With today’s Singapore conditions forecast to be mostly cloudy, including a chance of thundery showers from dawn through the afternoon and track temperatures hovering around 32°C, drivers will need to get valuable mileage in FP1 to adapt to the challenging environment ahead of the F1 Singapore GP.
Singapore GP classified as a Heat Hazard
Since the weekend was officially declared a heat hazard, every team must install a Driver Cooling System in their cars. The setup uses a pump, plumbing, and thermal store to generate cold fluid, which circulates through a fireproof vest fitted with integrated cooling tubes.
Although the system is mandatory, wearing the vest remains optional. Several drivers are expected to test the vest during Friday practice to gauge its effectiveness against Singapore’s relentless heat. If they choose not to wear it, teams must add extra ballast to ensure the car meets the required total weight.
Will McLaren bounce back after Azerbaijan?
A major talking point this weekend will be the Championship battle between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, both coming off difficult outings in Baku. Piastri endured a costly weekend, crashing out in Q3 before jump-starting the race and hitting the barriers at Turn 5, and he’ll be determined to bounce back with valuable points for his title fight. Norris, meanwhile, left Azerbaijan with just six points and will be eager to close the gap to his teammate in the standings.
Red Bull bringing upgrades to change their fortune
Both McLaren and Ferrari haven’t brought any changes to Singapore, but Red Bull have upgraded their front wing and rear wing, optimising the car for a higher-downforce setup. With max now looming into the potential title fight, all eyes will be on him heading into the weekend.
Green light’s on track
All cars hit the track early in the session, to get to grips with the humid and bumpy, tight and twisty nature of the street circuit. Basically all drivers were on the hard compound, with only the Aston Martin’s on the medium.
Albon returned to the pit lane, with both his brakes on fire and smoke filling the pit lane. He jumped out of the car, but it seemed the team couldn’t get the fire under control, with his car burning away in the pit lane.
Verstappen was the first to post a competitive lap, setting a 1:34.329, but both Ferraris quickly displaced him to P3. Norris followed with a 1:33.388; however, most drivers appeared to be focusing on gathering data rather than pushing for outright lap times early in the session. With the race being held at night and the daytime conditions not representative, the times were expected to continue to drop into the session.
Carlos Sainz appeared to have gained confidence on track after his podium finish in Baku, appearing near the top of the timings, but with Albon’s brake issue, and Sainz having a similar issue earlier this year in Austria, there is growing concern on the reliability of the FW47.
Yellow Flags were briefly deployed when Pierre Gasly’s Alpine skated off into a run-off area. As the track remained dusty and dirty, the cars gradually cleaned it up with each lap.
Norris then set the fastest time of the session with a 1:32.493, narrowly edging out Verstappen, who posted a 1:32.514. Alonso took the top spot with a 1:32.054.
30 minutes left of the F1 Singapore GP FP1
With most drivers pitting for a tyre swap, Sainz returned to the track first on mediums and became the first driver to dip into the 1:31s. While the majority opted for soft tyres, only Sainz and both Mercedes drivers ran on mediums.
Antonelli slid into Turn 1 with a big snap of oversteer and immediately radioed that his tyres had overheated. Mercedes often struggle with tyre management in hot conditions, and the issue showed again with Antonelli sitting P9 and Russell down in P14.
Leclerc then raised the bar, going fastest by half a second over Sainz. Norris responded by moving up to P2, just 0.4 seconds off Leclerc’s benchmark. Most of the top 10 drivers set their laps on soft tyres, but Sainz impressed by holding P5 on mediums.
Track evolution continuing to make times tumble
With 10 minutes on the clock, it was evident that the track had continued to evolve, with times tumbling. Piastri. Both Ferrari’s had moved into the top 5, with Alonso surprising and having the quickest time again, with a 1:31.117.
Piastri tapped the wall on his lap, but only some paint peeled off the wall, with his McLaren remaining intact.
With the conditions turning into the evening, the floodlights started to light up the circuit. Alonso finished the session at the top of the timings, with Leclerc in P2 and Verstappen in P3.
Full classification and results from FP1 at the 2025 F1 Singapore GP
- Fernando Alonso
- Charles Leclerc
- Max Verstappen
- Lewis Hamilton
- Oscar Piastri
- Lando Norris
- Isack Hadjar
- Carlos Sainz
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Esteban Ocon
- George Russell
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Pierre Gasly
- Kimi Antonelli
- Liam Lawson
- Oliver Bearman
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Lance Stroll
- Franco Colapinto
- Alex Albon
