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Russell fastest in 'downgraded' Mercedes in only Singapore practice
The Race • • general
Key Points:
- George Russell, driving an older-spec Mercedes, set the fastest time in the only practice session for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, with a benchmark lap of 1m32.274s on soft tyres.
- Kimi Antonelli's upgraded Mercedes was seventh, 1.3 seconds slower, but was only 0.056 seconds behind Russell during hard tyre runs, indicating comparable performance between the two versions.
- Charles Leclerc's Ferrari consistently placed second fastest on both hard and soft tyres, closely trailing Russell's pace.
- McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished third and fifth respectively, with Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari separating them in fourth.
- The session saw several off-track excursions causing brief yellow flags and a virtual safety car to recover Nico Hulkenberg's Audi, which suffered a gearbox failure.
