Lando Norris hoped for 'bigger gap' despite topping Singapore practice

Lando Norris topped the second practice session in Singapore but was "hoping to have a much bigger gap" over Charles Leclerc. The Brit was 0.058 seconds clear of the Ferrari driver after an impressive session on Friday (September 20).

Norris had started strong in the first practice too, only for Leclerc to displace him by 0.076s, but he reversed the roles later in the day.

It was the sort of start he was looking for, as he sets out to close the 59-point gap to Max Verstappen, who struggled in practice, in the drivers' championship.

And Norris was feeling positive after the run, but admitted he would have preferred a bigger advantage over those behind him.

"Yeah, pace is good. I'm feeling good, it was also a nice lap," Norris said after the second session. "I think we're doing what we expect, I guess, to be up at the front and to be there with Ferrari.

"But it was a very nice lap and Charles is only [0.058s] behind. I was hoping to have a much bigger gap than what I had, honestly, which means they're quick, it means Ferrari are very, very fast.

"But, yeah, things are going well so far."

Unlike Norris, Verstappen endured another difficult day as he finished 15th, 1.294s behind Norris' time.

Red Bull dropped into second in the constructors' championship after Oscar Piastri's win in Azerbaijan last weekend and need a better performance in Singapore if they want to reassert themselves in the standings.

But Verstappen, who has not won any of the last seven races, was left frustrated by his lap time.

When asked to sum up his day, Verstappen said: "Difficult. Not having the grip that we would like. We have a few things to look at.

"I was not really struggling with the bumps or kerbs, just general grip, so we have to look at the trade-off between the two."

Carlos Sainz was six-tenths off the pace in third, while RB's Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were surprise strong performers, finishing fourth and sixth respectively, either side of Piastri.

Mercedes also struggled to match up, with George Russell taking seventh, having damaged a front wing late on, and Lewis Hamilton 10th.