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The McLaren driver was almost half a second clear of the pack after the final practice hour, which proved positive for some and disastrous for others.
George Russell was second best in a good result for Mercedes after a tough start to the weekend in Marina Bay, with Oscar Piastri third best in the second McLaren.
Things weren’t so rosy at Ferrari though, with Charles Leclerc almost a second off the pace in fifth.
Heavy rain late on Friday evening washed much of the grip from the Marina Bay circuit. Though F1 Academy and Porsche Carrera Cup Asia had been out, the track remained green.
It was also inhabited by the Grandson of Godzilla – a monitor lizard that had wandered onto the track in the opening moments of the session that officials optimistically warned drivers of by way of a slippery surface flag.
Luckily for the lizard, which was loitering at the final corner, it was a slow start to the session, only Aston Martin heading out to scrub tyres, as has become standard operating procedure from the squad.
Deemed too great a risk, though it’s unclear if that was to the cars or the lizard itself, the decision was made to red flag the session to clear the interloper – prompting much hilarity as officials gave chase to the surprisingly spritely beast.
Once cleared, the serious business could begin, though a quarter of the session had effectively been lost.
Sauber elected to kick of its session with a set of soft tyres.
It was an unusual choice to complete a performance run so early given the state of the circuit.
Others were still looking to refine set-up, Piastri and Max Verstappen among them.
Both were happier with their machines, though Verstappen was unimpressed with his inability to find clear space on track.
Even on a green track, the Dutchman was faster (marginally) than he’d been in Free Practice 2 on Friday evening – and on a set of medium tyres rather than a qualifying simulation.
Clearly, Red Bull Racing had made progress as both Verstappen and Sergio Perez featured closer to the top of the timesheets, broadly on par with the Ferraris and McLarens on the yellowed-walled tyres.
The gains at Red Bull Racing were relative; it was significantly better than Friday but still not at the very sharp end.
Verstappen was four-tenths off Russell’s best though neither were really in touching distance of Norris.
Purple through all three sectors on his qualifying sim, his 1:29.646s left him four-tenths clear of the lead Mercedes in second place, and almost eight-tenths ahead of team-mate Piastri in third.
While Mercedes and Red Bull Racing will be pleased with their progress, even if they’re not on the ultimate pace, Charles Leclerc was unhappy as he’d slipped backwards.
Fastest in Free Practice 1 and within half a tenth off Norris in Free Practice 2, he was more than nine-tenths off on his soft tyre run in the final practice hour.
Carlos Sainz too didn’t have the pace, suggesting the Scuderia had gone the wrong way overnight.
A final run inside the final minute offered little in the way of encouragement, Leclerc dropping three tenths through the first sector alone.
From there, time continued to bleed away from him in a session that was a disappointing one for the Monegasque.
For Norris and McLaren is was a valuable hour as they solidified themselves at the top of the standings, though there’s still work to do across the other side of the garage.
The blistering RB pace from Friday did not reappear, with Yuki Tsunoda only 11th and Daniel Ricciardo 17th, though Williams showed well with both Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto in the top 10.
It leave the order heading into qualifying McLaren from Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, then the typical midfield melting pot, now seemingly headed by Williams.
