Singapore FP1: Russell leads, but Verstappen’s medium-tyre pace signals Red Bull’s return

Key points

• George Russell recorded the fastest overall time in FP1 (1m32.274s) on soft tyres, despite running an older Mercedes specification.
• Max Verstappen was the fastest on medium tyres (1m33.006s), beating championship leader Kimi Antonelli by half a second.
• Nico Hulkenberg stopped on the main straight with a gearbox failure, triggering a virtual safety car.
• The session was held in 53C track temperatures, making it unrepresentative of the night-time qualifying and race conditions.
• Isack Hadjar reported issues with his Red Bull’s bottoming and a slippery throttle pedal during the session.

Background

This weekend marks the first time the Sprint format is used at the Singapore Grand Prix, concluding the 2026 season’s first flyaway triple header. Following Max Verstappen’s victory in Malaysia, which ended Red Bull’s winless start and effectively ended George Russell’s title hopes, the championship battle has shifted. Kimi Antonelli currently leads the standings with an 84-point advantage over Russell, while the 'Big Four' teams have all secured at least one win in the new regulation era.

How outlets are covering it

Motorsport.com highlights the discrepancy between Russell’s overall pace and Verstappen’s superior medium-tyre performance, noting the latter’s potential for the race. Sky Sports emphasizes the strategic challenges of the Sprint format at Marina Bay, pointing out that the single practice session occurs in the day, while qualifying and the Sprint race happen at night, creating a setup conundrum due to temperature differences. ESPN’s source was inaccessible, so no additional perspective could be synthesized from that outlet.

Why it matters

The FP1 results suggest that while Mercedes remains competitive on soft tyres, Red Bull may have the edge in race pace, crucial for the Sprint and main race. The unique conditions of the Singapore Sprint weekend, with limited practice time and a shift from day to night, could amplify the impact of setup errors, potentially altering the championship trajectory for Antonelli and Russell.

What to watch

Sprint Qualifying is scheduled for Friday evening, followed by the Sprint race in the late afternoon. Grand Prix Qualifying will take place on Saturday, with the main race on Sunday. Teams will need to adapt their setups quickly due to the limited practice time and changing environmental conditions.