Singapore, FP2: Sainz quickest in FP2 as Ferrari finish 1-2

Carlos Sainz led a Ferrari 1-2 in second practice for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 2022 Singapore Grand Prix with the Spaniard finishing two tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc. Mercedes’ George Russell was third ahead championship leader Max Verstappen who completed just eight laps, while Leclerc only managed 14.

At the start of the session Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was first out on track and he established the early benchmark of 1:45.839s on medium tyres, before he was beaten by Russell and then by the other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Sainz then took over in P1 with a lap of 1:43.710, set on medium tyres, before Hamilton snuck back ahead with a 1:43.668 a few minutes later. As the session reached the 20-minute mark Sainz moved back to the top of the times with a lap of 1:43.237.

There had been no sign of the Red Bulls in the opening third but at last Verstappen appeared, on hard tyres. He immediately jumped to fifth place with a lap of 1:44.645 before heading straight back to the pitlane, where he’d remain until the final minutes of the session, sliding back towards the lower midfield as better times came in.

The champion’s team-mate Sergio Pérez then joined the fray, on the C5 soft compound tyres. His first flying lap was not good, however, and he ended up in eighth place. He dropped to 14th as rivals improved but his next lap of 1:43.906 boosted him back to P8 again.

Sainz then bolted on soft tyres and he improved on his P1 time, establishing a new benchmark at 1:42.751. Leclerc then finally took to the track on medium after spending a long time in the garage as his team worked on the floor of his car. He ran just 0.1s slower than Sainz’s best.

The Spaniard had more in the tank, however, and he improved to 1:42.587, with Leclerc slotting into second 0.295s back on used mediums. Russell dropped to third and Hamilton to fourth. Leclerc then moved to softs and posted a time that kept him second but 0.208s down.

With four minutes of the session left on the clock, Verstappen finally reappeared, on softs, and he slotted in fourth behind Russell’s best soft-tyre effort from earlier in the session.

That pushed Hamilton and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon back to fifth and sixth in the final order, with Bottas and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso seventh and eighth, as Pérez finished a troubled ninth. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10.

There was trouble for Pierre Gasly, with the French driver being forced to jump out of his AlphaTauri when being wheeled back into his garage as flames burst from the car’s airbox.