Norris sets pace as Verstappen has ‘difficult’ day

Title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had contrasting days in Friday practice at the Singapore Grand Prix as the McLaren driver set the pace with the championship leader down in 15th.

Norris was 0.058 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in his McLaren while Verstappen was 1.294secs slower than the Briton.

Norris, looking to close his 59-point deficit to Verstappen this weekend, said his car was “feeling good”. The Dutchman said his day was “difficult”.

Mercedes were also off the pace. George Russell, seventh fastest overall, crashed at the end of the second session, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton said the team were “a little bit lost”.

Norris said: “Pace is good. It was also a nice lap. We’re doing what we expect, I guess, to be up at the front and together with Ferrari but it was a very nice lap and Charles is just behind.

“I was a hoping to have a much bigger gap which means they’re quick. Ferrari are very, very fast.”

Verstappen said: “Difficult. Not having the grip that we would like. We have a few things to look at.

“I was not really struggling with the bumps or kerbs just general grip so we have to look at the trade-off between the two.”

Verstappen was also censured by governing body the FIA for swearing in Thursday’s official news conference. He has been ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest”.

Singapore was the only race last year where Red Bull failed to win as they put together the most dominant season in F1 history.

The team arrived in Singapore expecting to struggle, as they fight a rearguard battle against Norris and McLaren in the championship.

Verstappen, who won seven of the first 10 grands prix of the season, has not won for seven races.

Singapore, therefore, could provide Norris with an opportunity to make significant inroads into Verstappen’s lead.

But he is wary of the pace of Ferrari, and especially Leclerc, who won from pole in Monaco in May and narrowly lost out to Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri in Baku last weekend.

Norris said: “Charles is very good at street circuits, we have seen in Baku and Monaco what he’s capable of doing. I felt like I got a lot out of Friday. We’re in a good place and if we can keep it up, I’ll be happy.”

Leclerc said: “It felt good but there is still some work to be done, the car didn’t exactly feel like I wanted so we still have to try and improve it and of course the forecast of the rest of the weekend is a little up and down.

“So we will have to adapt very quickly so we cannot rely on a good Friday, but it’s been a good Friday and it’s always better to have a good one than a bad one.”

The one-lap pace was mirrored by that on a race simulation, with Norris and Leclerc looking the class of the field.

Russell, who took his front wing off when he nosed into the barriers at Turn Eight after locking a wheel with less than five minutes remaining in the second session, was 0.761secs off the pace and Hamilton 0.982secs adrift of Norris.

Hamilton said: “The car feels very difficult. A very challenging day. We have tried everything set-up wise and nothing seems to work.

“We are giving it everything and then find out we’re a second off. Ultimately a little bit lost at the moment and not really sure where to put the car. At the moment, we won’t be going into Q3.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third fastest, 0.629secs off the pace, followed by RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Russell said: “There are a lot of surprises out there. The RBs really quick, the Williams really quick. The Red Bulls seem off the pace and there seems to be a big gap to the McLarens and Ferraris. We have a lot of work to do.”

An hour and a half after practice finished, Singapore was hit by heavy rain and intermittent rain is forecast for the rest of the weekend.