Verstappen heads Red Bull 1-2; Hamilton half a second slower on soft tyres; Rosberg hits the wall at Turn 18
Monday 19 September 2016 14:26, UK
Nico Rosberg crashed out as Red Bull and Ferrari outpaced Mercedes in an intriguing first practice session for the Singapore GP.
At the top of the timesheets, Max Verstappen set the pace with a lap of 1:45.823 that was a fraction quicker than the best of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo but almost half a second ahead of third-placed Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.
Mercedes had previously topped the charts in nine successive Practice One outings in a one-two formation.
Rosberg, who has closed to within two points of Hamilton in their fight for the world championship following his wins in Belgium and Italy, slammed into the barriers at Turn 18 during the closing stages, ripping off the front wing of his W07 car.
Mercedes have attributed the crash to driver error and expect Rosberg's car to be fixed in time for Practice Two this evening.
Further strengthening expectations that this will be the world champions' toughest weekend of the year, Lewis Hamilton was only fourth quickest, six tenths down on Verstappen, with Rosberg fifth. A year ago, Mercedes were outpaced by 1.5 seconds by Ferrari and Red Bull in qualifying.
But while Verstappen's benchmark lap was set on ultrasofts, Hamilton and Rosberg's best times were recorded on softs - two 'steps' above the ultrasofts. The difference is reckoned to be worth at least a second in lap time.
"I thought what was ominous there was how fast Mercedes were on the soft tyre," suggested Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle.
Hamilton had earlier set the pace in the opening half hour when running the ultrasofts while testing the Halo safety device for the first time.
Despite his McLaren car breaking down in the opening minutes, requiring a push back to the pitlane from the obliging Singapore stewards, Jenson Button returned to finish 16th, five places behind team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Underlining that engine power is of little importance around the twisty street circuit in Singapore, Carlos Sainz was seventh in a Toro Rosso car still using a year-old Ferrari power unit.
Romain Grosjean failed to set a lap time due to a mechanical failure on his Haas car.
Singapore GP Practice One timesheet
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:45.823
2. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, + 0.049
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, + 0.464
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, + 0.603
5. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, + 0.690
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, + 1.067
7. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, + 1.113
8. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, + 1.860
9. Felipe Massa, Williams, + 2.221
10. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, + 2.286
11. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, + 2.379
12. Sergio Perez, Force India, + 2.391
13. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, + 2.536
14. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, + 2.630
15. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, + 3.772
16. Jenson Button, McLaren, + 3.792
17. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, + 3.971
18. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, + 4.440
19. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, + 5.289
20. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, + 5.656
21. Esteban Ocon, Manor, + 6.656
22. Romain Grosjean, Haas, No Time
