Fernando Alonso Sets Pace Opening Practice at Marina Bay

Marina Bay Street Circuit

This weekend features the race starting at 1pm BST on Sunday.

Live commentary available on radio channels and BBC Sport.

Opening Round Summary

Aston Martin's Spanish veteran was fastest in front of Scuderia star and reigning champion during the opening session for the street circuit event.

McLaren's championship contenders Australian rookie and British talent finished the session in mid-table positions.

Piastri was a notable margin speedier than his teammate.

The experienced Spaniard was 0.150secs leading of Leclerc and 0.276secs faster than Verstappen.

Ferrari's British icon was just outside the top three.

Weekend Outlook

It is not expected that the Silverstone-based team will be contenders for pole position.

That said, the squad are hopeful of a strong showing on a technical venue that is ideally suited to their car, which excels when significant amounts of downforce are called for.

Two-time champion Alonso is also known as a street circuit master, and often shines on the night race venue.

Yet he was likely using less fuel or a increased power than his rivals, or a combination, to set such a quick time.

Session Details

Fellow driver Lance Stroll was almost two seconds off the pace in the lower order.

He had problems with his cockpit during the initial runs and was also testing experimental parts.

FP1 in Singapore is not representative of conditions for qualifying and race as it is conducted in daylight in early evening, while grid-deciding session and the race are staged under floodlights.

Championship Standings

The McLaren driver has an advantage over his teammate by a solid margin with seven races to go heading into the event in the Lion City.

The Woking-based team are poised to secure the constructors' championship on the weekend.

Sole scenario they can not tie it up in this race is if Mercedes surpass them by 31 points or Ferrari manage it by thirty-five.

Red Bull Update

The energy drink brand's team are optimistic of a strong result after Verstappen's victories in Italy and Azerbaijan leading into this weekend.

The team breathed a sigh when precipitation coming down prior to running cleared by the moment the vehicles took to the track on a circuit that had not been wet.

Team consultant Helmut Marko stated prior to running that they required a dry hour to make a comprehensive start on understanding their car configuration for the Grand Prix.

Melissa Martinez
Melissa Martinez

Elara is an experienced ed-tech specialist passionate about creating innovative learning environments and improving educational outcomes through technology.

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