Formula 1 returns to the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore for a night under the lights in one of the most demanding races of the season where drivers can lose up to 3 kilograms in body weight due to immense heat and humidity.

Free Practice 1 kicked off with a laborious fire in the pit lane for a certain Williams car, and noticeable grip issues for several drivers in the low-speed corners.

The First Five Minutes

The first car to hit the track was Liam Lawson, leading the early phase of the session as he was quickly joined by Nico Hülkenberg – Lawson topped the timesheets for the first four minutes, with Hülkenberg, Bearman, Ocon, and Bortoleto close behind.

Oscar Piastri began making solid rounds early on, sitting seventh just five minutes into the session; it didn’t take long for the order to change.

Ocon temporarily displaced Lawson before being overtaken by Piastri, who was then knocked off the top spot by Max Verstappen with an early benchmark time of 1:35.501.

At this stage, all drivers were running on the hard compound tyres — except for the Aston Martins, who opted for mediums.

Fire in the Pit Lane for Albon

The session took a dramatic turn when Alex Albon’s Williams caught fire in the pit lane, flames erupted from the rear brakes as the car emitted heavy smoke that affected the #23 driver.

Albon was forced to exit the vehicle, clearly distressed as the smoke started to affect his eyes. The acrid scent of burning carbon fiber surrounded the pit lane, leading to urgent intervention from FIA officials.

The fire persisted for more than 10 minutes, and despite numerous extinguishing attempts, the efforts proved ineffective.

Williams later confirmed that Albon had suffered a hardware failure at the rear of the car, similar to the issue Carlos Sainz experienced earlier in the season in Austria.

Albon would take no further part in FP1, but the team expects him back for FP2 later today.

Back on Track

Meanwhile on track, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Hülkenberg remained in the top three, until Sainz cruised into second; track grip was proving elusive, particularly in the low-speed corners.

Multiple drivers, including Norris, Sainz, and Leclerc, had close calls with the walls. Leclerc notably suffered a front tyre lock-up as he wrestled with the lack of traction.

Fernando Alonso, was quietly climbing the order on medium tyres, soon slotting into second place before Sainz, who’s been “desperate” for a clean weekend, briefly went top.

Halfway Point

As the halfway point approached, Alonso set a 1:32.592 to go fastest. The Mercedes pair were silent for the first half of practice as George Russell stayed in sixteenth, while Kimi Antonelli held eighth.

A brief yellow flag disrupted running but cleared quickly.

Momentum began to shift again when Norris set a new fastest lap with a 1:32.493, narrowly ahead of Verstappen and Alonso. Whereas Hadjar put in an impressive sector one, vaulting up to third — just half a tenth off Norris’s time.

Verstappen, hoping to finally add Singapore to his career win list and complete a clean sweep of victories on every 2025 calendar track, closed the gap to just 0.021 seconds.

Elsewhere, Franco Colapinto reported issues with his steering and was promptly handed a replacement unit by Alpine. At the 30-minute mark, Alonso remained in the top three while teammate Lance Stroll opted for soft tyres; a different set compared to Alonso’s ongoing run on mediums.

Leclerc took provisional P1 with a 1:31.266, just as Antonelli slid wide at Turn 1. Piastri, previously outside the top ten in 12th, climbed to sixth after a better run.

Both McLarens returned to the pits for front wing changes, a strategic shift as grip conditions evolved.

Last Ten Minutes

Piastri’s session grew more dramatic when he made light contact with the wall on his front right, shortly after making a snarky radio comment directed at Ferrari.

Bortoleto furiously radioed in about a slow McLaren ahead of him causing traffic. Track limits were tested again when Sainz and Hülkenberg went wheel-to-wheel, resulting in Sainz running off-track.

Alonso returned to the top of the timesheets with a 1:31.117, reclaiming the fastest time ahead of Leclerc, Verstappen, and the two McLarens.

Pierre Gasly, notably marking eight years since his F1 debut, jumped to 13th with a strong late lap. The Mercedes cars, running on mediums, hovered in midfield, Russell in 11th and Antonelli in 14th, while Sainz managed eighth on the same compound.

Final Results

The session came to a close with Alonso at the top on a 1:31.116, narrowly ahead of Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri.

This weekend, McLaren can clinch the Constructors Title if they secure a 1-2, meanwhile Max Verstappen is aiming for a win that will help him cross out Singapore from the list of current tracks he’s had a win on.

With the FIA declaring Singapore as a ‘heat hazard’ with air temperatures above 30 celsius; drivers will be in need of a ‘Driver Cooling System’ ensuring the temperatures inside the cockpit stay regulated to some extent.