Singapore GP: Hamilton tops FP1 as Stroll red flags session
30th September 2022Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton topped the first practice session of F1’s Singapore Grand Prix as Aston Martin’s Lance Stoll smashed the barrier at turn five.
How the first practice session unfolded….
In F1’s first outing in Singapore, for the first time since 2019, the Alfa Romeo duo were the first drivers out onto the circuit with Guanyu Zhou leading his seasoned teammate Valtteri Bottas close behind. However, it wasn’t long before trouble started to rise after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc complained about the brakes on his F1-75, after three minutes expired on the clock.
As a result, the Monegasque quickly returned to the pit lane.
After 5 minutes, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – who could potentially secure the world championship this weekend – set the benchmark. But the Red Bull driver was soon beaten by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who went to the top of the timing sheets with a 1:47.291: 0.038 seconds faster than Verstappen.
However, it wasn’t long before the Dutchman returned to his usual spot at the top of the leaderboard with a 1:45.466, quickly followed by his teammate Sergio Perez – in second – who was 1.168 seconds slower.
Mercedes’ George Russell was the first driver to bring out the first yellow flag of the session as the Briton locked up on the exit of the Singapore Sling (Turn 10 – Turn 11). As a result of the lock up, Russell opted to go nose-first into the barrier and seemingly escaped any minor damage to his front wing. However, the Mercedes drive quickly returned to the pit lane for a check up.
With less than 25 minutes left on the clock, Verstappen remained at the top of the timing sheets but Perez was demoted down to P4 after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso went P2 and P3 respectively. However,
With 21 minutes left, the yellow flag was brought out between the first and second sectors as Stroll had suffered rear left suspension damage.
Stroll understeered, mid-corner, at turn five and attempted to get the throttle down to carry the speed down the Raffles Boulevard. However, his AMR22 snapped under acceleration which caused Stroll’s rear-left tyre to smack into the wall and severely damage the tyre’s suspension.
The Canadian soon stopped on the run-off area of turn seven, Memorial Corner, and the session was soon red flagged.
The session soon got back underway and the likes of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was the one of the first drivers to venture back out onto the circuit. At the time, with 13 minutes left for FP1, the Spaniard was sat seventh but Ferrari driver soon jumped up to third in the times – although he nearly found himself into the wall.
In the dying minutes of the session, Hamilton found himself at the top of the timing board after the seven-time world champion put in the quickest lap with a 1:43.033 – 0.084 seconds faster than Verstappen.
That’s it for the article: Singapore GP: Hamilton tops FP1 as Stroll red flags session! Who is your early contenders for pole position? Let us know in the comments!
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