Formula 1 News: Piastri tops 2025 Singapore GP Practice 2

F1 points leader Oscar Piastri (pictured) turned a lap of 1m30.714s in his #81 McLaren to top Practice 2 for the 2025 Singapore GP at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

In a session that saw George Russell stuff his Mercedes in the Turn 16 wall, Liam Lawson do likewise in his Racing Bulls in Turn 17, and Charles Leclerc spear Lando Norris on pit lane (unsafe release), Piastri beat Isack Hadjar by 0.132s. Over 20 minutes were lost due to the red flags.

Max Verstappen was third quick for Red Bull, 0.143s behind Piastri.

Fernando Alonso, who topped Practice 1, was 4th in his Aston Martin, 0.163s behind Piastri.

Last years Singapore GP winner, Lando Norris, rounded out the top-4 in his #4 McLaren, 0.483s behind Piastri.

Piastri is the man to catch as it stands, the Australian bouncing back really well from his Baku disappointment. But there are a whole gaggle of chasers who can never be ruled out, including Verstappen, Alonso, and, of course, Norris.

Piastri is the man to catch as it stands, the Australian bouncing back really well from his Baku disappointment. But there are a whole gaggle of chasers who can never be ruled out, including Verstappen, Alonso, and, of course, Norris.

Pirelli says tires performed as expected

“Today’s practice was somewhat inconclusive because of several interruptions to FP2 which reduced the available track time and therefore the amount of data gathered, especially when it comes to how the tires behave over a long distance,” said Pirelli’s Simone Berra, Chief Engineer.

“However, there are some interesting takeaways. First of all, the track is providing a good level of grip, partly because the organizers have done a good job with high-pressure water jets and because several sections have been resurfaced, offering more grip than last year. The improvement in performance was more obvious in FP1 than in FP2, as the latter was really complicated because off all the interruptions. But anyway, there is still a big margin for improvement.

“All three compounds worked as expected, and the performance differences between them are in line with our prior simulations. Almost all the drivers used the same number of tires: two sets of Soft, one of Hard and one of Medium, except the Mercedes duo, as they alternated between Medium and Hard in FP1 and Russell was unable to try the softest compound because of his crash. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the two sets of Mediums are managed during tomorrow’s free practice, in view of Sunday’s race.

“The increase in the speed limit here from 60 to 80 km/h could have an impact on strategies. With the time required to change tires reduced by around six seconds, a two-stop could in theory be a viable option, even if we know the teams usually prefer to extend the stints and minimize time lost in pitlane. What we can be sure of is that, now, if the race was to be neutralized, it could make a second pit stop a much more attractive proposition than in the past.

“Finally, it’s worth noting that at first glance all three compounds, including the Soft, seem viable for the race: those choosing the C5 at the start might aim to exploit the extra grip to gain some positions in the early stages, or alternatively, use it at the end of the race.”

2025 Singapore GP Practice 2 Results