It was a very busy day on track in Singapore, with drivers making the most of the 120 minutes to get to grips with one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar, both in terms of the conditions - very hot weather and running under lights - as well as the intrinsically tricky track characteristics.

The only interruptions were caused by a couple of Monitor lizards crossing the track at various points, requiring the marshals to wave yellow flags.

The teams worked through the usual Friday programme, looking for the best set-up in the first hour and concentrating on qualifying and long run simulations in the second one. All drivers used at least one set of Hard tyres, the majority in the first session, while the Medium proved to be the most popular in the second one, at least when testing race pace.

"The new track layout has resulted in a much quicker lap time, which already today has dropped to the predicted pole position time of 1:31.900," said Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer. "The changes to Sector 3 will make traffic management slightly easier in qualifying, but it will still be something to keep an eye on, as is always the case on twisty circuits like this one."

"In terms of strategy, we think that, given the length of the pit lane, a one-stop is still the clear favourite, with the Hard compound predictably playing a leading role," added Berra.

Pos	Driver		Team		Time		Gap

1	Sainz		Ferrari		1:32.120	119.958 mph
2	Leclerc		Ferrari		1:32.138	0.018
3	Russell		Mercedes	1:32.355	0.235
4	Alonso		Aston Martin	1:32.478	0.358
5	Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.585	0.465
6	Norris		McLaren		1:32.711	0.591
7	Perez		Red Bull	1:32.812	0.692
8	Verstappen	Red Bull	1:32.852	0.732
9	Magnussen	Haas		1:33.017	0.897
10	Bottas		Alfa Romeo	1:33.105	0.985
11	Hulkenberg	Haas		1:33.139	1.019
12	Lawson		AlphaTauri	1:33.285	1.165
13	Ocon		Alpine		1:33.361	1.241
14	Stroll		Aston Martin	1:33.390	1.270
15	Piastri		McLaren		1:33.461	1.341
16	Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1:33.477	1.357
17	Zhou		Alfa Romeo	1:33.575	1.455
18	Gasly		Alpine		1:33.824	1.704
19	Sargeant	Williams	1:34.327	2.207
20	Albon		Williams	1:35.558	3.438

Pos	Driver		Team		Time		Gap

1	Leclerc		Ferrari		1:33.350	118.378 mph
2	Sainz		Ferrari		1:33.428	0.078
3	Verstappen	Red Bull	1:33.476	0.126
4	Norris		McLaren		1:33.522	0.172
5	Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.540	0.190
6	Russell		Mercedes	1:33.695	0.345
7	Perez		Red Bull	1:33.725	0.375
8	Alonso		Aston Martin	1:33.974	0.624
9	Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1:34.042	0.692
10	Ocon		Alpine		1:34.066	0.716
11	Stroll		Aston Martin	1:34.568	1.218
12	Gasly		Alpine		1:34.639	1.289
13	Albon		Williams	1:34.657	1.307
14	Bottas		Alfa Romeo	1:34.802	1.452
15	Magnussen	Haas		1:34.887	1.537
16	Lawson		AlphaTauri	1:34.894	1.544
17	Hulkenberg	Haas		1:34.985	1.635
18	Zhou		Alfa Romeo	1:35.456	2.106
19	Piastri		McLaren		1:35.474	2.124
20	Sargeant	Williams	1:35.778	2.428

w/ Pirelli Media (image courtesy of Alfa Romeo Team Stake)