In what was a quiet final practice session in Singapore, Ferrari placed first and second with Mercedes and Red Bull stacked behind them. The session took the drivers into the evening where they will be doing their qualifying session. While Soft and Ultrasoft tyres were a possible option, the majority of teams opted to use Hypersoft tyres. When the session started the air temperature was 29 degrees C and the track temperature was 37 degrees C.
Ferrari Set The Pace Before Singapore GP Qualifying
Sebastian Vettel clocked a 1:38.054s lap to record the fastest lap of the session. Teammate Kimi Raikkonen was right behind him as he placed second today. Raikkonen was a whole +0.362s slower than Vettel. Behind them on the timing sheet was Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas who put in near identical lap times (+0.504 and +0.549 behind Vettel).
What The Drivers Were Saying
Many drivers cited their concern for the traffic that comes with a street circuit. McLaren driver Fernando Alonso described it as “a jungle.” Max Verstappen didn’t hesitate to apportion blame on some traffic, saying “(Marcus) Ericsson was not looking in his mirrors.” Verstappen was also vocal to his team about the issues with the car, saying “I get so angry with this” while describing “engine breaking.”
Looking Ahead To Qualifying
Any issues that a team or a driver has will have to be figured out in the next few hours as Qualifying is approaching. Ferrari hope to achieve a 1-2 and hope to lockout front row the Vettel & Raikkonen duo in Singapore.
Full Session Timing Sheet:
Pos | # | Driver | Team | Lap | Gap | Laps |
1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:38.054 | 19 | |
2 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:38.416 | +0.362 | 16 |
3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:38.558 | +0.504 | 14 |
4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:38.603 | +0.549 | 17 |
5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:39.186 | +1.132 | 14 |
6 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:39.265 | +1.211 | 10 |
7 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:39.747 | +1.693 | 14 |
8 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:40.073 | +2.019 | 14 |
9 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:40.231 | +2.177 | 14 |
10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:40.254 | +2.200 | 10 |
11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:40.450 | +2.396 | 17 |
12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:40.559 | +2.505 | 13 |
13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1:40.591 | +2.537 | 14 |
14 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:40.686 | +2.632 | 16 |
15 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:40.798 | +2.744 | 15 |
16 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | 1:40.915 | +2.861 | 20 |
17 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1:41.562 | +3.508 | 18 |
18 | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | 1:41.884 | +3.830 | 19 |
19 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:41.953 | +3.899 | 18 |
20 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:42.220 | +4.166 | 18 |
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