Alonso Leads First Practice at Singapore Grand Prix
Singapore Grand Prix
Race weekend includes the race beginning at British Summer Time on race day.
Live updates provided on radio channels and mobile app.
Opening Round Summary
The team's two-time champion topped the times beating Monegasque driver and reigning champion in first practice at the street circuit event.
McLaren's championship contenders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished the run in fifth and sixth.
Piastri was a notable margin quicker than his teammate.
The experienced Spaniard was a slim margin ahead of Leclerc and a clear gap clear than Verstappen.
The Italian squad's British icon was just outside the top three.
Weekend Outlook
It is not expected that the Silverstone-based team will be front-runners for P1.
However, the squad are hopeful of a strong showing on a technical venue that is more suited to their car, which performs better when high levels of aerodynamic grip are needed.
Double world title winner Alonso is also known as a Singapore specialist, and typically performs well on the Singapore circuit.
But he was almost certainly using less fuel or a increased power than his rivals, or both, to set such a quick time.
Session Details
His team-mate Lance Stroll was a significant margin off the pace in P18.
The Canadian had issues with his cockpit early in the session and was also testing new components.
FP1 in Singapore is not representative of conditions later in the weekend as it is run in bright conditions in late afternoon, while the shootout and the main event are staged under floodlights.
Title Battle
The McLaren driver has an advantage over Norris by a quarter-century with the final stretch ahead heading into the Grand Prix in Singapore.
The Woking-based team are poised to wrap up the team title on Sunday.
The only way they can fail to secure it in this race is if Mercedes beat them by 31 points or the Scuderia do so by 35.
Red Bull Update
The energy drink brand's team are optimistic of a strong result after Max's wins in Italy and Azerbaijan ahead of this weekend.
The team breathed a sigh when drizzle coming down before the session stopped by the time the cars emerged on a surface that had remained dry.
Senior figure Red Bull's advisor commented prior to running that they wanted a uninterrupted running to begin properly on fine-tuning their car configuration for the event.
