The slippery conditions sparked a few moments out on track, with Sergio Perez briefly bringing out a yellow flag after going into the run-off area at Turn 16. Elsewhere, Valtteri Bottas reported that he had been “blocked” by the Williams of Franco Colapinto.
Leclerc – a driver who is yet to win in Singapore – had put himself at the top of the timesheets by the halfway point, just as others started to bolt on the soft tyre for some flying runs. Norris promptly returned to P1 on the C5 rubber, while the Williams pair caught the eye by going into the top 10 off the back of their double points score last time out in Azerbaijan.
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Fernando Alonso pulled off an impressive save after taking too much kerb and nearly losing his Aston Martin as the track continued to evolve and the times kept on tumbling. The Spaniard’s team mate Lance Stroll, meanwhile, sparked the ire of Yuki Tsunoda, with the RB encountering the Canadian running slowly in his path.
It was Leclerc who had gone fastest of all by the end of the hour with his effort of 1m 31.763s, putting him just 0.076s clear of Norris, while the Monegasque’s Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz – who claimed a stunning victory in Singapore last year – took third.
