Norris sets new lap record during final practice in Singapore

Lando Norris set a new lap record around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, topping the FP3 timing sheets by almost five-tenths as George Russell and Oscar Piastri completed the top three ahead of qualifying.

With the sun setting and the clock counting down to the all-important Singapore Grand Prix qualifying session, there was a lack of hesitancy in the pitlane with all drivers barring Aston Martin avoiding the hot and humid conditions for as long as possible.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were, however, joined on track by a brave, unmoving lizard, prompting a short-lived Red Flag while the marshals carefully cleared the local wildlife from harm’s way.

When the session restarted, the drivers were finally ready to maximise the most of the remaining 45 minutes. 

Oscar Piastri was one of the keen drivers leaving the pitlane as the track went green, opting to start his session on the medium tyre.

Recording the fastest middle sector on his opening lap, Piastri set the first benchmark of FP3 as he stated that the “balance already [felt] better than yesterday”.

Drifting slightly down the order, Piastri’s next flying lap boosted him back into the top three with a time of 1:32.181s.

Aiming to close the gap to his teammate, Piastri was still over five-tenths behind Lando Norris when he made the switch to the soft compound, hopeful of discovering some competitive pace in the final 20 minutes of the session.

His first C5 attempt rewarded him with a time of 1:30.431s, moving Piastri into P2, three-tenths behind Russell’s then-benchmark despite snapping across the kerbs at Turn 7.

Aside from the Mercedes, Lando Norris was the only other driver to go faster than the Australian in FP3, setting a new lap record as he put a huge eight-tenth margin between the McLaren teammates. 

As a result, Piastri finished FP3 in P3, hoping to replicate or improve that performance in two hours’ time.

As for his compatriot, Daniel Ricciardo remained in his garage for a few additional minutes, leaving his garage with 40 minutes on the clock.

Ricciardo crossed the line to put a time of 1:33.184s against his name, slotting the Australian into P12 to start the session.

He slipped down the order despite improving on his lap times, before being rewarded with a big jump into P8.

Sitting around four-tenths back on the benchmark, Ricciardo retreated to the pitlane for a substantial amount of time before rejoining on the soft compound with just over two minutes remaining.

Ricciardo didn’t have the same effect on the timing sheets as he proved to have on Friday, with his first C5 lap time only quick enough for P12, allowing the Williams duo to occupy the free spaces in the top ten.

The Australian ended the session in P17, ten places below where he sat 24 hours ago as he switches his focus to qualifying.

As for the rest of the field, Red Bull’s overnight alterations instantly paid dividends for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez as they flew into the top two positions.

Soon after, however, their rivals joined them in the fight as the top eight times reflected a muddled order of the top four teams, separated by nine-tenths.

Towards the end of the medium compound stint, Charles Leclerc lit up the timing sheets to move into P1, aided by multiple purple sectors as Carlos Sainz trailed behind.

Verstappen challenged the Ferrari as he stole the fastest sector time in Sector 1, however, was let down by a rough ride across the kerbs.

Also having a rough run around the Marina Bay Street Circuit were Alex Albon and George Russell, with both drivers clipping the walls and locking up during the first half of the session.

In the latter third of the hour, soft tyres consumed the 4.9km circuit, with Russell recovering from his earlier blunder to secure a new top time of 1:30.125s, over 1.4 seconds clear of Leclerc’s former benchmark.

Going faster by almost five-tenths, Lando Norris set a new lap record of 1:29.646s after taking an aggressive approach across the kerbs, making into two McLarens within the top three as the rest of the grid transitioned their tyres. 

With 10 minutes on the clock, Sainz and Leclerc finally set off for their qualifying simulations.

The Spaniard’s first run was a messy one, only placing him in P5 behind an equally messy Verstappen, while the Monegasque was instructed to conduct a distracting double warm-up. 

When he did launch, Leclerc set personal best sectors, however wasn’t competitive against Norris’ new record, posted up behind Verstappen before saying “we are very slow”.

Verstappen’s teammate didn’t have enough pace to equal the Dutchman’s effort, seeing Perez sitting a whole second behind the #1 with five minutes remaining.

The timing sheets remained unchanged as the last soft tyre runs ticked by, with Norris holding out over Russell and Piastri on the C5.

On the C4, Leclerc, Sainz and Verstappen were the quickest drivers, making for an interesting qualifying battle and an even more interesting race come Sunday night in Singapore.

Qualifying will take place at 11:00 PM.

Image: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images

Free Practice 3 Results:

2024 Singapore Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, September 20th:

FP1: 19:30 – 20:30

FP2: 23:00 – 00:00

Saturday, September 21st:

FP3: 19:30 – 20:30

Qualifying: 23:00 – 00:00

Sunday, September 22nd:

Race: 22:00

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