McLaren and Ferrari, two of the biggest names in Formula 1 and world motorsport, have a storied rivalry between each other that goes back over thirty years.
But for the last decade, two of F1’s most successful teams have had to watch as both Mercedes and Red Bull – two constructors who did not exist in those forms just 20 years ago – have taken turns dominating the sport and fighting against each other for the number one spot.Since the summer break, however, neither Red Bull or Mercedes have had a victory, pole position or even a fastest lap over those three rounds. Instead, the old enemies have jealously hoarded first position between themselves. And based on what was shown in Friday practice at Marina Bay, it’s looking like they will do so again in Singapore.
Under the lights in the night time second practice session, Lando Norris put McLaren on top. His 1’30.727 was a statement of intent for the new championship leaders. Not only was he seventh tenths faster than his team mate, Oscar Piastri, he was just as far ahead of George Russell in the quickest Mercedes with Sergio Perez a further tenth adrift in the fastest Red Bull.
Even Mercedes admitted that it was “one of the trickier Fridays of the year” for the team, with Russell and Lewis Hamilton only seventh and 11th, respectively – far from the sharp end where they often appeared through the summer.
Norris, who is looking to take the biggest chunk of points out of Verstappen’s championship lead yet since McLaren’s rise to the front of the field, was encouraged by how McLaren were quick ‘out of the box’ on Friday.
“My first comment to our whole team was it just felt good straight away,” he told the official F1 channel.
“To be honest, I think we’re always pretty good at that. I think one of our strengths is just arriving and performing well, but then we tend not to progress as much as some of the other teams.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
But, once again, Ferrari managed to keep pace with Norris and McLaren. Charles Leclerc matched Norris with a 1’30.7 on his second push lap on soft tyres, while team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr backed up his team mate’s performance with the third-fastest time – albeit six tenths off the best of Norris.
However, it might not be as close between the two old rivals as it appears. Norris still seems to time left on the table compared to Leclerc on his best lap. The McLaren driver was over a tenth of a second up on the Ferrari approaching the final major braking zone of the lap at turn 16 but lost all that time from the apex of the right hander all the way to the finish line as Leclerc carried more speed from the exit to the line. As happy as Norris is with his lap, it looks like there is a clear way for him to find more time heading into qualifying.
Having taken pole last weekend in Baku by a considerable margin and pole at two of the ‘true’ street circuits on the calendar so far this season, there is surely more to come from Leclerc too heading into Saturday. However, Leclerc himself does not expect him and Norris to be so far ahead of their team mates and rivals when the lap times matter most.
“I think we are in the mix,” Leclerc said. “I just hope the picture doesn’t change much for tomorrow.
“I would be very surprised if we have the same advantage as we had today – the same gap from me to the third place. I really believe that everybody will be much closer tomorrow and it will be much tighter. So then we will have to understand whether it changes the pecking order or not.”
While the battle between McLaren and Ferrari will likely determine who is on pole, there are some wildcards to take into considering heading into qualifying.
Both RB drivers were comfortably in the top ten in both sessions. Indeed, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were inside the top six in the second session, faster than the pair of Red Bull drivers. Ricciardo was bullish about the team’s prospects heading into Saturday.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“We’re happy with the car,” he said. “There’s always some fine-tuning to do, but it was nice to see ourselves in good points scoring positions today.
After a double top 10 finish last weekend gave Williams their best points haul in a single round for three years, Alexander Albon was in the top ten for both Friday sessions with his team’s revised suspension and even sat atop the times at multiple points over the two hours. Most encouragingly for his team, Albon believes there is plenty more time for him to find over the final two days.
“To be honest, the car doesn’t feel amazing, but I think that’s good because it means we have more lap time to find,” he said. “With the upgrades, it’s hard to fully delve into them so far in these sessions, however, we’ll look at the data tonight and come back stronger tomorrow.”
Track evolution is likely to be less pronounced than in Baku as, unlike in Azebaijan, the Marina Bay circuit received a pressure-wash cleaning before Friday’s practice. That said, the track was still very dusty when drivers first headed out on track and a monsoonal downpour struck the city less than an hour after the chequered flag flew in the second session.
More rain is scheduled for the morning hours long before final practice, but a lot of the rubber than would have otherwise been built up through Friday may have been lost. Which could make Q1 equally as treacherous as last week proved.
Even though McLaren seem to have the most going for them, coming off the back of a win in Baku and Norris’ pace in practice, team principal Andrea Stella seems convinced that, as ever, it’s not going to be a straightforward weekend at the front for his team.
“It’s difficult to understand the competitiveness situation,” he said. “We see that there’s some midfielders that look to be pretty quick here, so we expect another busy and tight competitive session in qualifying and the race. We will do our best to be as prepared as possible to fight at the front for another positive result.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Combined practice times
| P. | # | Driver | Team | FP1 time | FP2 time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’31.839 | 1’30.727 | 52 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’31.763 | 1’30.785 | 0.058 | 54 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’31.952 | 1’31.356 | 0.629 | 54 |
| 4 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 1’32.263 | 1’31.468 | 0.741 | 54 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’32.369 | 1’31.474 | 0.747 | 52 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 1’32.375 | 1’31.478 | 0.751 | 47 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’33.334 | 1’31.488 | 0.761 | 50 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’32.767 | 1’31.598 | 0.871 | 47 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’32.451 | 1’31.650 | 0.923 | 51 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1’33.797 | 1’31.667 | 0.940 | 50 |
| 11 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’32.679 | 1’31.709 | 0.982 | 48 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’32.610 | 1’31.750 | 1.023 | 51 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’33.377 | 1’31.793 | 1.066 | 47 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’32.778 | 1’31.957 | 1.230 | 46 |
| 15 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’32.097 | 1’32.021 | 1.294 | 46 |
| 16 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | 1’32.618 | 1’32.057 | 1.330 | 51 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’32.615 | 1’32.119 | 1.392 | 54 |
| 18 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1’32.694 | 1’32.222 | 1.495 | 54 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’33.585 | 1’32.359 | 1.632 | 50 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’33.485 | 1’32.786 | 2.059 | 51 |
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
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
Tristan (@skipgamer)
20th September 2024, 23:22
This season is great! If Red Bull don’t come out of this qualifying higher than 7th, there’s going need to start to be a lot of questions about what exactly has gone on since Newey’s left. He was a 3rd of Red Bulls senior leadership, and the 2nd 3rd was saying if the 3rd 3rd wasn’t removed it would destroy the team back at the start of the year. Well he wasn’t, Newey’s gone, and if they’re not back to winning races despite what people think 60 points is not a lot at all really when your car is 3rd quickest.
Ankita
21st September 2024, 6:30
The questions about Red Bull’s performance started already long time ago and so did the debate about Newey’s departure. So, nothing new.
anon
21st September 2024, 9:09
@skipgamer nobody seemed to question Newey’s influence on the RB19, and that car qualified in 11th and 13th last year. Even if they qualified in the lower part of the top 10, that would still represent an improvement in qualifying trim over the RB19 at this circuit.
Phil
20th September 2024, 23:47
Why does Lando always get the benefit of the doubt? Whoops, sorry. I forgot he’s British. Chuck brushed the wall coming out of 14 and the data clearly shows he was slow in sector three on his first flying lap. He significantly improved on that sector during his second flyer. But all the media is writing is about how Lando left time out on the track.
Nick T.
21st September 2024, 0:13
All it is are teams struggling to come to come to grips with the idea that RBR are well and truly no longer a competitive team in terms of at least being guaranteed a shot a podium or win.
Meanwhile, I see great things ahead for Audi like epic battles with Haas and RB for 8th – 10th in the pecking order by 2027.
Nick T.
21st September 2024, 2:14
Oops. Thought I was replying to “Red Bull’s poor performance in practice “took us by surprise”, drivers admit.”
Anyway, I find it amusing that some are so bothered by a fourth DRS in Singapore considering Ferrari was able to drive at a pace that was literally slower than Logan Sargeant last year and no one could get by. And most other moves of any consequence resulted in someone in the wall.
Coventry Climax
21st September 2024, 3:04
With the entire german automotive industry in such heavy weather that there’s talk of government support for them, despite that won’t go down well with european business competitive rules, I wouldn’t be surprised if the plug is pulled from Audi’s F1 project.
So instead of ‘great things ahead’, that would amount to ‘no future at all’ for Audi. It could even be more likely we see a chinese manufacturer like BYD enter; I’m sure they’re allowed in on some fake reasoning, when they just bring enough money.
Johns
21st September 2024, 4:38
About the German auto industry, “Go woke go broke” in this case woke means green. Who ever thought selling EVs at a loss would turn out well, except the government officials who never had to balance a household budget.
Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
21st September 2024, 8:27
Companies selling products at a loss to gain market share is nothing new. It can go wrong though. History is littered with failed companies that failed to adapt to a new reality.
Hyundai, Kia, Tesla, Volvo and others can make money on EVs, why can’t Volkswagen? It’s bad management and bad planning. Woke does not mean green.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
21st September 2024, 10:48
Don’t think many manufacturers are selling EVs at a loss these days. But in any case, fossil fuel vehicles are being phased out, one way or another, so companies have no alternative but to adapt to the changing markets. If they don’t start transitioning to low carbon technologies, then soon their product lines will be obsolete and they are certain to fail.
Nick T.
21st September 2024, 11:02
First of all, a massive part of their success was due to advantages they no longer have (a soft currency, a young, educated yet not overly expensive labor pool, super cheap Russian energy, a booming American economy with massive demand for luxury goods, a failing US auto industry).
Secondly, they had no choice due to environmental regs in the markets that make up 80% of their revenue. Amazon operated at a loss of billions for more than a decade to ensure that by the time e-commerce became the thing , they were in a position to dominate and it’s paid off.
So, it’s not a question of “going woke” (like Disney has done at financial damage to themselves), but the necessary prep for the future. Their success will depend on how well they predict and adapt to that future along with factors beyond their control.
Coventry Climax
22nd September 2024, 0:25
What’s caused it isn’t relevant to the possible future for the Audi F1 team, it’s the german automotive industry state that’s relevant here.
But as for what’s causing it, it’s not just Volkswagen, it’s Mercedes as well. I also don’t think woke is the cause; quite the opposite, it’s them all having been asleep all this time, and reluctancy to look the future in the eye. And then there’s another massive cause: China making foul use of the open market and dumping hugely state funded EV’s on it. That’s all of Europe that’s been asleep about this for way too long already, not recognising it is part of China’s war games.
Nick T.
21st September 2024, 10:53
I was going to suggest the same thing, but was afraid everyone would jump down my throat.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
21st September 2024, 5:33
Didn’t take JV or Toto very long to figure out RBR wouldn’t be competitive at the beginning of the year … Just saying.
Nick T.
21st September 2024, 11:06
Toto didn’t know anything about how competitive they would wouldn’t be. As for Jos, we don’t know all his motivations for wanting Max to move and he’s also not someone I’d ever trust for predicting the future. It was his own power play that helped topple the team. So, more like a self-fulfilling prophecy rather than being a prophet.