EL1 in Singapore: Red Bull in the lead, touch from Leclerc

Shod with Hyper-Soft tires, Daniel Ricciardo stops the clock at a time of 1’39”711 which allows him to move ahead Max Verstappen, his teammate at Red Bull, of a pair of tenths. This double confirms the good dispositions of the RB14s on the winding Marina Bay route, even if the Dutchman confided on Thursday that he expected to suffer in qualifying because of his engine deficit.  

The Red Bulls take in their wake the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen, while Nico Hulkenberg climbs to a nice 5th place for Renault. The German, who is taking part in his 150th Grand Prix this weekend, is however more than 1,3s behind the reference time. 

On a circuit which has not really been successful for them in recent seasons, the Mercedes appear relatively discreet with the 6th and 8th beats for Lewis Hamilton et Valtteri Bottas respectively. Note, however, that the Silver Arrows did not pass the fastest Hyper-Soft tires. 

Carlos Sainz confirms the interesting shape of the Diamond by signing the 7th mark. The Top 10 is completed by two French speakers: Charles Leclerc, who discovers Singapore at the wheel of the Sauber, precedes Romain Grosjean, on board the best representative Haas. The future Ferrari driver, however, experienced a slight scare when he went to kiss the safety rail at the very end of the session at Turn 12.

At the bottom of the ranking, Esteban Ocon ranks 15th, three places behind his teammate Sergio Pérez, and one place ahead of his compatriot Pierre Gasly. The grimace soup continues for Williams et McLaren, even if Fernando Alonso maintains a semblance of hope with the 14th time. His teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, whose future in F1 is dotted, brings up the rear after only being able to cover 11 short laps due in particular to a problem with hydraulic pressure.

The first night session, more representative than this inaugural run, will take place as part of Free Practice 2, which begins at 20:30 p.m. local time, or 14:30 p.m. in France.

FP1 CLASSIFICATION: P5 for @HulkHulkenberg – a good start to his 150th GP weekend #SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/EAxPucOIoD

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 14, 2018