George Russell gave Mercedes the fastest time in the only practice hour of the Singapore weekend, setting a 1:32.274 on soft tyres. Ferrari and McLaren stayed within striking distance at Marina Bay, while Red Bull ran only medium tyres and kept its pace on the fastest compound hidden.
The official classification put Russell first. Charles Leclerc was 0.198 seconds behind, while Lando Norris was 0.273 seconds adrift. The teams using soft tyres were separated by less than three-tenths.
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 shown competitive speed on soft rubber. As this was the weekend's only practice session, teams had one hour to assess car behaviour and tyre performance before sprint qualifying.
Leclerc improved with Ferrari to finish second, exactly 0.198 seconds behind Russell. Norris was 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 posted a 1:32.864 before setting the fastest lap of the day, a 1:32.274. Oscar Piastri and Norris kept McLaren near the front.
Mercedes was running a comparison programme alongside an outright qualifying simulation. After the team's difficult showing in Malaysia, Russell used the older specification, including the previous front wing. Mercedes split the aerodynamic configurations between its two cars for a direct comparison, so Russell's fastest lap served 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 on the softer compound. Red Bull had yet to make a soft-tyre run ahead of sprint qualifying.
Nico Hülkenberg completed 16 laps before a gearbox problem stopped him at the pit-lane exit, interrupting the session. Race control responded with a virtual safety car, cutting into running at a circuit where improving grip was already shifting the order. BBC Sport reported that Hülkenberg recorded 1:34.884 and was classified 18th; Audi then began dismantling the car to prepare it for sprint qualifying.
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. Their medium-tyre positions leave room for progress in qualifying, while Russell's benchmark came from the only completed running on the quickest compound.
A penalty for an engine change means Russell is due to start Sunday's race from the last row. RACER reported that his fastest lap formed part of Mercedes' diagnostic comparison of the older and newer solutions, rather than a pure attempt to maximise the headline time.
