Russell fastest in old Mercedes as Antonelli and Red Bull save tires

George Russell was fastest in the Singapore Grand Prix’s only practice session after reverting to the specification of pre-Sepang Mercedes cars.

However, Andrea teammate Kimi Antonelli, who was using the latest parts as well as the team’s new front wing, did not set a fast lap on the soft tires as he opted to keep new sets for qualifying. Neither Max Verstappen nor Isack Hadjar of Red Bull.

The Mercedes drivers are pursuing different strategies as Russell has a grid penalty for this weekend’s race. Mercedes fitted its car with an all-new powertrain following its retirement in Malaysia, meaning it will have to start from the back of the podium.

Russell therefore led the Ferrari and McLaren drivers on soft rubber. Charles Leclerc closed to within two tenths of a second of the Mercedes, after falling back on his first tire test, claiming Lance Stroll held him up at turn four.

Lando Norris looked fast from the start in his McLaren. Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri supported their teammates in the next two positions.

Antonelli got stuck at turn 16 during one of his last runs on medium rubber. That left him seventh behind Verstappen, who was immediately quick on the hard tires when the track was dirtiest early in the session, and quickest of those who set times on the mediums.

Hadjar was next in eighth, although seven tenths of a second slower than Verstappen. He was unhappy with his car’s balance at the start of the session, telling his team: “The grounding is a brake disaster, I have no confidence to attack.”

Pierre Gasly places his Alpine in ninth place and Liam Lawson completes the top 10 for Racing Bulls. Nico Hulkenberg stopped at the pit lane exit just after mid-session due to an unspecified problem with his Audi.

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