Singapore GP, Practice One: Charles Leclerc leads Carlos Sainz in Ferrari one-two with Max Verstappen third

Charles Leclerc fastest by 0.078s ahead of Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz; Max Verstappen third and Lando Norris fourth in upgraded McLaren; Lizards on track twice bring out yellow flag; Watch Practice Two on Sky Sports F1 from 1.45pm

By Jonathan Green in Singapore

A lizard on the track brought out a yellow flag in first practice ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc set the pace ahead of Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz in a tightly contested opening practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Leclerc posted a best time of 1:33.350 on the soft tyre to top the timesheet, but Sainz was close behind and 0.078s off his team-mate.

Max Verstappen, bidding for a record-extending 11th win in a row this weekend, was third in the lead Red Bull, 0.126s off Leclerc's benchmark.

Driving a heavily-updated McLaren, Lando Norris was fourth fastest and just ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

With Practice One taking place in daylight, the session is hard to judge representative times ahead of the key night sessions of Saturday qualifying and Sunday's race, but with less than two tenths of a second covering the top five drivers and four different teams it gives hope of a closely-fought battle for the rest of the weekend.

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A clearer picture could emerge when Practice Two gets under way under the floodlights at 2pm.

Sky F1's Ted Kravitz explains the latest upgrades teams have brought to their cars ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix

The session was twice briefly disrupted by yellow flags due to lizards walking onto the track, with Verstappen narrowly avoiding hitting one.

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George Russell was sixth in the second Mercedes, a further tenth and a half down on team-mate Hamilton's time.

Russell's hot lap on the soft tyre was disrupted by coming up to the back of a slow-moving Red Bull, with the Briton venting his frustration over team radio.

F1 Kids returns for Singapore!

The F1 Kids is back for this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix! Sky F1 subscribers can hit the Red Button on their TV remote from 12.55pm on Sunday for an alternative commentary feed. The race starts at 1pm.

Sergio Perez was seventh, 0.375s off Leclerc's session-leading time, before a gap of three tenths of a second down to Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon who rounded out the top 10.

While Norris was fourth in the upgraded McLaren, team-mate Oscar Piastri was down in 19th with the Australian not receiving the new parts until next weekend's Japanese GP.

Singapore GP Practice One Timesheet

Driver Team Time
1. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.350
2. Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.078s
3. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.126s
4. Lando Norris McLaren +0.172s
5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.190s
6. George Russell Mercedes +0.345s
7. Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.375s
8. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.624s
9. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +0.692s
10. Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.716s
11. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.218s
12. Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.289s
13. Alex Albon Williams +1.307s
14. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +1.452s
15. Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.537s
16. Liam Lawson AlphaTauri +1.544s
17. Nico Hulkenberg Haas +1.635s
18. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +2.106s
19. Oscar Piastri McLaren +2.124s
20. Logan Sargeant Williams +2.428s
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