30 September 2022, Singapore – Ferrari stole Mercedes’ thunder in second practice ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022. The Scuderia outclassed FP1 top man Lewis Hamilton with a one-two led by Carlos Sainz, underlining its pace to potentially challenge for pole.

Ferrari, which won the last Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel in 2019, and Charles Leclerc then on pole, set its best times in FP2 on the soft tyres and has so far delivered on expectations that the Marina Bay Street Circuit would suit its F1-75 better than the last race at Monza.

But, reliability issues may yet bring it undone after Leclerc spent more than half the session in the garage, with mechanics checking his car. He had endured brake issues during the opening hour of action.

Mercedes stayed in touch with its Italian rival, with George Russell third-fastest – up from fifth in the opening session – but over three tenths of a second behind Sainz after an “awful” lap because of a lock-up at turn 13. It was a recovery of sorts for the Brit, after a light impact with the barrier in FP1 that brought out the red flag just 10 minutes into the session.

Reigning F1 World Champion Max Verstappen could only manage to take fourth fastest, with the razor-sharp Dutchman – who can secure his second-straight title on Sunday – stuck in his Red Bull garage, while setup changes were completed on his RB18. That limited him to just eight laps, and a late run on soft tyres that got him to within four tenths of Sainz’s top time.

Hamilton, who pipped Verstappen in FP1, closed out the top-five, more than half a second shy of the lead Ferrari. But, improvements are expected in tomorrow’s final practice session with Hamilton enduring traffic on his final soft run.

Alpine is looking good in its quest to outpace and outscore rival McLaren. It is leading for fourth in the standings. Esteban Ocon and his two-time F1 World Champion teammate Fernando Alonso finished in sixth and eighth in FP2 respectively, while its rival finished out of the top-10.

Experience certainly pays on a technical track like the Marina Bay Street Circuit and Alfa Romeo’s multiple race-winning leader Valtteri Bottas was seventh, pipped by Ocon ahead by just 19 one thousandths of a second. Meanwhile over at Red Bull, Sergio Pérez could not get a clean lap, leaving him ninth at the flag.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll closed out the top-10, with the Canadian recovering from a crash with the barriers that ruled him out of FP1 with 20 minutes left on the clock. The Canuck made contact with the wall at turn five, and continued on down the back straight before stopping at the turn seven slip road.

But, it was high drama at Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri, with the engine air intake of Pierre Gasly’s AT03 erupting into flames, leaving him 14th, while Yuki Tsunoda was down in 17th after he suffered a fuel system issue that meant his Friday running was ultimately cut short.

The eyes of the world will return to the Marina Bay Street Circuit tomorrow for FP3, and qualifying, ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022.