right brake disc. He ended the session seventh ahead of Jenson Button.
Daniil Kvyat made it two Toro Rossos in the top ten, but was frustrated by his car’s handling as well as being held up by Nico Hulkenberg. The frustrated driver referred to his rival’s driving as “stupid”.
The revised restrictions on team radio communications had little consequences during the session, though both Lewis Hamilton and Vergne found that enquiries about their performance relative to other cars went unanswered as their engineers are no longer allowed to supply that information.
2014 Singapore Grand Prix
- Frustrating year led to Singapore outburst – Grosjean
- Mercedes can clinch team’s title in Japan
- Hamilton beats Vergne to Driver of the Weekend
- Singapore GP falls short of high 2014 standard
- 2014 Singapore Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
Image © Singapore GP/Sutton
Broom (@)
19th September 2014, 12:43
As an Alonso/Ferrari fan I love 2014’s first practise sessions. The rest of the weekend is irrelevant.
tmax (@tmax)
19th September 2014, 14:10
@brum55 +1 .. right on target
I never understood the first practice Magic of Ferrari !!!!
Formula Indonesia (@)
19th September 2014, 12:46
Toro Rosso is really quick, I hoepe they can maintain the advantage throughout Saturday and Sunday, and lets hope JEV and Kvyat can fight the Bulls (unlikely though, but just hoping)
Gaz
19th September 2014, 12:47
Flow-vis on a rear wing at this stage in the season? That’s quite interesting. I wonder if it’s a wing relevant to this year or it’s a case of trying out a few theories for next year?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th September 2014, 12:52
They did say they would be trying new stuff for next season in practice. But we tend to see a lot of upgrades at Singapore anyway after two races at low-downforce tracks.
Nirupam (@nirupam)
19th September 2014, 12:50
I am a fan of Alonso, and I am not drawing any conclusion from this untill I see the qualifying
However, it is amazing how consistent Ferrari has been in all the races, one of the fastest in FP1/2, leading the midfield in quali and then finally in the race settling for points in the lower half :)
jeffreyJ
19th September 2014, 12:50
Max Chillton’s pace is once again pathetic…. It’s only FP1 but it’s not like he isnt almost always behind Bianchi. His dad should just stop paying for this public humiliation of his son imho.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th September 2014, 12:51
Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe it’s just in my head,but there seemed to be a lot more interesting stuff on the radios in that session. I’m sure I posted a lot more of it than usual.
KeithR (@)
19th September 2014, 12:57
Yeah I thought so too @keithcollantine. Bernie has succeeded in conjuring up an extra level of entertainment, again :)
DaveW (@dmw)
19th September 2014, 13:27
Hamilton: “How are my sector times?”
Bonnington: “Keep the revs up.” #F1
Mercedes is obviously using a secret code for sector time comparisons, right?. When will the FIA stop Mercedes from cheating? The FIA needs to closely scrutinize every apparently non-sequitur exchange heard on the radio.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
19th September 2014, 13:40
Yeah, it certainly seemed more interesting, and it felt like there was much more of it. For example, it seemed like we heard more from Kimi than we have heard all season long.
Damonw
19th September 2014, 12:57
That old chestnut, Alonso looking very quick in practice then nowhere when it comes to crunch time.
Maybe that’s just their program that they prefer, Crofty still falling for it as per usual.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
19th September 2014, 13:05
I do fall for this one here a bit myself as well.
Usually, he’s third quickest and then falls back from there. Now he’s quickest overall, surely he’ll still be stuck in the top 4 by the end of the quali.
DaveF1 (@davef1)
19th September 2014, 13:46
4th in the championship is hardly ‘nowhere’. Especially when you consider he’s sat ahead of Vettel and Massa who are both in faster cars.
marcusbreese (@marcusbreese)
19th September 2014, 13:23
Can you expand on JEV’s batter problem?
Will Wood (@willwood)
19th September 2014, 13:35
@marcusbreese I believe he was suffering from a soggy bottom…
AldoH
19th September 2014, 16:23
I LOL’ed…
hobo (@hobo)
19th September 2014, 13:38
Too thick, @marcusbreese. Won’t stick to anything, doesn’t run, too heavy.
This comment is actually applicable. :D
Nirupam (@nirupam)
19th September 2014, 13:34
Hamilton 262
Rosberg 250
Alonso 223
Based on the FP1 results so far…, Hamilton 6 wins vs 4 a piece by Rosberg and Alonso :)
Bruno (@brunes)
19th September 2014, 13:52
What?
Nirupam (@nirupam)
19th September 2014, 15:35
Points calculated on FP1 results :)
DaveW (@dmw)
19th September 2014, 16:11
Don’t give Bernie any ideas.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
19th September 2014, 13:43
I don’t get this strategy from Ferrari. Surely if a fan likes F1 enough to watch the first and invariably most uneventful session of the weekend, they are surely not likely to fall for the blatant showboating Ferrari is prone to. They are especially not likely to fall for it in the knowledge that Singapore demands excellent traction, and correlatively how poorly Ferrari performed at Bahrain and Monza…
Anthony (@lagerstars)
19th September 2014, 14:09
Its all about the headlines – not everyone watches F1 but having them in the headlines grabs more press focus for the brand
Muna
19th September 2014, 13:52
“The team detected a batter problem on his car early in the session”
Was it unsalted ?? @keithcollantine