PIASTRI TOPS HECTIC FREE PRACTICE 2 SESSION
Oscar Piastri was fastest in a chaotic second practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix, which saw two red flags and a strange pit lane clash between Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.
After Fernando Alonso topped the times in first practice earlier in the day, it was Piastri who led the way under the lights at Marina Bay, in conditions closer to what drivers will face in qualifying and the race.
The session began at 9pm local time, with Nico Hulkenberg first out on track. Temperatures had cooled slightly since FP1. Alex Albon was glad to be running again after brake problems cut short his first practice.
The rookies pushed hard early on, Gabriel Bortoleto ran wide in his Sauber, and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli also had a moment. Norris set the initial pace with a 1:31.716s lap on medium tyres.
Soon after, George Russell clipped the wall at Turn 16, breaking his front wing and stopping on track. That brought out the first red flag while the debris was cleared.
When running resumed, drivers switched to soft tyres for quick laps. Esteban Ocon briefly went fastest with a 1:31.480s. But another stoppage came when Liam Lawson crashed his Racing Bulls car out of Turn 17 and stopped at the pit entry.
As marshals dealt with Lawson’s car, drama unfolded in the pit lane: Leclerc was released alongside Norris, forcing the McLaren into the pit wall and damaging its front wing. Norris complained that Leclerc had “just driven straight into me.” The incident will be investigated.
Both drivers rejoined for the final push, with Piastri eventually setting the best time of 1m30.714s. Isack Hadjar impressed by taking second, only 0.132s slower, while Max Verstappen was third ahead of Alonso in fourth. Norris recovered to sixth between Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Ocon finished seventh, followed by Carlos Sainz in eighth and the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completing the top 10. Yuki Tsunoda was P11, just missing out.
Further down, Ollie Bearman P12 and Albon P13 beat Hulkenberg P14 and Bortoleto P15. Pierre Gasly took P16, with Lawson, Antonelli, Franco Colapinto, and Russell filling the bottom five.
Teams will now study the data ahead of Saturday, when FP3 begins at 5:30pm local time, followed by qualifying at 9pm.
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