Singapore GP Practice 1: Rosberg leads Mercedes 1-2

Nico Rosberg

Fitted with the latest Mercedes power unit, Nico Rosberg lap of 1m47.995s led the opening free practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix over Mercedes Formula 1 teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.319s. But Rosberg was on top only because Hamilton had made a few small mistakes, including missing the apex at Turn 2 and running wide a couple of times.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was third, 0.017s behind Hamilton, on what was largely a track cleaning session.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fourth, and the other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen was fifth ahead of Williams's Valtteri Bottas and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg.

Carlos Sainz Jr was two seconds off the pace in eighth, but he pipped Toro Rosso team-mate Max Verstappen by just 0.019s.

Alexander Rossi, who is making his full grand prix weekend debut this weekend with Manor, was just 0.015s adrift of team-mate Will Stevens, but that was before the American hit the barrier at Turn 18, causing significant damage to the right-hand side of the car and bringing out a red flag that ended the session early.

He will pay dearly for that mistake.

PRACTICE ONE TIMES: