Oct.4 (GMM) Fernando Alonso surprised the paddock on Friday in Singapore, topping the primary session and staying inside the highest 4 all day for Aston Martin.
Pink Bullâs Dr Helmut Marko admitted the Spaniardâs tempo caught his consideration. “We’ve got to be careful for him. He was persistently quick all day,” stated the Austrian.
Nonetheless, most eyes have been on Max Verstappen and the 2 McLarens, with the driversâ championship image swinging once more after Verstappenâs back-to-back wins in Monza and Baku.
Lando Norris had a troubled day, clearly lagging teammate Oscar Piastri’s tempo. “I didn’t really feel excellent with the automobile,” Norris admitted.
“Oscar is quick, the automobile works, so I’ve nothing to complain about, besides that I didn’t do nicely.”
Marko described it as “one of the best Friday in years in Singapore”, as Pink Bull rolled out a brand new entrance wing for Verstappen. “The automobile not bounces over the bumps like a kangaroo. The understeer is gone.
“And for the primary time, Max didn’t complain,” he smiled.
Chief engineer Paul Monaghan defined the improve. “We noticed with the penultimate iteration that there was nonetheless room for enchancment,” he stated.
“When the simulations promised sooner laptimes, we constructed the wing. Our manufacturing division has simply sufficient time earlier than we begin work on the 2026 automobile.”
Verstappen, now 69 factors behind Piastri, stated the carâs really feel reminded him of latest victories. “It felt a bit just like the final two weekends,” he confirmed.
Dutch commentator Olav Mol advised Ziggo Sport that the momentum in F1 is clearly now shifting. “It looks as if they’ve come to a standstill at McLaren,” he stated.
“What occurred a yr and a half in the past in Miami, the place McLaren out of the blue took off, appears to be occurring at Pink Bull now.”
Norris additionally hinted on the psychological pressure of going through Verstappen. “If I might return and select how you can be a greater driver, I’d even have a mum and pop who have been racing drivers, begin when you’re a child within the paddock, begin karting at no matter age he did and do extra testing than everybody else,” he stated.
“So folks need to catch up as a result of he was made to be within the place he’s now, however he’s additionally taking advantage of that and that’s the reason he has 4 world championships.”
Certainly, even when away from F1, Verstappen has been racing and successful in GT3 on the Nurburgring. 44-year-old veteran Alonso hinted he want to be a part of him sooner or later for endurance occasions like Le Mans.
“Perhaps it’s preparation for Le Mans sometime,” Alonso advised Viaplay. “Who is aware of? I imply, I’d love to try this (with Verstappen) sometime. I feel his expertise is past doubt, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the best endurance race on the planet.”
“I’m a giant fan of motorsport exterior of Formulation 1,” the Spaniard added. “I discover it purer, cleaner, extra enjoyable. I did it a couple of years in the past, and I’ll do it once more sooner or later. I don’t know with what depth, however I’ll do it sooner or later.”
