George Russell leads only practice in Singapore

The Mercedes driver beat Charles Leclerc by 0.198 seconds, with Lando Norris third ahead of sprint qualifying.

George Russell topped the only practice session before the Singapore Grand Prix, setting a time of 1:32.274 to finish 0.198 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris was third, 0.273 seconds off the pace, according to Formula 1’s official results.

Russell is also set to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after a power-unit change. Mercedes is looking to recover from a difficult weekend in Malaysia, which team principal Toto Wolff described as the team’s worst of the season.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished seventh, 1.251 seconds behind his teammate. He did not use the soft tyres and made a mistake late in the session. Mercedes returned Russell’s car to its pre-Malaysia specification, while Antonelli kept the newer parts and received an

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fifth, while last week’s race winner Max Verstappen was sixth. Red Bull did not run the soft tyres, and Verstappen was the fastest driver on the mediums. There were few major incidents, though Nico Hulkenberg stopped near the pit-lane exit and triggered a brief Virtual Safety Car.

Sprint qualifying is scheduled for Friday, the sprint for Saturday and the Grand Prix for Sunday. Formula 1 lists Singapore as the final sprint weekend of the season.