George Russell leads Singapore GP practice as Mercedes split front wing specs

SINGAPORE – George Russell set the pace in Friday’s sole practice at the Singapore Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver, who was running the team’s older spec wing, two-tenths up on Charles Leclerc.

Russell’s time, though, was not comparable to Kimi Antonelli’s as Russell used the soft tyres for his P1 time while Antonelli, who was 1.251s slower, was on the medium Pirelli rubber. Antonelli ran the team’s new spec front wing.

George Russell tops Singapore GP practice ahead of Charles Leclerc

As forecast, it was a hot and humid start to the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, with the track temperature up to 53°C, and the humidity sitting at 63 per cent.

Franco Colapinto and his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly led the field out for the start of FP1. With only one practice session scheduled for the weekend, it was a busy start as drivers got their eye in and worked on their set-up ahead of Sprint qualifying.

Colapinto’s opening gambit was a 1:41.011. His lap time was blitzed as the top teams joined the action, with Max Verstappen going P1 with a 1:35.641, eight-tenths up on Lewis Hamilton.

Lando Norris’ lap time was deleted for a track limit violation at Turn 16, while Kimi Antonelli lost his at Turn 11.

As the drivers began to find their rhythm, the lap times tumbled with Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Norris all taking a turn to set the pace. Leclerc had lowered the benchmark to 1:33.969 when he pitted after a nine-lap stint.

Turn 11 was proving problematic as it caught out several drivers, including Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton.

F1 2026: The season’s winners and losers

The results of the F1 2026 championship

The F1 2026 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

Turn 2 followed suit with Antonelli, Hamilton and Oliver Bearman having their lap times deleted – Antonelli for two laps in succession.

But on his next lap he went P1, with a 1:33.830. That put him 0.056s ahead of Russell.

Isack Hadjar, who was testing Red Bull’s revised front wing, improved to fourth place. Mercedes was another team running two different front wings, with Antonelli using the new version and Russell the older specification.

Lance Stroll complained that his brakes “are not working”. He returned to the pit lane in 18th place. His teammate Alonso was up to 11th, 1.3s off Antonelli’s P1 time.

Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi ground to a halt on track, with German stopping just outside the pit lane as he reported a gearbox problem.

Heading into the final 15 minutes with Sprint qualifying on the horizon, the drivers swapped to either the medium Pirelli tyres or the softs for qualifying simulations.

Russell nailed three purple sectors on the soft tyres, nearly a second faster than Antonelli’s hard tyre lap. Hamilton briefly took over with Oscar Piastri up to second before Russell hit back with a 1:32.274.

A late from Norris elevated him to second, but he lost out to Leclerc at the chequered flag.

The session ended with Russell quickest ahead of Leclerc and Norris. Verstappen was the quickest driver on the medium tyres in sixth place.

Singapore Grand Prix: FP1 top ten

1 George Russell Mercedes 1:32.274
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:32.472 +0.198
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:32.547 +0.273
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:32.773 +0.499
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:32.838 +0.564
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:33.006 +0.732
7 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:33.525 +1.251
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:33.723 +1.449
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:34.038 +1.764
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:34.155 +1.881

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read Next: Mercedes seeks performance answers as FIA confirms new front wing