This session has finished. No further updates will be posted.
Second practice for the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix is coming up.
The main development since the first practice session has been a decision from the FIA stewards to penalised Max Verstappen for swearing during yesterday’s official press conference. Read more about it here.
We’ve also just had confirmation through from McLaren that they are making changes to their rear wing design following the footage of it bending during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. More on that coming up shortly.
Second practice has begun. An F1 television camera operator just collided with a Red Bull mechanic while Max Verstappen was being released from the pits.
“My radio button gets stuck,” Verstappen reports. Much potential for amusement there given recent stories…
The top two are back in the order they were at the end of first practice, Charles Leclerc fastest with a 1’32.788 on mediums. Lando Norris is eight-tenths of a second off on hards.
Carlos Sainz Jnr takes the top time off his team mate with a 1’32.644. Daniel Ricciardo, who is the subject of much speculation about his future once again this weekend, goes a useful second, just 0.008s off.
Lewis Hamilton not much happier with his car than he was during first practice: “I’ve got no rear end, mate.”
Williams looked good in first practice and they’re still going well now. Alexander Albon, on mediums, goes quickest with a 1’32.238, nearly four-tenths ahead of Leclerc.
Verstappen is down in 13th and fails to improve on that lap as he goes off at turn seven. “Ah, I went off,” he says.
Russell leans on the Mercedes a bit more, gets close to the barrier at turn 17 but ends up a tenth of a second shy of Albon.
Carlos Sainz Jnr was on a very quick lap, setting personal best times in the first two sectors, but gets a snap of oversteer in the turn 16-17 chicane.
Embarrassing moment for Franco Colapinto who pulls into the Alpine pit by mistake and is waved on to the Williams garage.
Now Charles Leclerc shows what the Ferrari can do with a 1’31.665 which puts him fastest by over half a second, still on the medium tyre compound.
Sergio Perez goes 14th, 1.6 seconds off the pace, and is asked how the lap was. “All over the place,” is his verdict.
Things are about to get interesting. Alexander Albon is first to go fastest on softs, 1’31.650, but Norris, Russell and others are all lining up to take shots at that. Hamilton, still on mediums, reports: “Massive understeer.”
Russell appeared to have a problem and was limping along slowly, but has picked up the pace and is now doing a lap. Piastri is the one to watch though, fastest of all in sector one.
Norris shaves a few hundredths off Piastri’s first sector time. Russell finishes his lap and it’s a 1’31.488 which puts him top.
Piastri pips that by 0.014 seconds but Norris has far more in hand, a 1.30.727 is almost three-quarters of a second faster than his team mate. Leclerc is on course to challenge them though.
Leclerc looked on course to beat Norris, he was fastest in the first two sectors, but falls slightly short at the end, a 1’30.814 leaving him 0.087s adrift.
RB looking handy again: Just a hundredth of a second (and Piastri) between their two drivers, Tsunoda in third, Ricciardo fifth. Leclerc indicates why he lost time in the final sector: “I touched the wall in exit of turn 14, not a big touch, but a slight one, please check data.”
Norris has clipped the wall on his run, and Sainz has gone into the run-off at turn 16. Norris: “I hit the wall pretty hard.” Joseph: “We’re going to box this lap for a damage check.”
Norris: “Right side.” Joseph: “We don’t see anything in the data.” Norris has rejoined the track after that inspection. He hit the wall at turn three.
Sainz, third, isn’t happy with his brakes: “There is something with the brakes that is strange still. I keep locking the front-right.”
Verstappen grinds his car’s floor on the kerb at the exit of turn seven. Piastri also gives the barrier a whack at the exit of turn 16 but carries on.
Lando Norris goes up the escape road at turn seven trying to avoid Zhou Guanyu. He gets going again.
Russell has crashed at turn eight, he simply understeered understeered into the barrier. “I’m in the wall. Snatched the front right.”
He reverses out of the barrier and gets going again, minus his front wing. Shades of how his race ended at this track 12 months ago.
The chequered flag drops and Norris is quickest in second practice, followed closely by Leclerc, then a huge gap back to the rest.
Here are the top times by team in that session:
McLaren: 1’30.727
Ferrari: 1’30.785 (+0.058s)
RB: 1’31.468 (+0.741s)
Mercedes: 1’31.488 (+0.761s)
Red Bull: 1’31.598 (+0.871s)
Williams: 1’31.650 (+0.923s)
Haas: 1’31.667 (+0.94s)
Aston Martin: 1’31.750 (+1.023s)
Alpine: 1’32.119 (+1.392s)
Sauber: 1’32.359 (+1.632s)
That’s practice done for the day but we’ve got lots more coverage coming up soon on RaceFans. Here’s the second practice report.
2024 Singapore Grand Prix
- Ricciardo’s brake woe and why Perez thought he had an engine problem: Singapore GP radio
- ‘Perez is only quicker when he has DRS’: How Hulkenberg’s Haas beat a Red Bull – again
- Mercedes explain “clear mistake” strategy call which left Hamilton “so angry”
- “Sometimes I wonder why I do this”: How Hamilton endured a slog to sixth in Singapore
- F1’s rules need surgery as well as sticking plaster after fastest lap controversy
