Fernando Alonso Sets Pace Opening Practice at Marina Bay

F1 Singapore

This weekend will see the main event kicking off at 13:00 BST on race day.

Real-time commentary streamed on digital platforms and BBC Sport.

FP1 Results Summary

Aston Martin's Spanish veteran topped the times ahead of Monegasque driver and Dutch ace during FP1 for the Singapore Grand Prix.

McLaren's title rivals Australian rookie and Lando Norris concluded the session in P5 and P6.

Piastri was a notable margin quicker than the Briton.

The experienced Spaniard was a tenth and a half ahead of the Ferrari driver and a clear gap faster than the Red Bull star.

The Italian squad's seven-time champion was fourth fastest.

Weekend Outlook

Unlikely that Aston Martin will be contenders for P1.

Nonetheless, the team are hopeful of a improved performance on a technical venue that is better matched to their car, which runs more competitively when plenty of aerodynamic grip are required.

Two-time champion Alonso is also famous as a Marina Bay expert, and often shines on the Marina Bay street track.

Yet he was probably operating with a lighter load or a more aggressive setting than his opponents, or each, to achieve that pace.

Team Updates

Fellow driver Lance Stroll was almost two seconds off the pace in 18th place.

Stroll had problems with his cockpit early in the session and was also running new components.

FP1 in Singapore is not representative of later performance under lights as it is run in daylight in early evening, while qualifying and the main event are staged under floodlights.

Title Battle

The McLaren driver is ahead of Norris by a quarter-century with the final stretch to go heading into the event in the Lion City.

McLaren are set to wrap up the constructors' championship on the weekend.

The only way they can fail to secure it in Singapore is if Mercedes surpass them by over thirty or the Scuderia do so by a similar margin.

Red Bull Update

Red Bull are optimistic of a positive weekend after Verstappen's victories in Italy and Azerbaijan leading into this weekend.

It was a relief when light rain coming down prior to running abated by the moment the cars took to the track on a surface that had remained dry.

Team consultant Helmut Marko stated ahead of practice that they required a uninterrupted running to begin properly on fine-tuning their car configuration for the event.