Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver on track in the first practice session of the Singapore GP, with a time of 1:33.350.
Leclerc’s time on the hard tyres was just under a tenth faster than Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in a fairly unrepresentative practice session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with the teams running a variety of programmes on the changed track.
Max Verstappen, who secured a record breaking 10th consecutive victory last time out at the Italian GP, was third overall as he hunts a maiden victory in the city state, ahead of Lando Norris in a heavily upgraded McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Mercedes, ahead of teammate George Russell and the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, with Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon making up the rest of the top 10.
The action on track was briefly interrupted for a yellow flag at Turn 8 due to a monitor lizard on track, with the drivers swerving to avoid the animal as it made its way slowly across the circuit – eventually making it safely back behind the walls.
Another appeared later on, this time at Turn 9, with another brief yellow flag to help them on their way unharmed, with a third bring up the reptile hattrick in the final stages of the session.
Where can I watch the 2023 Singapore GP?
For viewers in the UK, every session of the 2023 Singapore GP will be shown live on Sky Sports F1, with highlights on Channel 4.
Meanwhile, if you are in the USA, every session will be shown across ESPN.
F1 fans in Australia will be able to catch all the action on Fox Sports, while those in Canada can watch on TSN.
