McLaren Flying Despite Clipped Wings

20 September 2024, Singapore – Lando Norris and his McLaren team weathered a technical storm to set the fastest time in Friday’s free practice session for the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024.

Before the action began, McLaren had to deflect criticism of alleged excessive movement in their cars’ rear wing, but despite seeing the wings declared legal, the team volunteered between sessions to make changes on their own initiative.

Clipped wings or not, Norris – despite a “pretty hard” brush with the Singapore walls in the second one-hour session – turned in the best lap of the day in 1 minute 30.727 seconds as he set about further reducing the gap between himself and championship leader Max Verstappen.

“The pace is good,” said a happy Norris. “We’re doing what we expect, I guess, to be at the front with Ferrari. It just felt good straightaway – one of our strengths is arriving and preparing well. I felt like I got a lot out of Friday.”

As several drivers flirted with trouble, Ferrari continued their love affair with the 4.94km Marina Bay track, street circuit specialist Charles Leclerc ending the day just 0.058 seconds behind, with teammate and 2023 Singapore winner Carlos Sainz in third place, 0.629 adrift. 

The Spaniard recovered well from a spectacular lock-up in the second hour, prompting the understatement of the day when he said, “there is something with the brakes that is strange”.

The second McLaren of Oscar Piastri was fifth-fastest following its own brush with the wall at Turn 17, the 23-year-old Australian saying “I was never very comfortable with the car”. Another surprise was that Piastri was sandwiched between Red Bull pair Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo in fourth and sixth respectively. 

Ricciardo set aside the storm of speculation surrounding his position in the Red Bull set-up, with paddock rumours suggesting the 35-year-old Australian may be taking part in his last race weekend with this current team.

The senior Red Bull outfit also raised some eyebrows, but for the wrong reasons, with 2022 Singapore winner Sergio Pérez eighth-fastest and teammate Verstappen a lowly 15^th. The Dutchman, without a win in the last seven races, complained bitterly about his car’s handling but managed not to repeat the offensive language he had earlier used in a press conference, earning a reprimand from the sport’s authorities.

“It is quite difficult out there to put a lap together and it’s not looking great at the moment,” Pérez admitted. “Our performance has taken us a little by surprise so we have some work to do overnight because we are quite far off. We are nearly a second off the pace, so we need quite a big change to come through.”

Meanwhile Mercedes’ George Russell must have had a sense of déjà vu: with just seconds remaining in the second session the English driver put his car in the wall at Turn 8, conjuring images of his dramatic last-lap crash as he chased down Sainz in last year’s race. This time damage was minimal and Russell finished seventh.

The signs of a Williams revival continued as Alex Albon put his upgraded car into ninth place while his teammate and Singapore rookie Franco Colapinto, in only his third F1 race weekend, did well to finish 15^th, ahead of senior F1 drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in their Alpines.

“That was so much fun – I absolutely love this track,” said Abbi Pulling, the leader of the all-female F1 Academy standings, after putting her Alpine-backed car on pole for both F1A races this weekend on the series’ first visit to the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Pulling, 21, set fastest and second-fastest laps of 2:03.631 and 2:03.747 to give herself a great chance of clinching the title in Singapore, bringing with her a 71-point advantage over Mercedes-supported Doriane Pin. The French driver could manage only third-fastest lap as Ferrari Academy youngster Maya Weug qualified second-fastest. Pulling has already won five of the eight races in the series so far this season.