Singapore, Sept 21, V7N – In a dramatic second practice session under the floodlights at the Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren's Lando Norris clocked the fastest lap with a time of 1:30.727 seconds, edging out Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by just 0.058 seconds. This performance marked a significant turnaround from the earlier daylight session, where Leclerc had set the pace.
Norris expressed satisfaction with his lap, stating, "The pace is good. I'm feeling good. It was a nice lap. I think we are doing what we expect, to be up at the front with Ferrari." He acknowledged the impressive speed of Ferrari, noting, "I was hoping to have a much bigger gap than I had, which means Ferrari are very, very fast."

In contrast, Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen struggled throughout the session, finishing in 15th place and 1.294 seconds off the pace. His teammate Sergio Perez managed to secure eighth, but he reported issues with the car's balance, stating, "It's not looking great at the moment," indicating that more adjustments would be needed overnight.
Mercedes driver George Russell faced a challenging day as well, ending the session in seventh after crashing into the wall at turn eight in the closing minutes. Despite the setback, he managed to reverse out and return to the pits without the car's front wing. Russell commented, "It was a really challenging Friday for us; we were really off the pace."

Surprisingly, Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull finished fourth, while McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top six. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished 11th, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was 12th.
The first practice session saw Leclerc setting the fastest time of 1:31.763, just ahead of Norris. With qualifying set to take place on Saturday, both Norris and Leclerc are looking to secure pole position in a race where overtaking is notoriously difficult. As the championship heats up, Verstappen, who has not won in the last seven races, faces increasing pressure to regain his form.

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