Daniel Ricciardo set a new track record for the Singapore Grand Prix circuit as he headed the first practice session of the weekend.
The Red Bull driver set a best lap time of 1’42.489 which was just under a tenth of a second quicker than last year’s record-setting pole position time by Nico Rosberg.
Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari and the second Red Bull of Max Verstappen were just a tenth of a second slower. The quickest Mercedes was that of championship leader Lewis Hamilton who was four-tenths of a second behind in fourth place.
Hamilton briefly ran into an escape road at turn 14 near the end of the session. Team mate Valtteri Bottas complained on the radio that his car’s rear was “un-driveable” and ended up with the sixth fastest time.
The two W08s were separated by Sergio Perez, who edged Bottas by a hundredth of a second in his Force India.
Fernando Alonso set the eighth-fastest time for McLaren but again experienced a problem with power delivered from his Honda engine. He added to the mounting speculation surrounding the team by pointing out “for info, we could be P1” at one stage.
The top ten was completed by Nico Hulkenberg and Daniil Kvyat. The latter was partnered for this session by newcomer Sean Gelael, who finished over three seconds slower than the team’s regular driver.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’42.489 | 21 | |
| 2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’42.598 | 0.109 | 21 |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’42.610 | 0.121 | 23 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’42.904 | 0.415 | 27 |
| 5 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’43.423 | 0.934 | 25 |
| 6 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’43.434 | 0.945 | 27 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’43.734 | 1.245 | 25 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1’43.759 | 1.270 | 19 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’44.101 | 1.612 | 24 |
| 10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’44.220 | 1.731 | 25 |
| 11 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Honda | 1’44.340 | 1.851 | 25 |
| 12 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1’44.961 | 2.472 | 25 |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 1’45.053 | 2.564 | 25 |
| 14 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’45.084 | 2.595 | 27 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’46.456 | 3.967 | 20 |
| 16 | 50 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Haas-Ferrari | 1’46.782 | 4.293 | 27 |
| 17 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 1’47.190 | 4.701 | 11 |
| 18 | 38 | Sean Gelael | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’47.570 | 5.081 | 26 |
| 19 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’47.699 | 5.210 | 23 |
| 20 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’47.886 | 5.397 | 24 |
First practice visual gaps
Daniel Ricciardo – 1’42.489
+0.109 Sebastian Vettel – 1’42.598
+0.121 Max Verstappen – 1’42.610
+0.415 Lewis Hamilton – 1’42.904
+0.934 Sergio Perez – 1’43.423
+0.945 Valtteri Bottas – 1’43.434
+1.245 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’43.734
+1.270 Fernando Alonso – 1’43.759
+1.612 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’44.101
+1.731 Daniil Kvyat – 1’44.220
+1.851 Stoffel Vandoorne – 1’44.340
+2.472 Jolyon Palmer – 1’44.961
+2.564 Esteban Ocon – 1’45.053
+2.595 Felipe Massa – 1’45.084
+3.967 Romain Grosjean – 1’46.456
+4.293 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’46.782
+4.701 Lance Stroll – 1’47.190
+5.081 Sean Gelael – 1’47.570
+5.210 Marcus Ericsson – 1’47.699
+5.397 Pascal Wehrlein – 1’47.886
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
15th September 2017, 10:49
I’d love to see these time as the starting grid.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
15th September 2017, 10:50
I’d love to see these times as the starting grid. Sorry for the typo.
Tiya
15th September 2017, 12:12
I’d love to see this order as the race finish.
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
15th September 2017, 14:05
Deal
GeeMac (@geemac)
15th September 2017, 11:08
Saucer of milk for Car 14….
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
15th September 2017, 11:17
Galael’s junior career isn’t warranting an F1 seat and being over 3’s slower then Kvyat isn’t a good showing either…
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
15th September 2017, 11:41
@jeffreyj I asked during the week why he was been given a run & was told that he was given a run in the Red Bull simulator & surprised the engineer’s with how good his technical feedback was.
His run today wasn’t geared towards lap time, He was trying different setups & some development parts to give feedback & see if what they saw from him on the simulator translates to real world. If it does expect him to be signed as development driver to do additional sim-work & maybe some more FP1 runs.
I cynically asked how much he was paying & was flat up told that this isn’t about money, He genuinely shocked them with his technical feedback & that is the only reason he’s in the car. He’s not been looked at for a race seat, It’s purely for development feedback.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
16th September 2017, 15:49
@gt-racer I cynically asked how much he was paying & was flat up told that this isn’t about money
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
15th September 2017, 11:35
The 180 degree rotating OnBoard camera made a return during FP1. Hasn’t been used since the OnBoards were all upgraded at the start of 2015:
https://vid.me/CU12c
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
15th September 2017, 11:57
Also seemed like Ferrari were testing the latest version of the Halo with a thinner central strut & more aerodynamic shape.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4392/37096990521_eb793513c8_b.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4428/37096992171_0af52d8680_o.jpg
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
15th September 2017, 14:08
Holy crap in the whole “halo yes halo no” has anyone ever pointed out at how ugly the view from the camera car is? I was all for it up until these two screencaps.
Ashwin (@redbullf1)
15th September 2017, 15:04
Red Bulls looking quick, But sorry guys it will be a Ferrari 1-2.