George Russell set the pace in final practice on soft tyres. Ferrari and McLaren stayed close, while Red Bull ran only mediums. Alonso and Sainz remain in midfield.
The only practice hour of the Singapore weekend ended with George Russell fastest for Mercedes on a 1:32.274, set on soft tyres. Ferrari and McLaren stayed within striking distance at Marina Bay. Red Bull ran only medium tyres and did not reveal its pace on the fastest compound.
The official classification put Russell first. Charles Leclerc was 0.198 seconds behind, while Lando Norris was 0.273 seconds adrift. The three teams using soft tyres were separated by less than three-tenths.
There is no settled order yet.
The sixth and final sprint 'Qualy' of the season starts at 14.30 h. Mercedes has the clearest reference so far, while Ferrari and McLaren have already shown competitive speed on soft rubber. Because this was the only practice session of the weekend, teams had one hour to assess car behaviour and tyre performance before sprint qualifying.
Mercedes used an older specification for Russell's car, including the previous front wing, while the team split the aerodynamic configurations between its two cars for a direct comparison.
Leclerc improved with Ferrari to finish second, exactly 0.198 seconds behind Russell. Norris was only 0.273 seconds off the benchmark. The order could change once Red Bull switches compounds.
Lewis Hamilton briefly led with a 1:32.821. Russell then moved ahead with a 1:32.864 before setting the fastest lap of the day. Oscar Piastri and Norris kept McLaren near the front.
Mercedes was running a comparison programme as much as an outright qualifying simulation. Russell used the older specification after the team's difficult showing in Malaysia, giving the session's fastest lap a diagnostic purpose as well as a competitive one.
Max Verstappen was sixth and the quickest driver on medium tyres. His position says less about Red Bull's ceiling than the Mercedes and Ferrari laps set on the softer compound. The team still had no soft-tyre run to measure before sprint qualifying.
Nico Hülkenberg completed 16 laps before stopping at the pit-lane exit with a gearbox problem. He recorded 1:34.884 and was classified 18th; Audi then began dismantling the car in an effort to prepare it for sprint qualifying.
Nico Hülkenberg's gearbox problem interrupted the session at the pit-lane exit. Race control responded with a virtual safety car, cutting into running at a circuit where improving grip was already shifting the order. The official results placed Hülkenberg 18th with a 1:34.884, after which Audi began preparing the car for the next session.
Marina Bay opened with a dirty surface. Lap times dropped by two seconds as grip improved. Alonso completed his first ten-lap stint on hard tyres and reached ninth before finishing 14th. Sainz had a close call with the wall before the safety car and ended 15th.
Neither Spaniard tested the soft tyre in the session. Their medium-tyre positions leave room for progress in qualifying, while Russell's benchmark came from the only completed running on the quickest compound.
Russell's result carries a major limitation. A penalty for an engine change means he is due to start Sunday's race from the last row.
RACER reported that Russell's fastest lap formed part of Mercedes' diagnostic comparison of the older and newer solutions, rather than a pure attempt to maximise the headline time. The penalty still places Russell on the last row for Sunday's race.
