Russell tops FP1 in Singapore, so why will he start dead last on Sunday?

Russell tops the times, but Sunday starts from the back

George Russell topped the timesheets in Singapore’s only practice session of the weekend, setting a 1:32.274 that put Charles Leclerc two tenths behind and Lando Norris third, 0.273s off the pace. It’s only half good news. Russell will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after taking a fresh engine, a penalty that arrives right after a retirement in Sepang and piles more pressure onto a championship campaign that hasn’t given him much breathing room lately.

There’s something almost ironic about being the fastest man on a Friday and knowing that time counts for nothing come qualifying. But in Singapore, where overtaking between the Marina Bay walls is close to a nightmare, every scrap of FP1 data matters twice as much. For Mercedes, knowing the car has real pace is at least some comfort while they work out how to recover positions from the back.

A grey Friday in more ways than one

Overcast skies and heavy humidity gave the session a flat, muted feel, even though the track stayed dry for the full hour. The forecast for Saturday and Sunday isn’t promising much better, so every team went looking for answers fast, aware this single practice session is all the reference they’ll get before sprint qualifying.

Norris led the early running on hard tyres with a 1:34.367, while Verstappen also went out early on hards and set a 1:35.641 that worked more as a baseline than a real threat. Russell was the first into the low 1:32s, first with a 1:33.886 before dropping down to the time that would end up topping the session. At the halfway mark, just 0.05s covered the top three, which says plenty about how tight this weekend is shaping up to be.

Antonelli is the one raising questions

If Russell was the visible face of Mercedes on Friday, Kimi Antonelli was the other, far less flattering one. He finished seventh, 1.251s off his teammate, on the very weekend the team chose to split its aero packages following an underwhelming debut in Sepang. The gap between the two Mercedes cars isn’t just about traffic or conditions. There’s a real performance delta there that the team is going to have to study closely before qualifying.

To make matters worse, Antonelli ran wide into the run-off area on his final laps on mediums, brushing close to the barriers and triggering a late yellow flag at Turn 16. Nothing came of it, but on a street circuit like Marina Bay, where the margin for error is close to zero, moments like that usually hint at something not quite dialed in, whether it’s the car or the driver’s confidence in it.

Hulkenberg stops, Verstappen loses radio contact

The session wasn’t without its hiccups. With 17 minutes left on the clock, Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi stopped at the pit exit after completing a flying lap, forcing out the Virtual Safety Car while marshals pushed the car back into the pit lane. It didn’t cause a major delay, but it did cost Hulkenberg a finish in 18th, well below where his actual pace would have put him.

Verstappen, meanwhile, lost radio contact with his pit wall at some point during the session, a detail that would barely register at most circuits but carries more weight in Singapore, where constant communication with the team can make the difference between dodging traffic and getting stuck in it. Even so, the champion finished sixth, 0.732s off Russell, with enough margin not to be worried just yet.

The rest of the field

Behind the top six, Isack Hadjar slotted into eighth, just behind Hamilton and Piastri, who rounded out the top of the order in fourth and fifth respectively. Pierre Gasly in ninth and Liam Lawson in tenth closed out the top ten, while Bearman, Lindblad, Ocon and Alonso split positions 11 through 14 with barely anything between them.

Sainz, Bortoleto, Albon and Colapinto filled out the midfield, and Stroll, Perez and Bottas took the final three spots, well off the pace but without any real drama of their own.

Singapore GP 2026, FP1 Results

What’s next

Verstappen arrives in Singapore as the most recent race winner from Sepang, looking to string together back-to-back wins, while this FP1 marks just the opening of a brutal stretch on the calendar, the first of three consecutive race weekends with no break to close out the season. With sprint qualifying right around the corner and Russell resigned to clawing his way back from the rear of the grid, Marina Bay is shaping up to be a weekend where the pace shown in FP1 matters far less than the strategy for surviving the traffic.

What do you make of Russell topping the only practice session knowing it counts for nothing on Sunday, pure bad luck or a sign Mercedes still has real pace to use?

Drop your prediction for qualifying in the comments.

Sources: Formula1.com, PitDebrief, F1oversteer, Motorsport.com, Autosport, RacingNews365