Verstappen heads tight FP3 as Lawson crashes again

Max Verstappen set the fastest time in a red-flagged final practice at the 2025 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was the early pacesetter on mediums, setting a 1m31.021s in the first 15 minutes. Red Bull’s Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton eventually coming closest to that benchmark on the yellow-walled tyres, lapping in 1m31.358s and 1m31.448s respectively.

Despite daytime conditions which are not fully representative of the nocturnal qualifying and race, the teams mostly focused on one-lap pace ahead of this afternoon, with grid position more important at the Marina Bay Street Circuit than at most other tracks.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the first driver in 1m30s with the soft rubber, having lapped in 1m30.760s before being surpassed by Charles Leclerc’s 1m30.651s, Norris’ 1m30.292s and Verstappen’s 1m30.148s.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri lapped within 0.017s of Verstappen’s marker on his final attempt, on a weekend when McLaren can win the constructors’ championship for a second season in a row.

George Russell made up the top three with a 0.049s deficit, as the Mercedes driver lamented a lack of confidence in Turn 16, where he suffered a “weird” FP2 crash.

Antonelli and Norris set the exact same time of 1m30.237s for fourth and fifth, followed by Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg. The top nine therefore featured seven different teams within half a second, with Haas, Aston Martin and Alpine further down.

Liam Lawson caused a red flag 15 minutes into the session when he lost control of his Racing Bulls on the Turn 7 exit kerb, subsequently crashing into the outside wall. The Italian team will now undertake a race against time to fix his car in time for qualifying, with obvious wing and suspension damage.

A potential red-flag infringement by Hamilton will be investigated by the stewards after the session.

Other than the Lawson’s off, the main driving errors in the session included Franco Colapinto, Sainz and Alex Albon harmlessly taking to the escape road at Turn 14.

F1 Singapore GP – FP3 results

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– The Autosport.com Team