Spanish F1 driver Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team rides through the paddock on a scooter ahead of the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix. Philipp von Ditfurth\/dpa<\/p>\n
Fernando Alonso surprised the top favourites and was the fastest driver in the first practice for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix on Friday.<\/p>\n
The Aston Martin man clocked 1 minute 31.116 seconds to beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by 0.150s. Defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was third.<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton in the other Ferrari was fourth ahead of the two McLarens. Championship leader Oscar Piastri was fifth and title contender Lando Norris was sixth.<\/p>\n
Mercedes were only 11th and 14th with George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli respectively.<\/p>\n
Piastri will aim to bounce back at the Singapore Grand Prix after crashing out of the Azerbaijan GP two weeks ago and failing to score a point for the first time this season.<\/p>\n
Thanks to Piastri’s poor weekend in Baku, Norris closed the gap at the top of the standings to 25 points.<\/p>\n
Verstappen, meanwhile, became a factor in the title race after back-to-back wins in Monza and Baku. The Red Bull driver is 69 points behind Piastri, with 199 points still to play for over the remaining seven rounds.<\/p>\n
But Singapore is the only track on the calendar at which Verstappen has never won.<\/p>\n
McLaren will have the chance to claim the constructors’ title in Singapore. They need to score at least 13 points and, if they achieve that, it doesn’t matter how their rivals perform.<\/p>\n
Second practice is later on Friday. Qualifying for Sunday’s showdown is on Saturday.<\/p>\n