Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led the way during a closely-contested final practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen posted a time of 1:41.829 on the Ultrasoft tyres to edge 0.072s clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel beneath the lights at Marina Bay.
Verstappen reported a gearbox problem shortly after setting his best effort but was able to re-join the action during the closing stages, with the issue seemingly addressed.
Lewis Hamilton demonstrated that Mercedes will be a factor in proceedings as he put in a late lap to grab third position, 0.132s behind Verstappen, as the final driver inside the 1:41s.
McLaren put in comfortably its most competitive performance of the campaign as Fernando Alonso set a series of quick laps to place fourth, just over half a second down on Verstappen.
Stoffel Vandoorne reinforced McLaren’s pace by taking fifth, 0.056s behind his team-mate.
Friday pacesetter Daniel Ricciardo took only sixth, having been compromised on his Ultrasoft runs.
Ricciardo was forced to back off when Marcus Ericsson spun backwards into the Turn 19 wall, bringing out the red flags due to the debris left on the circuit.
Ricciardo went again, but slid wide through Turn 10 and brushed the barriers, and returned to the pits for precautionary checks.
Nico Hülkenberg continued to display fine pace for Renault as he wound up seventh, while Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen struggled once more, unable to match their respective team-mates.
Bottas took eighth, with Räikkönen ninth, as Force India’s Sergio Pérez completed the top 10, a tenth of a second in front of team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Carlos Sainz Jr. was 12th, ahead of Jolyon Palmer, Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Massa, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll.
Romain Grosjean took 18th, with a large gap back to Sauber pair Pascal Wehrlein and Ericsson, the duo once again substantially off the pace.
Discussion about this post