AlphaTauri duo cautiously happy: "The car has definitely improved"

"Initially, today was tricky, but that was expected with this unique track," said Lawson, who clocked a 16th and 12th time respectively on Friday. "We need to make the most of FP3 tomorrow, but so far, it’s been ok. We’ve been gradually building, and it’s been going nicely, so there’s definitely more to come tomorrow."

As for his team's updates, the rookie is cautiously positive. "On this type of circuit, it’s hard to notice the differences in the updates. The gains won’t be as big as on more traditional circuits, but the car has definitely improved. Obviously, with something this new, we need to figure out how to maximise it, so we’ll analyse our data tonight, ready for qualifying tomorrow."

Tsunoda happy with upgrades AlphaTauri

Teammate Tsunoda is also happy with how the car feels so far, after finishing ninth and sixteenth on Friday. "Overall, today was okay. Towards the end, there was a drop in grip on the soft compound, and compared to the medium tyres, I didn’t feel much of a step up, so we need to investigate what happened there," the Japanese driver stated.

"Because Singapore is a completely different, unique track compared to others, it’s hard to know so quickly how well our updates are working. The car has definitely improved, especially the rear support, but we’ll know more in qualifying. I’m feeling good and looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow," Tsunoda said.