Singapore Grand Prix: Daniil Kvyat Tops Friday Practice, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen Was 2nd
Red Bull topped the time sheets for the 1st time in this season when Russian Daniil Kvyat recorded the fastest time in Friday’s practice session in the Singapore Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat recorded the fastest time in Friday’s practice a the Singapore Grand Prix, and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was 2nd, indicating those teams are set to provide a challenge to previously dominant Mercedes this weekend.
Red Bull had not topped the timesheets for any Formula One session this season but the performance level was confirmed by Kvyat’s teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who was 3rd fastest.
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who has taken pole position in 11 of 12 races this season, was in 4th place, his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was 7th.
Conditions at the Marina Bay street circuit aid Mercedes’ challengers, with Ferrari operating well in hot track conditions as evidenced by its wins in Malaysia and Hungary, and the nimble Red Bull thriving through the many low-speed corners.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was concerned by his team’s speed deficit to the Red Bulls.
“We are not happy with the performance today,” Mr. Wolff said. “We have not made the tire work the way we should on the one-lap performance and on the long runs we have seen some spectacular performances by Red Bull. We need to get our heads together and assess what’s happening.”
Mr. Raikkonen outperformed his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel, who was 5th fastest and continued the strong 1-lap performance that saw him qualifying 2nd in the previous race in Italy.
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso also put in an strong performance, clocking the 8th-best time, less than a sec off the top of the charts. That was a marked improvement for the team, which has had a frustrating year as new engine supplier Honda catches up in its return to the sport.
American driver Alexander Rossi, who will make his F1 race debut Sunday for the Manor team, provided the major incident of the 2 90-min sessions, colliding with a barrier at the left-hand turn under a grandstand, and snapping off both right-side wheels. Mr. Rossi climbed out of the car unaided and appeared unhurt.
The subsequent Red Flag ended the 1st session 3 mins short.
Stay tuned…
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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