Singapore GP 2022 - FP1: Hamilton on top for a surprising twist

F1 is back in Singapore, after a two year hiatus, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the first practice session at the Marina Bay circuit saw Lewis Hamilton top the timesheets, followed by Max Verstappen in P2 and Charles Leclerc in P3.

The dusty streets of Marina Bay set quite a challenge for the drivers, as many of them complained about how much the cars were sliding on the track. Lance Stroll had contact with the wall of T5 with 20 minutes to go, triggering a red flag. The session resumed 4 minutes later, as the marshals recovered Stroll's damaged AM22.

Lewis Hamilton gave his fans something to be happy about, as he finished FP1 on top, followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen in P2, who had a slightly scary moment, as he lost the brakes and spun at T3, and Charles Leclerc in P3, who had some minor issues at the beginning of the session, that forced him to spend a lot of time in his pit box.

Sergio Perez finished 4th, but reported a loss of drive towards the end of the session, and had to retire his efforts earlier than expected. George Russell placed his Mercedes in P5, followed by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in P6.

Esteban Ocon in P7, just ahead of Lance Stroll in P8, who had that snap-and-crash incident at T5. Completing the top 10, it was Pierre Gasly in P9 and Fernando Alonso in P10, who spent much of the session in the pits, as the team suspected an oil leak.

Full FP1 Classification: