Singapore Grand Prix – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has gone fastest in the final practice session ahead of qualifying at Marina Bay in Singapore.
Click here for the complete results from FP3 – 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has finished the final practice session in Singapore as fastest man after a stunning flying lap late in the FP3 hour.
Following a brief Virtual Safety Car and red flag period at the halfway point of the final practice session, Leclerc popped in a 1:38.192 on the Soft tyres to go a full second clear of then fastest man Valtteri Bottas for Mercedes.
It was an emphatic laptime, the fastest time seen this weekend so far as darkness descended upon Marina Bay and the temperatures began to become more representative ahead of qualifying and the race. Lewis Hamilton responded to the laptime by clocking a 1:38.399 on the same Soft compound, just under 0.2 off the Ferrari’s pace. Hamilton spun on his outlap, meaning his tyres weren’t 100% for his flying lap, meaning that he theoretically has a little more laptime in hand.
Sebastian Vettel finished P3 and 0.6 from the front and was less than a tenth clear of P4 Valtteri Bottas at the chequered flag.
Alex Albon, having had a minor off towards the end of FP3 when he ran wide after the Anderson Bridge, ended up in P5 and just ahead of Max Verstappen as both Red Bulls appeared to struggle for outright pace as they ended up a second behind Charles Leclerc.
McLaren had a great session as they ended up P7 & P8 with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris respectively, and just 0.3 seconds behind the Red Bulls. Their engine suppliers, Renault, were up next in P9 & P10 with Nico Hulkenberg, not for the first time this weekend, ending up in front of Daniel Ricciardo.
Lance Stroll finished P11 for Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly P12 for Toro Rosso. Kimi Raikkonen finished P13 for Alfa Romeo, just ahead of Sergio Perez. The Racing Point driver was the cause of the aforementioned red flag, having struck the barrier out of Turn 21 with his right rear. Knocking his wheel completely askew, there are now question marks as to whether he’ll need a new gearbox ahead of qualifying.
George Russell underlined Williams’ seemingly improved pace by placing P15 and ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo as well as the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. Russell’s best time was three seconds off the pace set by Leclerc.
Robert Kubica finished P19 for Williams, while Daniil Kvyat didn’t set a time for Toro Rosso. While on a hot lap early in the session, his Honda power unit developed an oil leak and the Russian was forced to dive into the pits for checks and repairs. He will be fitted with another power unit from his existing pool ahead of qualifying, and shouldn’t get a grid penalty as a result.
