FP3 at the Singapore GP saw Max Verstappen take the lead once again. However, the team to beat was right behind: McLaren. Lando Norris led his teammate until a few seconds into the session, when Piastri improved and moved behind the Dutchman. Mercedes performed very well, with both drivers finishing in third and fourth place. Ferrari was a bit of a misfit, with Hamilton also under investigation for failing to comply with the red flag, once again caused by Lawson.
Bearman first to take to the track in FP3 in Singapore
The final free practice session begins in Singapore. Meanwhile, no penalties for Charles Leclerc after the contact in the pit lane with Lando Norris, while Ferrari will be fined 10.000 euros. But returning to the track, Bearman managed to set a first fastest lap on the medium tyre, currently leading the timesheets. On the track, however, all the others are also going down, while Verstappen's car is still raised on stands without tyres in the Red Bull garage. However, you have to wait ten minutes of session to see some more interesting times.
Carlos Sainz, on soft tyres, sets the fastest time of the session, followed in the same conditions by his teammate: Alexander Albon. Behind them the couple Norris and Piastri, However, he was on yellow tires. Tsunoda finished fifth, while Hamilton and Leclerc were seventh and eleventh. Verstappen, however, remained in the pits. Meanwhile, a brief yellow flag was brought out by Franco Colapinto, who went long into an escape route and then immediately returned to the asphalt of the track. More unfortunate is instead Liam Lawson, who during a fast lap crashed into the barriers exiting turn 7. The car reacted badly when passing over the kerb. Red flag and session interrupted.
Track activity resumes after Lawson's accident
Within ten minutes the track was cleared of Liam Lawson's crashed car. FP3 then resumed. Singapore. Max Verstappen also takes to the track, with medium tyres, who set his first timed lap of the session, taking fourth place in the timesheets. With half an hour to go, Lando Norris is in the lead thanks to a performance on medium tyres. The Dutchman's gains in the lead are short-lived, as Lewis Hamilton takes it over. However, both Ferraris aren't yet looking for maximum lap performance. The work carried out by the Maranello team involves, as Marc Gené explained, a semi-simulation. The goal is to study heights and, overall, the setups.
Meantime Andrea Kimi Antonelli manages to take the lead in the standings. A 1:30.760 on red tyres, almost a second behind George Russell, currently sitting in eighth place. Meanwhile, they're running their race pace simulation, starting to provide benchmarks for their direct rivals. Russell, meanwhile, manages to take at least fourth position, I'm almost half a second behind my teammate. The Williams drivers, however, remain consistently in the top five.
Ferrari takes to the track with soft tyres
With just over ten minutes remaining in FP3 in Singapore, the two Ferraris with red tyres are out on track. Leclerc finally managed to set the fastest time of the session, overtaking Antonelli. In the meantime, however, Lando Norris is also launching. Records in the first and third sectors, thus stealing the first position from the Monegasque Ferrari driver. The track sees the qualifying simulation get underway: Hamilton and Piastri follow Norris, while Leclerc moves back. Hadjar, albeit briefly, set a record in the third sector. Meanwhile, Sainz, who had dropped to mid-table, set another interesting time and took fifth place. Antonelli does the same thing who finished fourth, while his teammate, George Russell, managed to gain more confidence with the track conditions and placed himself in second position.
In the meantime, Lando Norris is no longer leading the standings, but rather the super Max Verstappen. Piastri attempted a second lap but failed to improve. His teammate did the same, but he remained ahead of his Australian rival throughout the session. The Mercedes looks to be in good shape., which seems to be able to play the role of third force, quite close to the Verstappen and Papaya teams. Ferrari, on the other hand, is in more difficulty, which appears to have also thrown in the towel in the fight for second place in the constructors' standings. At 12:30 Italian time the session ends with a flash from Oscar Piastri, which however does not improve beyond second position. Verstappen remains in the lead with a 1:30.148.
It's worth noting that race officials have flagged a possible red flag violation for Lewis Hamilton. The case will be investigated immediately after the end of FP3 in Singapore.
