Leclerc Leads First Practice at Singapore GP with Norris Close Behind

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc led the first practice for the Singapore GP on Friday, closely followed by McLaren's Lando Norris. The session was incident-free with Verstappen and Sainz facing minor issues. Several top drivers are vying for crucial qualifying positions in this challenging circuit.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was the fastest in the first practice session for the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on Friday. McLaren's Lando Norris was close behind, with Leclerc clocking a best time of one minute 31.763 seconds, just 0.076 quicker than Norris, in an incident-free daytime session.

The Marina Bay street circuit will see more action with a more meaningful night-time practice session to follow. Currently second in the championship, Norris trails Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 59 points. Both Leclerc and Norris have consistently started from pole position in the last five races, highlighting the importance of qualifying in Singapore, where overtaking is notoriously difficult.

Triple world champion Verstappen was fourth fastest, lagging 0.334 seconds off the pace and dealing with understeer issues. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, last season's winner in Singapore and the only driver to defeat Red Bull, was third but expressed dissatisfaction with his car's brake balance. Other noteworthy performances included RB's Yuki Tsunoda in fifth and McLaren's Oscar Piastri in sixth despite a close brush with the wall.

(With inputs from agencies.)