By Abhishek Takle
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Spaniard Carlos Sainz set the pace in Friday’s practice for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari one-two at the top of the timesheets.
Sainz, 28, ran the 5km Marina Bay track in 1m42.587 seconds.
Leclerc was second, 0.208 seconds slower than his teammate, with George Russell third for Mercedes.
“Overall, I was feeling more comfortable in the second practice,” Sainz said. “But still not exactly where I wanted to be. We still have some steps to take for tomorrow.”
Max Verstappen, who will have his first chance to win a second straight title this weekend and is on a five-game winning streak, was only fourth.
The Dutchman, who turned 25 on Friday, was second fastest in the opening session behind his former rival Lewis Hamilton, but completed just eight laps of the illuminated track at night.
“For the second practice we wanted to try a few things but they took a little longer to change first and then we wanted to try something else and again that took a long time to change again,” Verstappen said, adding to his time. in the second session was not representative of the true pace of his Red Bull.
“With the changes we made, they were good, if they were bad, we still need to analyze,” he said.
Hamilton finished the day in fifth.
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