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Singapore Grand Prix

Race weekend will see the race kicking off at British Summer Time on Sunday.

Live coverage provided on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and official website.

Opening Round Summary

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso topped the times in front of Monegasque driver and Dutch ace in FP1 at the Marina Bay race.

McLaren's championship contenders Australian rookie and British talent finished the run in P5 and P6.

Piastri was 0.217 seconds speedier than Norris.

The experienced Spaniard was a tenth and a half ahead of the Ferrari driver and over a quarter of a second clear than Verstappen.

The Italian squad's British icon was fourth fastest.

Team Strategies

Few anticipate that Aston Martin will be front-runners for the top spot.

However, the outfit are confident of a improved performance on a tight circuit that is more suited to their vehicle, which excels when plenty of aerodynamic grip are required.

Two-time champion Alonso is also renowned as a street circuit master, and usually excels on the night race venue.

Yet he was likely operating with less fuel or a increased power than his competitors, or each, to achieve that pace.

Session Details

Fellow driver Canadian racer was a significant margin off the pace in P18.

Stroll had issues with his cockpit at the start and was also evaluating test items.

FP1 in Marina Bay is not indicative of later performance under lights as it is run in daylight in the daytime, while qualifying and the main event are staged after dark.

Championship Standings

The McLaren driver has an advantage over Norris by 25 points with seven races to go as they approach the Grand Prix in Singapore.

McLaren are in position to secure the team title on the weekend.

Single possibility they can miss out in this race is if Mercedes surpass them by 31 points or the Scuderia manage it by a similar margin.

Red Bull Update

The energy drink brand's team are hopeful of a strong result after Max's wins in the previous rounds preceding this Grand Prix.

They were relieved when precipitation occurring prior to running abated by the time the cars emerged on a circuit that had remained dry.

Team consultant Helmut Marko said prior to running that they wanted a uninterrupted running to make a comprehensive start on fine-tuning their set-up for the Grand Prix.