FP1 Singapore: Concerns for Hülkenberg, fastest time for Russell in the old Mercedes

As the GP stars had just one free practice session left before the first-ever sprint qualifying session in the history of the Singapore Grand Prix, the street circuit in the city-state filled up very quickly. With the exception of the two Red Bull Racing stars, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, and Audi veteran Nico Hülkenberg, all the drivers took to the track within the first minute.

The trio didn’t take long to follow suit either, meaning that after five minutes everyone was out on the 4.927 km track. The drivers and engineers know that these times should be taken with a pinch of salt. Not only are the exact practice programmes unknown – as is usual in free practice – and no one knows what engine set-ups and fuel loads their rivals are running, but the first practice session also takes place during the day and therefore under completely different conditions to the Sprint Qualifying, Grand Prix Qualifying and the Grand Prix itself.

Initially, championship leader Kimi Antonelli set the pace. His team-mate George Russell, who – unlike the Italian – has to make do without the latest upgrade, was initially three tenths slower. However, the 20-year-old did not stay at the top for long; Malaysia winner Verstappen soon set a new benchmark, whilst his team-mate Hadjar struggled with the ground clearance of his RB22.

Antonelli returns to the top

Verstappen’s joy was also short-lived, as after the first ten minutes Charles Leclerc was the fastest, albeit only just, with world champion Lando Norris just 28 thousandths off the Monegasque’s best time. Both the McLaren star and Verstappen made a mistake in the opening minutes that ruined their promising laps.

Norris soon took the lead, whilst Hadjar complained about the braking performance of his car. Leclerc also returned to the top of the timesheets, whilst Lewis Hamilton struggled with the first corner. George Russell, who will have to start the Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid following his engine failure in Malaysia, took the lead after 20 minutes, followed by Leclerc, Hadjar, Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto and Oscar Piastri in the remaining top-10 positions.

Topic of the week

A stuttering start to the Bahrain Grand Prix: the FIA narrowly avoids a fiasco like the one in Indianapolis in 2005

Fans could hardly believe their eyes at what they witnessed at the Bahrain Grand Prix: cars crawling along, racing cars that simply came to a standstill. The FIA narrowly avoided a fiasco like the one at Indy in 2005.

Mathias Brunner

Read More

TV Program

Live

Singapur: Rennen Re-Live

FIA Formula One World Championship

11.10.2026 - 18:00

Shortly before the halfway point, Antonelli reclaimed the lead with a time of 1:33.830, whilst Verstappen was forced to take a break after his team reported radio problems, as team principal Laurent Mekies explained. The Frenchman has had reason to be pleased with a resurgent GP car in recent races.

Positive trend at Red Bull Racing

“The trend is positive; at Monza, Madrid, Baku and Malaysia, we were able to squeeze a little more performance out of the car each time. However, that doesn’t mean we can automatically fight for victory, as the performance gap between the top four teams is very tight and there are significant differences depending on the circuit,” Mekies explained to colleagues at ‘Sky Sports F1’.

Whilst Norris braked too hard, Verstappen headed out again 22 minutes before the end of the session. Hülkenberg, on the other hand, expressed concern after his Audi came to a halt at the end of the pit lane. “I’ve got a problem with the gearbox,” the German radioed. Just under ten minutes later, Russell kicked off the real battle for the fastest time on soft tyres. With a time of 1:32.864, he set a new benchmark, whilst several rivals switched to medium tyres.

New names kept appearing at the top of the timing screen; even Hamilton briefly led the timesheets before Russell set the session’s fastest time of 1:32.274 minutes with three minutes to go. Things got exciting once more towards the end thanks to the Mercedes duo: Antonelli had to take the emergency exit, whilst Russell came to a brief halt at the side of the track. Nothing changed at the top of the timesheets, so he was still able to celebrate the fastest time. Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Piastri, Verstappen, Antonelli, Hadjar, Gasly and Lawson rounded off the top 10.