SINGAPORE — In the first Formula One race to be held at night, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in practice under the lights Friday ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Hamilton clocked 1 minute, 45.518 seconds around the downtown street circuit Friday, edging championship rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari.
Fernando Alonso of Renault had the best lap in the second session to be third-fastest overall, ahead of Finnish duo Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.
“It’s a very physical circuit, more than I expected actually,” Hamilton said. “You need to put quite a lot of work into the car to get a good lap. I’d say it requires double the energy of Monaco over a single lap. One lap around here is like two laps of Monaco.”
Hamilton is one point ahead of Massa in the drivers’ standings with four races to go, and edged his Brazilian rival for best time over the two 90-minute sessions.
Heavy rain stopped for the practice. The inaugural night race has drivers concerned about driving on an artificially lit track, with rain potentially producing glare under the lights.
Instead, drivers appeared to have difficulties with handling on the bumpy and non-rubbered new surface, with the ends of the pits particularly challenging.
“The entry and exit to the pit lane are pretty difficult and we’re going to have to be very careful,” Raikkonen said.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber was the first to crash on the new circuit, appearing to have too much speed into turn 18 — a tight corner that passes under a grandstand — and spearing the car’s nose into a concrete barrier.
Webber missed most of the second session as the crew repaired his car.
Massa said the car was handling well and visibility was good under the lights.
“In general the track surface has a lot of grip, but in some points there are some bumps that are a bit of a pain,” Massa said.
Red Bull’s David Coulthard was scathing in his assessment of the track, likening the bumps to “the cobbled streets of Paris. There will be a lot of incidents during the race.”
Formula One practice results Friday for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix at the 5.067 kilometer (3.148 mile) Marina Bay circuit with driver, country, car, fastest lap time and laps completed):
First session:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren, 1 minute, 45.518 seconds, 20 laps.
2. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 1.45.598, 23.
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari, 1.45.961, 24.
4. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, McLaren, 1.46.643, 20.
5. Robert Kubica, Poland, BMW, 1.46.618, 23.
6. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Williams, 1.46.710, 25.
7. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault, 1.46.725, 29.
8. Nick Heidfeld, Germany, BMW, 1.46.964, 24.
9. Nelsinho Piquet, Brazil, Renault, 1.47.125, 30.
10. Jenson Button, Britain, Honda, 1.47.277, 30.
11. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Toro Rosso, 1.47.750, 28.
12. Kazuki Nakajima, Japan, Williams, 1.47.662, 23.
13. Timo Glock, Germany, Toyota, 1.47.706, 27.
14. Sebastien Bourdais, France, Toro Rosso, 1.48.097, 16.
15. David Coulthard, Britain, Red Bull, 1.48.517, 23.
16. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Honda, 1.48.725, 19.
17. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India, 1.48.839, 24.
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Force India, 1.48.906, 25.
19. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Toyota, 1.49.064, 29.
20. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull 1.53.703, 4.
Second Session
1. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault, 1:45.654, 30.
2. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren, 1:45.752, 28.
3. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 1:45.793, 31.
4. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, McLaren, 1:45.797, 31.
5. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Williams, 1:46.164, 34.
6. Robert Kubica, Poland, BMW, 1:46.384, 36.
7. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari, 1:46.580, 25.
8. Jenson Button, Britain, Honda, 1:46.901, 32.
9. Kazuki Nakajima, Japan, Williams, 1:47.013, 32.
10. Timo Glock, Germany, Toyota, 1:47.046, 22.
11. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, 1:47.137, 15.
12. Nelsinho Piquet, Brazil, Renault, 1:47.145, 35.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Toro Rosso, 1:47.300, 33.
14. Sebastien Bourdais, France, Toro Rosso, 1:47.487, 24.
15. David Coulthard, Britain, Red Bull, 1:47.640, 31.
16. Nick Heidfeld, Germany, BMW, 1:47.760, 36.
17. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Force India, 1:47.965, 12.
18. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Honda, 1:48.009, 25.
19. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Toyota, 1:48.059, 28.
20. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India, 1:48.311, 36.
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