Singapore GP: Lando Norris in fine form for McLaren after lizard injury hiatus | F1 News

Lando Norris set a blistering pace ahead of a crucial qualifying session in Singapore to dominate the timesheet in final practice at Marina Bay as all of the McLaren driver’s main title-chasing rivals struggled.

After narrowly edging out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on Friday, Norris was in a class of his own on the soft tyre laps in the final daytime session of the weekend on Saturday, taking the pace of nearest challenger George Russell by almost half a second.

After the final appearance of one of the Singapore lizards briefly saw the session red-flagged, Norris was the only driver to lap the demanding street circuit in under 90 seconds, stopping the clocks in 1:29.646, and finished with a 0.479s advantage over second-placed Russell’s Mercedes and a 0.785s advantage over McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, last week’s winner in Baku.

“Lando is in a class of his own. The way he drives his car puts it on track,” 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg said on Sky Sports F1 at the end of the last practice session before qualifications at 2 p.m..

“The other surprise this morning is Russell, who is making the most of his Mercedes. There is no one else.”

Max Verstappen, who leads Norris by a slim 59-point margin in the drivers’ championship, finished fourth but a massive 0.894s off the blistering pace of his title rival.

After struggling with their car again on Friday at a track they struggled on last year, Red Bull looked better in early practice on the medium tyres after apparent changes to the RB20’s suspension overnight to help it drive over the kerbs.

But the car’s pace was then completely off the pace compared to Norris’s as the field switched to the softer compound for the fuel-efficient simulations, which will be a concern for the end of qualifying after a string of disappointing weekends for the under-pressure reigning champions.

Team-mate Sergio Perez’s race on soft tyres did not go as planned and the Mexican finished 15th.

Mercedes had also struggled on the opening day but Russell’s second place indicated an improvement for them, with team boss Toto Wolff saying afterwards that the W15 was now in a “much better window” after engineers “literally turned the car inside out” with set-up changes.

Lewis Hamilton continued to trail Russell, however, with the seven-time champion finishing 0.7s behind the leading Mercedes in seventh place.

“They have a bit of a different set-up and we tried a few things in the session, so it’s not the gap you would normally have with the same car,” added Wolff on the difference between his two drivers.

But the biggest shock of the session was Ferrari’s sudden drop in form, which left them fifth and sixth.

Leclerc had finished yesterday’s session a tenth of a second behind Norris but ended the final practice session 0.913s off the pace, with the Monegasque complaining of a lack of grip at the end of his run on the soft tyres.

Leclerc and Norris were level on Friday but Ferrari’s pace surprisingly dropped in final practice, with the former 0.913s off the pace in fifth.

“They are probably praying now in the Ferrari garage that things will get back to where they were last night, when they were really fast,” Rosberg suggested.

Meanwhile, Williams’ fine run continued, with both drivers back in the top 10 in eighth and ninth, with impressive rookie Franco Colapinto just a few hundredths off the pace of experienced team-mate Alex Albon.

Can anyone stop Norris from taking pole?

With Verstappen again looking unlikely to have the car to challenge for a front row position in qualifying, it appears Norris once again has a golden opportunity to take control of a race weekend to pile the pressure on the Dutchman amid his and Red Bull’s faltering title defences.

A significant drawback to the one-sided final practice schedule is that qualifying takes place in the evening under floodlights, when track conditions are slightly cooler.

But Norris has at least looked ferociously quick in every session so far at a track where he finished a narrow second to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in last year’s race.

“He looks in great shape,” Rosberg said of the McLaren driver.

“Everything is close to perfect, so I think he’ll put it on pole.

“So it will be interesting behind that.”

Sky Sports F1 Singapore GP Live Schedule

Saturday September 21
1:00 p.m.: Preparation for Singapore GP qualifying
2:00 p.m.: SINGAPORE GP QUALIFYING*
4:00 p.m.: Ted’s Qualifications Book

Sunday September 22
8:30 a.m.: F1 Academy Race 2
11:30 a.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: preparation for the Singapore GP
1:00 p.m.: THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3:00 p.m.: Checkered flag: Singapore Reaction of the general practitioner
4:00 p.m.: Ted’s Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

The thrilling 2024 Formula 1 season continues live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend with more breathtaking street circuit action, this time under the lights of the Singapore Grand Prix. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports monthly subscription – No contract, cancel anytime