After a first session with a lot of activity and with the natural light of day, Formula 1 returned to the Marina Bay track at night in Singapore to dispute the second free practice sessions, more important than usual, since this weekend is the only practice session with conditions similar to those that drivers and teams will have in qualifying and in the race.
From the start of Free Practice 2, the action on the track was enormous, although the oddity came when looking at the three drivers who lapped the fewest in the first half hour of FP2; Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc, three of the big favorites, affected by different problems in their cars.
At the end of the 60 minutes of FP2, Carlos Sainz set the best time on Friday with a time of 1:42.751 on soft tyres, just 0.208 seconds ahead of his Ferrari team-mate.
George Russell finished third, just ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, placing Mercedes in a nobody’s zone, a little far from the two favorites and well ahead of a middle zone that this time was led by Esteban Ocon with his Alpine. Seventh place went to Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo, who slightly improved Fernando Alonso’s time.
Checo Pérez and Lance Stroll closed the top ten positions in Free Practice 2, far from the top positions. Behind, Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi were the three slowest drivers in FP2.
Results of Free Practice 2 (FP2) of the 2022 F1 Singapore Grand Prix
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
23 | 1,42,587 | 177,671 | ||
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
14 | 1’42.795 | 0.208 | 0.208 | 177.312 |
| 3 |  George Russell |
 |
26 | 1’42.911 | 0.324 | 0.116 | 177.112 |
| 4 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
8 | 1’42.926 | 0.339 | 0.015 | 177.086 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
22 | 1’43.182 | 0.595 | 0.256 | 176.647 |
| 6 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
23 | 1’43.412 | 0.825 | 0.230 | 176.254 |
| 7 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
26 | 1’43.431 | 0.844 | 0.019 | 176.221 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
23 | 1’43.520 | 0.933 | 0.089 | 176.070 |
| 9 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
13 | 1,43,906 | 1,319 | 0.386 | 175,416 |
| 10 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
21 | 1’43.982 | 1.395 | 0.076 | 175.288 |
| see results | |||||||
Photo de: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Summary of Free Practice 2 (FP2) of the 2022 F1 Singapore Grand Prix
After a first daytime session, the single-seaters of the highest category of motorsport returned to the asphalt to contest the second free practice of the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix of F1 for the first time this weekend under the stars of the Marina Bay night.
FP2 started with problems for the Ferrari team, both drivers were out of their cars with the mechanics working on them, although the worst situation seemed to be that of Charles Leclerc by far.
Meanwhile, almost all the drivers went out on the track in the first minutes of Free Practice 2, an unusual practice in the vast majority of Grand Prix, but which makes a lot of sense in Singapore, since the track conditions change a lot along with the climatology.
After several exits from the track without consequences, the Mercedes were placed in the first two positions, with a best time of 1:44.091 achieved by Hamilton. Meanwhile, the multiple yellow flags prevented seeing the real pace of some drivers.
George Russell and Fernando Alonso were very close to causing the first red flag of FP2 after two actions in which they brushed the walls. In turn, Carlos Sainz managed to place first with a 1:43.710 on medium tyres, although the seven-time world champion regained first place shortly after with a 1:43.668.
The two Alpines were placed 4th and 5th, ahead of a very even middle zone. Three of the big favorites, Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc, remained inside their garages after the first 20 minutes of Free Practice 2.
The particular battle between Hamilton and Sainz continued when the Spanish Ferrari driver once again snatched the first position from the Englishman with a 1:43.231, this time four tenths ahead of the Mercedes driver. At the same time, Verstappen, who has his first match point to win the title here in Singapore, took to the track for the first time in Free Practice 2.
On his first lap, on the harder compound, the Dutchman was fifth, 1.414 off Sainz’s best time, getting between the two Alpine riders.
Halfway through FP2, virtually all the drivers returned to the pits to make a number of modifications to their cars before switching to Pirelli’s softer compounds to set the fastest laps of the session before continuing with race simulations.
Sainz improved his time with the red tire and lowered the bar to 1:42.751. Sergio Pérez had worse luck, who brushed several walls and was very close to finishing his session ahead of schedule. On the other hand, Bottas was placed second and Ocon was third, ahead of the two Mercedes.
Leclerc’s first lap in Free Practice 2 was six tenths behind Sainz and earned him second, although the Monegasque driver recorded his time on the medium tyre, unlike his teammate.
Russell also improved and moved up to second place, just 0.160s behind Sainz. Ocon did the same and was positioned third at a time when the track seemed to be constantly improving, a position that seconds later Hamilton would snatch. Leclerc improved again with mediums and was second, 0.295s behind Sainz.
In the AlphaTauri box there was a strange event, once back in the garage and with the mechanics pushing the car to safety, Gasly had to get out of the car in a hurry after a sudden fire in the upper air intake.
Charles Leclerc went out on the track with soft in the last minutes and registered a 1:42.795, a time that left him in second place, 0.208 seconds behind his teammate’s time. For his part, Max Verstappen did the same but could not get past fourth position, just over three tenths off Sainz’s best time.
