Surprise before qualifying in Singapore and Alonso fought

From one day to the next, many things have changed. A few third free practice sessions should serve to confirm that McLaren and Ferrari They will compete for the pole in an exciting ‘qualy’, it has been a session full of surprises.

It’s not that Lando Norris may have taken the lead, but he did it with strength and was not joined by the Ferraris before qualifying today at the F1 Singapore GP.

The British driver passed the second classified by 0.479, a George Russell that no one expected in that position after his agony on FridayThird was Oscar Piastri, a world away, at 0.785 because he mistimed his turn by going too high on one of the curbs. But in Australian you never know. He did not place the 3 best sectors in one lap but he will try in the classification to rise again against their theoretical leader.

And behind them, in fourth position, another surprise finished, Max Verstappen. After suffering badly with the balance of his car on Friday, finishing 15th on a track that was completely honest to his Red Bull Due to the bumps and the need to get to the curves, the Dutchman improved a lot and was 4th, although so far from a pole that now seems impossible for the champion and leader (at 0.894).

What happened to Ferrari?

But without a doubt, the big surprise of the morning was the two Ferraris. Red cars don’t usually play hide and seek, so the 5th position for Leclerc and 6th for Sainz They leave a very bad taste in the mouth of the Italian fans, who dreamed of seeing Charles and Carlos fight for the pole with Lando.

The most surprising thing is the huge difference there compared to Norris. Leclerc is 0.913 behind and Sainz is 1.161 behind. Both, there was a car that left a worse feeling on Friday. They went from being huge favorites for pole position with Norris, to being very distant.

Maybe what they did didn’t work out and they can step forwardsification, or maybe it’s a matter of track conditions. But Ferrari is a very nervous car, with a great need for corrections.

So, Lando Norris starts as a strong favorite for the pole today, but as always, he must do it first, and in Singapore, between the walls, anything can happen. What is clear is that Lando seems to have another massive chance to take pole and win on Sunday to take advantage of Max and Red Bull’s bad moments to give his World Championship rival a good bite. Norris needed to improve the two Ferraris so they could take positions away from a Max who was again swimming against the current, having to cut losses. Norris is 59 points away with 7 appointments left. He has a golden opportunity, another one, in Singapore.

Alonso is fighting in the Top-10

Everything is against him again, but he will try again. On Friday, F1 indicated that Aston Martin was the 8th worst car within a lap of 10 on the grid. However, session after session, Fernando continues to fight against what the numbers say is not his. The Asturian wants to repeat the “miracle” of the Q3 in a car far from that position. And so far, in Free Practice 3 he is 10th at 1.436 after applying some configuration changes to find the best settings.

In this complicated classification, where any accident or yellow flag or traffic can ruin anyone’s day, Fernando Alonso has to do everything perfectly again and wait for the mistakes of his rivals to keep fighting. The first goal, not easy, is to get into Q2. Then, if you can, in Q3. Within the walls of Singapore nothing can be taken for granted.