Max Verstappen was quickest for Red Bull in final practice for the Singapore Grand Prix, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen’s 1’41.829 was not the fastest time of the weekend but it was enough to give Red Bull a clean sweep of topping the timesheets for each of the three practice sessions.
It was a clear evening in Singapore as teams prepared for final practice around the Marina Bay circuit.
Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll both clipped the wall on the exit of turn 21 on early runs, but only minimal damage was done to either car.
The session was red flagged with just under half an hour remaining after Marcus Ericsson spun his Sauber into the wall on the exit of turn 19, causing major damage to the rear of the car.
In the closing minutes of the session, drivers prepared for their qualifying simulation runs on the ultra soft tyres.
Despite Red Bull’s pace, there was trouble for both the team’s drivers late in the session. Daniel Ricciardo clipped the barrier exiting the fast left hander of turn 10 and cruised back to the pits with minor damage, while Verstappen complained that his car was “shifting by itself” before pitting and resuming shortly after.
Verstappen’s 1’41.829 was not bested, putting the Red Bull driver quickest of all and reflecting the team’s genuine pace. Vettel was second fastest ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton, with the two McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne showing a surprising level of pace in fourth and fifth.
| Position | Driver | Team | Lap time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’41.829 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’41.901 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’41.971 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1’42.383 |
| 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1’42.439 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1’42.517 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’42.549 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’42.592 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’42.708 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1’43.010 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1’43.109 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1’43.356 |
| 13 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1’43.368 |
| 14 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1’43.574 |
| 15 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1’43.724 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1’44.041 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1’44.223 |
| 18 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1’44.295 |
| 19 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1’45.760 |
| 20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1’46.339 |
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2017 Singapore Grand Prix
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Ben
16th September 2017, 11:56
But after Monza the season is over and there’s no point watching…
Gabriel (@rethla)
16th September 2017, 11:57
Ok?
Cobray (@)
16th September 2017, 12:01
Mercedes is far closer than I hoped they would be. We may have an unexpected Hamilton pole with engines turned to the max in Q3.
Gabriel (@rethla)
16th September 2017, 12:04
They are 0.1 behind or 0.1 ahead depending on what drivers you compare..
x303 (@x303)
16th September 2017, 12:01
Hamilton so close to Vettel with Red Bull ahead: that’s interesting.
f12007v (@f1fan-2000)
16th September 2017, 12:04
Really excited for max. Youngest polesitter
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
16th September 2017, 12:47
He had gearbox issues towards the end so it might be yet another penalty for him. Also, despite hitting the wall today, my bet is on Ricciardo to be the cooler head when it matters.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
16th September 2017, 12:04
So by this logic, Mclaren should win at least 3 races with Renault engines?
Maciek (@maciek)
16th September 2017, 12:07
Really it’s going to be head shaking irony levels next year if Honda turn out to have finally solved their gremlins.
Gabriel (@rethla)
16th September 2017, 12:10
And the biggest losers is gonna be Sauber.
OOliver
16th September 2017, 12:24
Exactly.
Sauber have missed a huge upportunity to get the team ready for competitiveness.
The extra funding could have gone towards building a very decent chassis.
Aapje (@aapje)
16th September 2017, 12:24
Let’s wait for the race. The Honda engine seems to do OK during quali and then is much worse during the race.
Gabriel (@rethla)
16th September 2017, 12:53
@aapje Lets wait for the quali first ;)
Hugh (@hugh11)
16th September 2017, 12:12
McLaren showing again that their actual car is very good. Can’t wait to see how they do without Honda, should be at least the 4th best team.
Next season will be very interesting, as Renault themselves should improve, Williams with Paddy Lowe, Force India always seem to pull a good car out of the bag. Will be very interesting to see who gets into Q3 most races. Expecting Toro Rosso to be at the back with Sauber, and Haas filling the gap between the midfield and the rear. But 2018 has a very exciting prospect to it, especially in the midfield battle.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
16th September 2017, 12:55
Paddy low was talking to the BBC about how they might need to revise their design phylosophy in terms of the chassi because the low drag design doens’t work. My guess is that it’s to late to do this for next year’s car, so I don’t fancy them in the midfield next year.
Unless Renault make a jump in terms of engine power, I recon it’s still Ferrari and Mercedes ahead at most tracks bar Hungary, Monaco and Singapore. The midfield could be close with Renault, McLaren and RedBull in the mix to pick up podiums and the occasional win.
FI will probably do a step back because they don’t have the resources but still be the better team of Haas, Williams and themselves. Sauber will have more budget and an up to date engine. The car will probably already designed though, so let’s wait and see. The question mark ofcourse is Toro Rosso… how bad will Honda be next year? STR isn’t doing great with Renault this year so imagine what a Honda one will do for them.
Baron (@baron)
16th September 2017, 16:34
“Too late for next year’s car” (Williams) @jeffrey. ? ? But it’s only September, surely they can fast track a new design concept by Jan/Feb 2018? If they can’t and are already locked into their whole design strategy for next year, that’s really an indictment of F1 isn’t it? To be competitive in any industry you surely have to move quicker than that, unless of course, you meant this year’s car?
erikje
16th September 2017, 13:11
The TR standings are way of what you expected. They had the Merc philosophy but not the power to pull the car through the slow corners.
Baron (@baron)
16th September 2017, 16:23
I’m curious as to how you design a ‘low drag’ philosophy into an F1 chassis. Anyone with an engineering head on actually know? I thought drag was a function of body design i.e. Aero.
pastaman (@)
16th September 2017, 17:20
They probably just mean there are two options you can take. Start with a loose, but fast car, and dial in the downforce to make it driveable. Or, start with a driveable, but slower car, and dial the downforce out.
John
17th September 2017, 11:34
You call it low drag when you can’t figure out how to generate dowforce