F1
Singapore – EL2: Norris narrowly ahead of the two Ferraris, Verstappen distanced
© Antonin Vincent / DPPI
- In the Singaporean night, there is Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc… and the others. Under the artificial lights of the Marina Bay circuit, the Briton set the best time in Free Practice 2 in 1'30″727, 58 thousandths better than the Monegasque. The two men are laying the foundations for a duel that promises to be epic in the streets of the City-State while behind, Carlos Sainz – 3rd in the session – is relegated to more than six tenths of the reference set by the driver McLaren.
- In conditions similar to those that the twenty players will encounter on Saturday during qualifying, the drivers chained together fast laps on soft tires, before moving on to long-run simulations on medium and hard tires. Some played with the limit, notably our two protagonists of the day: Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc each touched the wall on a flying lap, fortunately without consequences.
- As in EL1, the Racing Bulls – dressed in denim livery – have distinguished themselves within the walls of Marina Bay: Yuki tsunoda et Daniel Ricciardo are both in the Top 6, in 4th place for the Japanese and in 6th position for the Australian, seven tenths behind Lando Norris. The two teammates of the Italian team are separated by Oscar piastri who, as in FP1, is distanced from his teammate. The double Grand Prix winner even had a big scare when he hit the wall at the exit of turn 17.
- Complicated session on the other hand for Mercedes : George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are still struggling with the W15's rear end, both in cornering and in traction. The Silver Arrows do not seem (for the moment) to be really in the running in Singapore, with George Russell 7th at more than seven tenths, while Lewis Hamilton finished in 11th place at almost a second. The former even ended his session in the wall at turn 8, leaving his front wing in the barrier...
George Russell hits the wall at the end of FP2 💥
One less front wing but all is well for the driver 🫡#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/oOiadih9kL
— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) September 20, 2024
- And what about Red Bull who, like in 2023, suffers on the Marina Bay track. And like in Baku, it is Sergio Pérez who takes things in hand: the Mexican saves the honor of the Austrian clan with an 8th place in Free Practice 2. To find Max Verstappen, you have to go down to… 15th place! The Dutchman, constantly sliding with his RB20, set a time that puts him 1″294 behind Lando Norris!
F1 – Singapore GP
EL2 – Ranking
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Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
20/09/2024 at 05:23 a.m.
Verstappen behind the only permanent contract on the grid, he must be doubly grumpy, the Dutchman! Clearly, a McLaren / Ferrari duel seems to be on the horizon with Norris and Leclerc ... Clearly, the Hugo Boss denim outfit of the Ridiculous Bulls seems to be performing well, maybe we should think about installing it during the night on the Red Bulls!!