Singapore – Free Practice 3: Alonso ahead of Ricciardo and Rosberg before qualifying

It is still daylight when the session begins, but the track is perfectly illuminated thanks to the various lights spread throughout the circuit. The majority of the drivers, with Max Chilton leading the way, head out to complete one or two installation laps before fully dedicating themselves to preparing for qualifying and the race.

After 5 minutes, the first time is set by Esteban Gutierrez driving his Sauber at 1:53.971, with the best time subsequently improved by Adrian Sutil – 1:53.383 – and Kevin Magnussen – 1:51.985.

After 10 minutes, Perez is the only driver not to have taken to the track, but the Mexican exits the pits as track activity is high, with 15 men searching for the best time. And in this little game, Jenson Button leads the discussion with a 1:51.487, quickly beaten, however, by Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull with 1:50.762. Shortly after, it’s his teammate’s turn to shine, 1:50.393 for Sebastian Vettel who takes the lead of the time sheet where only 13 drivers have set a time after 15 minutes.

Shortly before the 20-minute mark, Daniel Ricciardo takes the top spot on the timesheet by being the first to break the 1:50 barrier in a lap during FP3, clocking 1:49.588. The Australian leads Vettel, Vergne, Kvyat, Perez, Button, Grosjean, Magnussen, Maldonado, and Gutierrez. The Williams, Ferrari, and Mercedes drivers have yet to set a time.

The Mercedes drivers take to the track, and while Nico Rosberg stands out by setting the fastest time, 1:48.575, Lewis Hamilton also makes a mark but with a significant slide under braking. The Englishman luckily emerges unscathed thanks to the run-off area. Kimi Räikkönen sets the 3rd fastest time, but not for long as Massa then Bottas snatch that 3rd place on the time sheet. Hamilton, for his part, sets the 2nd fastest time.

During the mid-session, Fernando Alonso is the last driver to clock a timed lap at 1:50.080, which places him in 5th position. The drivers continue to lap the track, and Daniel Ricciardo manages to improve, taking 2nd place but still 7 tenths off Rosberg’s time. Alonso also improved, recording the 4th fastest time at 1:49.614.

20 minutes from the end of the session, several drivers are having problems finding good grip, like Grosjean or Chilton, who have a few off-track excursions. But this is not the case for Sebastian Vettel who found more performance to improve, 3rd fastest time for the quadruple reigning world champion.

Maldonado, in 18th position, is stuck in his pit with a front brake problem. But it’s not much better for Romain Grosjean who is only 16th, nor for Kevin Magnussen who is sandwiched between the two men at this point in the session.

15 minutes from the end, as Nico Rosberg exits the pits, activity on the track is rather calm because, besides the German, there are only three other drivers on the Marina Bay circuit: Bianchi, Sutil, and Kobayashi. But the Mercedes driver is the first to switch to super-soft tires at the end of this session, which should trigger performance laps for the other drivers as well.

Rosberg, with a relatively clear track, improves on his first lap on super-softs, 1:47.488, a little over a second better than his best lap on softs, 1:48.575. But his first sector was not perfect, nor was the second. He could therefore have been a bit faster.

Many drivers are improving, notably Alonso, who takes the lead with a lap time of 1:47.299 on the super-softs as well. Ricciardo sets the second-fastest time with a 1:47.350, having lost a bit of time in the final corners while catching up to Valtteri Bottas’s Williams.

Five minutes to the checkered flag, all the drivers are on the track to record the best possible time. While Alonso and Hülkenberg return to the pits, Button improves but only records the 10th fastest time, which becomes 11th with Magnussen’s improvement, placing him 10th.

Jean-Eric Vergne made a late appearance in the session by clocking the 4th fastest time, 1:47.693, ahead of Vettel’s Red Bull. However, it was Fernando Alonso who proved to be the fastest ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Rosberg.