REPORT: Friday Practice in Singapore

The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix weekend is underway and Williams Racing have enjoyed a clean first day on track, with plenty of data gathered.

FP1 is relatively unrepresentative to the two competitive sessions owing to its daytime running, however, it serves a useful purpose as our drivers looked to get into the groove around the 4.9km of the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Alex and Franco both completed 25 laps and ended the opening hour in P8 and P11 respectively.

F1 Academy was next on track for Qualifying and it was a standout evening for Lia Block, securing P4 on the grid for both races this weekend, her best Quali result of the season so far.

With the track more rubbered in and slightly cooler temperatures, the speeds around Marina Bay ramped up for FP2, and Alex was quickly on the pace, running in P1 on the medium tyre.

As Quali simulation rolled around, Albono’s 1:31.650 left him P9 at the end of Friday, whilst Franco’s 1:32.057 placed him P16.

“To be honest, the car doesn’t feel amazing, but I think that’s good because it means we have more lap time to find,” Alex shared after FP2.

“We were good on the harder compound tyres but struggled a bit on the Softs, so we just need to figure it out.

“The pace is good, and the car feels way better than last year, so that’s a positive.

“With the upgrades, it’s hard to fully delve into them so far in these sessions, however, we’ll look at the data tonight and come back stronger tomorrow.”

With 51 laps around the Marina Bay Street Circuit under his belt, Franco was pleased with his Friday efforts.

“Overall, today has been a good learning session to get used to the track and the heat,” he shared.

“I feel positive after both sessions. In FP2, I couldn’t put the lap together on the Softs as I had a lot of oversteer. It’s clear that out here, the Soft is a one lap tyre, so there wasn’t much more I could gain on the second lap.

“I think I’m looking quite strong when I put the lap together, so let’s see where we end up tomorrow in Qualifying”

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director, has been watching on from the pit wall, and concludes our reaction by sharing: “Alex started today with the updated package, using FP1 to get up to speed with the different way it drives, however, after FP2, he was still not completely happy with the balance of the car.

“Franco used FP1 to learn the track but was quite quickly on the pace, despite also struggling with the balance of the car.

“The positive is that the car feels much better than last year, which is promising. We’ll go through all the data tonight as we know there is more performance to find for tomorrow.”