A McLaren led practice on Friday night, but the form guide at the Singapore Grand Prix looks anything but clear.
A heavily interrupted second practice session featuring two lengthy red flags totalling almost 30 minutes meant few drivers got in a good, clean qualifying-style lap, and fewer still did any race running that might help to predict Sunday’s outcome.
But a deeper look at the incomplete lap times reveals a highly competitive picture that could confirm what must be McLaren’s worst fears: that Formula 1 really has become more competitive since the mid-season break — that its first back-to-back losses of the season weren’t an aberration but a sign of the times.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Of course McLaren is still favourite, with Oscar Piastri ending the day fastest, but Red Bull Racing is clearly in the hunt, with Max Verstappen a competitive third.
And despite ending FP2 way down the order, both Ferrari drivers clearly have pace to match Piastri, with Lewis Hamilton in particular looking strong.
It’s only Friday, and it’s only practice. But what we’ve seem so far suggests Singapore could be about to deliver another twist to the from guide.
PIT TALK PODCAST: After his disaster in Azerbaijan, can Oscar Piastri bounce back in Singapore to reassert himself as the championship leader?
PIASTRI QUICKEST IN 2024 FORM FLIP
Anyone wondering whether there’d be a repeat in Singapore of Piastri’s scrappy Azerbaijan performance got an immediate answer during Friday practice.
The Australian has looked as calm as ever — no surprises there — but has exhibited a certain determination to move past his Baku disaster and reset the tone.
By Friday night, with his name next to the fastest time, he was tellingly upbeat about how the weekend has gone so far.
“I think I found my feet on the medium [tyre] at the end there and the soft felt good,” he enthused. “Obviously not much representative race running, but the car’s been in a good place.
“I feel like I’ve learnt a lot through today, and that’s the aim of practice, so it’s been a good day.”
This was a tough track for Piastri last year — he finished third and 40 seconds behind winner Lando Norris.
But it was his qualifying performance that let him down — he started fifth after failing to improve on his Q2 time, leaving him with too much to do on Sunday.
One year on and with the value of qualifying at this circuit was clear to him, he’s made single-lap pace his priority.
“Here qualifying is a massive part of the weekend,” he said. “You’d rather qualify further up and deal with the unknown for the race than qualify further back and know exactly what’s going to happen in the race, because it’s not really going to help you.”
But so far Piastri is doing is best to leave few unknowns at all. He’s the form man heading into a crucial qualifying session on Saturday.
Norris is enduring a similar reversal of 2024 form, with the Briton struggling to replicate his teammate’s pace or his glorious speed of last season.
He ended the day fifth and a chunky 0.483 seconds off the pace. Though he was able to keep up with Piastri through to turn 10, thereafter he haemorrhaged time, suggesting his teammate was doing a better job at managing the soft tyre through the lap to prevent it from dropping off late.
“Just a difficult day for me,” Norris lamented. “I’m not feeling too great with the car — missing all of the feelings that I had here last year.
“Oscar’s quick, so I’ve got nothing to complaining about bar just not doing a very good job.
“Plenty of things to work on. Just a bad day.”
Street tracks like Singapore are confidence venues, and there’s no doubt Piastri will start Saturday a step ahead on that front.
‘Certainly not my finest moment’ | 02:58
VERSTAPPEN IS IN THE MIX
While the dynamics of the internal McLaren battle continue to shift from round to round, Verstappen’s trajectory seems clearly and consistently upwards.
Friday in Singapore was another good day for the Dutchman in his apparently rejuvenated RB21.
He was only 0.143, but most of that difference was through the turn 16-17 chicane. Around the rest of the lap he looked like a match.
But more telling than the time is the vibe.
Verstappen has never been afraid to be honest about his car’s difficulties this season, but his Friday debrief was notably positive.
“The car was not too bad — a bit like the last two weekends where there were no major problems,” he said, referencing his last two victories. “Then in FP2 a few things that we tried. Some were good, so we just need to try and optimise that a bit more.
“In general I’m quite satisfied, but definitely need a bit more pace to fight up at the front tomorrow.”
Verstappen has never won in Singapore, and Red Bull Racing has won only once here in the last 11 years, and even then it didn’t have the fastest Sunday car.
The reigning champion said his strong Friday was a good sign that this run of form could be set to turn.
“It’s definitely very positive,” he said. “There are still a few things that we want to do better, but it’s not like we need to throw around the set-up completely, so that’s a good thing.
“We’ll see tomorrow. Is it going to be good enough to fight upfront? I don’t know.
“I guess we’ll see in qualifying.”
It may be that Red Bull Racing gets left behind by a McLaren with more in the tank — Piastri certainly looked relaxed on Friday night.
But Verstappen has looked very comfortable all weekend in a situation that applies no pressure on him. He’s enjoying being a hunter with no expectations, and he needs only the hint of pole position or a sniff of victory to find another level of performance that will see him disrupt the McLaren drivers — or more.
Max claims Azerbaijan as Piastri crashes | 02:20
DON’T DISCOUNT FERRARI
But Verstappen isn’t the only driver who had Piastri-threatening pace.
Hamilton, 10th and 0.777 seconds off the pace, cannot be discounted despite his lowly FP2 result.
His second practice session needs to be unpacked to be understood.
The seven-time champion attempted two laps on soft tyres but was forced to abandon both of them — the first after a mistake at turn 10 and the other after snap out of turn 14 that had him brushing the wall.
Before both errors he was neck and neck with Piastri’s McLaren.
His fastest lap resultantly was set on the medium tyre. His fastest logged time therefore wasn’t representative of the pace he clearly has around Marina Bay.
“It’s generally been a good day,” he said, his tone upbeat. “I’ve enjoyed driving the car.
“Obviously McLaren’s very fast, and getting clean lap is not easy, but I feel like there’s lots of positives to take form today, lots of learnings, and I’m quite happy with the progress that we made from session to session.”
Of course Hamilton was similarly buoyant at this time two weeks ago after topping FP2 in Baku before his and Ferrari’s weekend completely fell apart.
Part of the problem there was a misguided set-up choice that left him struggling in qualifying.
This week he says he won’t make the mistake of chasing more speed from a car that already feels fast to him.
“I felt like we’ve made steps forward today, so I feel like overnight we probably won’t change much,” he said. “But of course we’ll be trying to refine the set-up and see if we can extract a little bit more to get as close as we can to the McLarens.”
Leclerc ended the day marginally faster than Hamilton, though he did complete his first lap on softs.
The Monegasque was a close match for Piastri and Hamilton up until turn 10, after which the lap got away from him.
“It’s been just a very messy FP2 with the traffic and with the red flags,” he said. “Lots of things going on which haven’t been very positive, but we’ll reset and com back stronger. I think the pace is in the car, so that’s a good thing.”
Leclerc did generate one highlight, however, when he punted Norris into the pit wall as both attempted to leave pit lane following the second red flag of FP2.
It was a bizarre and highly clumsy bit of choreography from Ferrari that earnt the team a fine from the stewards after a post-session investigation.
Vamos! Sainz ECSTATIC with podium result | 01:03
HORNER HUNTING FOR F1 COMEBACK
Off the circuit, Ex Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has been scoping out options to return to Formula 1.
It turns out Haas has been one of his first ports of call for a comeback — though it hasn’t been his only target.
Haas principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that Horner sounded out a member of staff at the American-owned team about a role but said that the championship-winning former boss was quickly turned down.
“It’s true that he approached us,” Komatsu said, per Autosport. “One of our guys had an exploratory talk, and that’s it.
“Nothing has gone any further. It is finished.”
Horner is believed to want more than just a high-ranking role to come back to the paddock, with a stake in the team widely viewed as a key criterion for the Englishman.
Haas is independently owned by eponymous founder Gene Haas and on paper would be an logical option, though the American machining mogul has long refused to entertain the prospect of selling his team.
Haas has also only recently entered into a partnership with Toyota. While a works deal is not publicly on the cards, a closer relationship with the Japanese marque would be preferable to inducting a new independent investor.
Aston Martin has also admitted to contact with Christian Horner, but after having been ambiguous in his response to questions on the matter on Friday, CEO Andy Cowell definitively dismissed the idea that he could join the Silverstone team.
“I had a chat with Lawrence [Stroll] this morning to find out what he knows,” he said. “It looks as though Christian’s ringing up pretty much every team owner at the moment, so you can pass the question along [to another team].
“I can clearly say there are no plans for involvement of Christian either in an operational or investment role in the future.”
Alpine is also a heavily rumoured possible destination, with Renault reportedly open to selling a significant stake in the team, though the longstanding British-based constructor has denied it is for sale.
Team managing director Steve Nielsen was less equivocal in denying Horner could join the predominantly French-owned squad.
“As far as I know, no,” he said when asked whether Horner had approached Alpine. “But Flavio [Briatore, de facto principal] and Christian are old friends, that’s no secret. What they’ve talked about, I don’t know.
“But [from] everything I see and everything I know, there’s no truth in Christian coming to Alpine. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. This is Formula 1, after all.”