Singapore – Free Practice 2: Lewis Hamilton Takes Back Control

This second free practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix is probably the most important session of the weekend as it takes place at night, under the same conditions as the qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

As a result, and like this morning, the drivers do not delay in getting on track, like Kimi Räikkönen, who was a difficult 14th in FP1, going out on Medium tires to try to better understand the behavior of his Alfa Romeo C38.

It’s okay for Bottas and Leclerc.

Involved in an accident this morning, Valtteri Bottas will be able to take part in this session. The Mercedes mechanics worked during the midday break to fix the rear of the Finn’s W10. A similar situation occurred in the Ferrari garage where Charles Leclerc was immobilized this morning due to a gearbox issue, which was repaired in the early afternoon to allow the Monegasque driver to get back on track.

This weekend, Ferrari brought a new front wing aiming to provide a bit more downforce on this type of very winding circuit. Tested this morning, it was therefore mounted this afternoon on both cars and should thus be the option chosen by the Scuderia for the rest of the weekend.

The rapid laps follow one another in the first half-hour. Lewis Hamilton is the first to set the pace with a 1:40.40 on Medium tires. He leads an impressive Sergio Pérez by half a second, who is himself ahead of Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, and Sebastian Vettel. It is noteworthy that the Mexican is the only one among the top 6 drivers to have recorded his time on Soft tires.

It’s getting hectic mid-session

After going straight off at the start of the session at the end of the straight, Alexander Albon loses control of his Red Bull in turn 10 by braking too late. He loses his front wing and returns to his pit at low speed. This doesn’t stop the Indonesian from going back on track on Soft tires and setting the fastest time with a 1:39.543.

This paves the way for a series of improvements from Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, and finally Lewis Hamilton, who marks the mid-session benchmark with a 1.38.773. Of course, all drivers are on the softest tire compound… however, no driver managed the perfect lap as Vettel holds the record in the first sector, Verstappen in the second, and Hamilton in the third. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll sparks with his Racing Point but hits the outer wall, while his teammate Sergio Pérez squeezes Kevin Magnussen against the wall at the start of a fast lap. While not being competitive, Racing Point and Haas stand out on track.

Half an hour before the end of the session and before launching into race simulation relays, all the drivers set their best time on Soft tires. This provided a clearer view of everyone’s performance: Lewis Hamilton (1st) and Max Verstappen (2nd) were the fastest and were already pulling away from the competition. Sebastian Vettel (3rd) was pushed back by 8 tenths. The McLarens, 7th for Sainz and 9th for Norris, were vying for the best of the rest positions with the Renaults, 8th for Hülkenberg but only 12th for Ricciardo, who was less comfortable with his car than his teammate. At the bottom of the ranking, the Racing Points, 13th and 15th, the Alfa Romeos, 14th and 16th, and the two Haas cars, 17th and 19th, were running in the times of the two Williams, 18th and 20th.

Results of Free Practice 2 of the 2019 Singapore GP: