Charles Leclerc moved to the front of the pack during the final practice session for Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix.
In the final one-hour session prior to qualifying Leclerc posted a time of 1:38.192s to finish 0.207s clear of Friday pacesetter Lewis Hamilton, as Ferrari flexed its muscles in the wake of a subdued Friday.
Leclerc had conceded he was still getting up to speed through Friday, with his progress stymied by a gearbox problem that brought his FP1 to a premature end, but the two-time race winner had enough pace on Saturday evening to lead the way.
Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third, six-tenths behind the youngster, while Valtteri Bottas was fourth for Mercedes.
Red Bull had a subdued session with Alexander Albon and Max Verstappen only fifth and sixth respectively.
Verstappen had finished as Hamilton’s nearest rival at the conclusion of Friday’s action.
McLaren once again emerged as a formidable force in the midfield group as Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris classified seventh and eighth, the Spaniard within two-tenths of ex-team-mate Verstappen.
Renault duo Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top 10, just 0.035s apart, 1.9s behind Leclerc.
Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly were 11th and 12th for Racing Point and Toro Rosso respectively, with a gap of six-tenths back to Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Sergio Perez managed just four laps after he clipped the wall exiting Turn 21, sustaining right-rear damage, in turn forcing the session to be halted while debris was retrieved by marshals.
George Russell maintained his and Williams’ improved form by classifying in 15th position, edging Antonio Giovinazzi, while Haas’ struggles continued.
Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean finished 3.3s behind leader Leclerc, and over three-tenths down on nearest opponent Giovinazzi.
Robert Kubica was 19th, 3.7s down and eight-tenths adrift of Russell, while Daniil Kvyat did not post a timed lap amid a suspected oil leak in his Toro Rosso.
Qualifying is due to begin at 21:00 local time.
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