Sainz tops a calm FP2 session as Verstappen underperforms

Carlos Sainz was the fastest around the Marina Bay Street Circuit at the end of play on Friday. He led Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc by just 0.018s , as they finished over a quarter of a second to thrid placed George Russell.

Ferrari remained on top for the rest of the session as their lap times just seem untouchable at the minute, while it was Russell that got closest as the session wound down, he was still almost a quarter of a second behind the Scuderia. It was Liam Lawson who perhaps had the best session outside the Ferraris as he found himself in P12 in his Alpha Tauri. Ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda on a track he hasn’t raced on before. As well as being within just a few tenths of the reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

The Ferraris still look fast after the first set of lap times, Sainz looked the pick of the bunch, while Leclerc picked up speed throughout the session. There were also early signs that the Aston Martin had turned back the beginning of the season form, as Alonso spent a chunk of time in the top three during the first third of the session, he was also joined by Yuki Tsunoda at times, as both Alpha Tauris finished their first runs in the top eight.

The Ferrari dominance continued throughout the second third of the session, as the grid went out on their soft tyre runs. Finishing One-Two after the first laps, half a second quicker than anyone else. Verstappen’s struggles continued throughout this period as he couldn’t find a clean lap, as he couldn’t manage any better than sixth, while Sergio Perez couldn’t do any better as he found himself in eight by the end of his run, before reporting issues with the set up under braking. Which meant he struggled to build up his confidence. It could be a common set-up issue between both Red Bulls which is speculated to be causing their lack of perfomance.