Everything that happened in final Singapore GP F1 practice

Charles Leclerc beat Max Verstappen by half a second to lead a wet and shortened final Formula 1 practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix.

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Key moments

– Drivers not permitted on track for first half hour due to conditions
– Track soon ready for intermediates once running begins
– Leclerc usurps Verstappen in late shuffle

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Heavy downpours during the daytime at Marina Bay left the track very wet when F1’s third practice session was due to begin.

The officials took the unusual step of officially starting FP3 on time, but announcing that the pitlane would remain closed.

This kept the timetable on schedule in a way delaying the session would not have done.

Drivers were eventually allowed out at the half-hour mark, with early runners unsurprisingly using wets but quickly finding conditions were good enough for intermediates.

Given the possibility of more rain ahead of qualifying, it was well worth the teams’ while trying to get a sense of wet-track performance.

Though there was a degree of lottery in the times as the track improved by the minute, it was still a Ferrari vs Red Bull battle up front.

Verstappen was quickest by 1.5s briefly, before being toppled by Leclerc. Initially the gap was 0.002s but Leclerc then stretched it to half a second with a 1m57.782s that stood as the benchmark.

Carlos Sainz made it two Ferraris in the top three, with Fernando Alonso continuing an impressive weekend in fourth for Alpine ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Mercedes was the last team to try any serious running, and George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only managed to make it up to ninth and 12th respectively by the end.

Despite the conditions, there were no significant errors, with the yellows only coming out for mild escape road excursions by the two Williams drivers, Russell and Pierre Gasly.

Practice 3 Results