Norris sets FP3 pace over Russell, Piastri

Lando Norris headlined Formula 1’s final free practice session ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix with a 0.479-second margin over George Russell.

During the end-of-session qualifying simulations, Norris broke past Russell’s earlier effort with a 1m29.646s on the soft tyres, setting the fastest lap ever recorded at the Marina Bay circuit in the process.

Oscar Piastri completed the top three, almost 0.8s shy of his team-mate in a distinctly spread field; Mercedes and Red Bull looked marginally improved throughout FP3 compared to Friday’s running, while Ferrari noticeably took a step back.

Aside from a monitor lizard, only the Aston Martins broke onto the circuit in the opening 10 minutes, using the free track to scrub a few sets of tyres.

The defiant lizard continued to amble around at Turn 18, prompting a red flag and the appearance of marshals to clear it from the circuit. The amusement scaled new heights as the reptile indulged in a race with a marshal down the circuit, but it eventually left the track and the session resumed with just over 45 minutes left on the clock.

Amid the early runs on medium tyres, Piastri set the first time within the 1m32s as the drivers sought to adapt to the change in grip thanks to overnight rain.

In a seemingly improved Red Bull, Max Verstappen set a 1m32.044s on the medium tyres, winding that down to a 1m31.630s on a second tour. This withstood a few efforts from Norris and Carlos Sainz over the next few minutes, as Russell also got close to the Dutchman’s time.

Charles Leclerc then posted a 1m31.525s to go fastest, concluding the medium runs among the top teams before attention shifted towards qualifying preparation.

Russell kicked it off with a 1m30.125s on the soft tyre, while Piastri went 0.3s slower on his subsequent lap. Verstappen couldn’t beat this either, looking tentative at the apex of the slower corners. Norris then fired his way to the top by almost half a second over Russell.

Verstappen’s lap was good enough for fourth in the order, above the two Ferraris; Leclerc reported “no grip” during his qualifying run, perhaps a result of taking two build laps before going for a lap that fell 0.9s shy of Norris’ benchmark. Sainz was sixth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto continued Williams’ good form with the eighth and ninth-best times, as Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin completed the…