Nico Rosberg had the edge for Mercedes over the two practice sessions for the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, setting the fastest time of 1min 44.152sec in the second session on the fastest ultra-soft tyres. He was just over two-tenths ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari, followed four-tenths back by the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Lewis Hamilton, who leads Rosberg by two points in the world championship, was in seventh in the final session, having retired early with a mechanical problem.
Hamilton, who had run the Halo cockpit protection device for the first time during first practice, missed the final 25 minutes of the second session after having to pit due to a hydraulic problem which could not be solved in time for him to return to the circuit. Equally, Rosberg was not trouble-free, having locked up on ageing tyres toward the end of first practice and going into the wall at turn 18. He lost his front wing but was able to return to the pits and take part in the second session.
Mercedes had difficulty switching the super-soft tyres on at this race last year. They were 1.4sec off the pace in qualifying, with Rosberg’s fourth the best they could manage in the race, and are conservative about their chances here. However they have said they believe the issue has been identified and dealt with and the times suggest a clear improvement.
For Red Bull, who are optimistic of a good result in Singapore, with a car suited to the challenging, 23-corner track, the results were also positive.
Verstappen topped the time sheets in first practice with the Dutch driver setting a lap time of 1min 45.823sec, 0.049 seconds ahead of his team-mate. They were sixth tenths clear of both Mercedes but had been running the ultra-soft tyres while Hamilton and Rosberg had been using the hardest, soft, compound. Ferrari too, will be buoyed by Raikkonen’s quick run in FP1 while in the first session, Sebastian Vettel was in third but four-tenths down from the Red Bulls.
During the early part of the first session, running with high fuel loads and the ultra-soft tyre, Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari ‘s times were close – suggesting that the differences come qualifying on Saturday might yet still be small. In the battle for the championship Hamilton had the edge over his team-mate in the first session on the ultra-softs, half a second clear when the pair were on the same rubber.
