Heavy rain fell ahead of the third practice session for the 2022 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, with the W Series qualifying session red flagged and then abandoned early in the last hour.
The forecast is looking better for F1 qualifying thankfully.
The rain was pouring here in Singapore – and metaphorical storm clouds are hanging over the F1 paddock too. On a weekend when Max Verstappen could claim his second drivers’ title, his team principal Christian Horner has spent the morning answering more questions over rumours the team could be punished for breaching the cost cap last season.
The third free practice session then started to ensure there are no knock-ons and delays to timings later in the day, given the fact that there has to be two hours between the end of final practice and the start of qualifying.
However, no cars were allowed out on track in the first part of FP3 with a red light on the pitlane exit, as the rain was still pouring and it was not safe to allow cars on track. With 15 minutes gone, there was still only one car on track – the safety car. It was still going around the street circuit alone, but it looked like the rain stopped – so there was hope we would see some F1 cars out.
Officials were out on track furiously trying to mop up puddles with yellow flags being waved in all sectors, as few drivers were putting on helmets and getting ready to get into their cars. After a 30-minute rain delay, cars were now allowed out on track in this final practice session, but there was not much time for drivers to complete runs in these conditions.
There were cheers from the Singapore grandstands as a car finally went out on track – and it was the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly. He obviously had full wet tyres on and the other 19 drivers, who were still in their garages, had a very close eye on his first run. We then had more than 10 cars on the circuit – though none of the Red Bulls, Ferraris or Mercedes were among them. Valtteri Bottas described the conditions as “OK” on team radio and hinted he felt intermediate tyres may perform better than wets.
We then had the first appearance today of the man who could become a two-time world champion tomorrow – Max Verstappen: he mounted the intermediate tyres on, presumably hoping their higher temperatures will give him better performance than the wets.
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As the track was improving, Charles Leclerc also joined the action on intermediate tyres for Scuderia Ferrari in the last 15 minutes of FP3 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, while Carlos Sainz was also sent to the track a few moments later. The Ferrari and Red Bull cars were in the top four positions on the timesheets, with Charles Leclerc’s 1:58:899 the best at this stage.
Mercedes also took to the track, but George Russell was more than five seconds off the leader, with five minutes until the end of the final free practice session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
After a curtailed, rain-soaked practice session it was Charles Leclerc who finished top of the timesheets. His 1:57:782 was half a second quicker than Max Verstappen’s best time – though yellow flags will have disrupted some of the final laps as Pierre Gasly went off the track late on. George Russell also locked up and went off late in the session.
Carlos Sainz was third on the timesheets, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez.
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