Singapore Grand Prix: Practice Recap

FP1, held late afternoon, saw MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg get their first taste of the 4.940-kilometer (3.069-mile), 19-turn street circuit. Both drivers sampled the Pirelli P Zero White hard tire followed by the Red soft compound – the latter being the set they compiled their fastest laps on. Magnussen clocked a 1:33.377 for P17 with Hulkenberg on a 1:33.797 for P20.

Under the night sky and in the full glare of the myriad of lights lining the track, FP2 ran under conditions representative of Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s night race. Magnussen and Hulkenberg commenced their second practice plan with a stint on the Yellow medium tire before qualifying sims on the soft rubber. Hulkenberg cracked the top 10 with a 1:31.667 for P10 while Magnussen landed P13 with a tour of 1:31.793. Both cars ended on a high-fuel outing, Hulkenberg back on his earlier set of mediums, with Magnussen remaining on his softs.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team ran a total of 97 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – Hulkenberg (50), Magnussen (47).



Nico Hulkenberg: 

“It didn’t look great this morning, but I didn’t get a proper run on the softs so this afternoon showed a bit more of a representative picture, but again it’s very fine margins and it’s very tight in the midfield. I felt okay in the evening with the cooler track temperature, felt the car beneath me a bit more and that’s a good foundation to go from. It will come down to execution and how clean can you produce the laps to squeeze everything out. I think if we do a perfect job, Q3 could be possible.”  

Kevin Magnussen:

“It was a bit of a mixed day, but on the other hand, it was pretty straightforward. It looked better in FP2 than in FP1, so that’s a good thing. The conditions in FP1 were daylight, a hot track, and FP2 was more representative of qualifying and the race. Our long runs went okay as well, so we’ll see. It’s very tight, it’s two or three tenths and we’re around P6, so you have to squeeze everything out of it. It’s also hard to take too much risk because it’s so close it can also cost you a lot, we have to treat it like any other weekend and get it right.”  

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“In FP1 we struggled a bit with track conditions, but FP2 was a lot better so both drivers are happier with the car. We still need to fine-tune some of the set-up to get the full performance out of the car for this circuit. Kevin had a pretty decent long run on the soft tire, so we learned a great deal for Sunday which is really good information. Overnight, we’ll be looking at the specific corners we’re losing lap time in and improve the car a bit more so that Nico and Kevin can take more confidence into FP3 and qualifying.” 

Today's Data:

Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Singapore Grand Prix – Friday September 20
Location: Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore
Layout: 4.940-kilometer (3.069-mile), 19-turn circuit
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Partly Cloudy / Clear
Drivers: Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen

Free Practice 1 (FP1) Rundown:

Magnussen: 17th overall (1:33.377), 21 laps 
Hulkenberg: 20th overall (1:33.797), 24 laps 
Fastest: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:31.763)

Free Practice 2 (FP2) Rundown:

Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:31.667), 26 laps  
Magnussen: 13th overall (1:31.793), 26 laps
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:30.727)