Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Singapore

We weren't expecting that, George Russell just came into the pits and the mechanics just had to run around and find the tyre blankets and in he came. That was all a bit confusing for Mercedes.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Those front tyres are not biting, he's [Russell] asking a lot from the front, he's definitely struggling with the end of braking.

George Russell is asked if everything is OK on the team radio. Yep, comes the reply, except he did just go straight on after a spot of bother.

Charles Leclerc has looked strong so far this weekend in the Ferrari but the Monegasque's soft lap only offers up a P5 spot on the timesheets, nearly a second away from Lando Norris' top time.

With the track continuing to evolve as the sun starts to go down in Singapore, the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz is ready to stake a claim on his soft run. The Spaniard hits two personal bests but his time of 1:30.807 is only good enough for fifth on the leaderboard.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The car [of Lando Norris] looks very comfortable on the kerbs, being able to ride kerbs and carry minimum speed. When he picks up the power the rear is there for him, something we haven't necessarily seen from some of the other teams.

The McLaren flies around the Marina Bay circuit on those kitten-soft tyres. Lando Norris pulls an extra 0.479 seconds out of his title-chasing car and jumps over George Russell to go top with a 1:29.646.

"Very surprised more people aren't on the soft tyre already."

George Russell notes he is surprised more people aren't out on the soft tyres, to which his engineer replies Max Verstappen is doing a red run now.

The Red Bull driver can't match the Mercedes of Russell, however, and he goes third on the timesheets, a few tenths away from the Briton's best time.

Now here comes Lando Norris in the McLaren...

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

The RB team are one of the dark horses this weekend, along with the Williams. They've both been showing some good form here and it's such a tight battle in the midfield.

Image source, Getty Images

The double points haul for Williams in Baku was a huge celebration and it lifted them above Alpine in the constructors' championship.

Both Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon were in the top-10 shootout last week and on his opening soft flyer, Albon has slotted into the top five in fourth place.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The jump from soft tyres to medium tyres seems to be absolutely huge around this circuit, but I don't think it's a tyre you can lean on for multiple laps.

The soft tyre has been handed over to George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The younger of the Mercedes pair crosses the line first and leaps straight to the best seat in the house with a time of 1:30.125.

For Hamilton, his first hot lap on the softs is not quite as quick and the 39-year-old has to settle for P3, as the McLaren of Oscar Piastri goes up to second spot after his C5 run.

Image source, Getty Images

Singapore is a circuit Ferrari are expected to perform well at, and finishing in the top three in first and second practice was certainly the ideal start. But even the Scuderia's path was laced with a few hiccups yesterday.

"Challenging Friday," was Carlos Sainz's assessment on X, after the Spaniard flagged issues to his pit wall during the opening hour.

"I felt something was not quite right with the brakes in FP1 and we seemed to carry that into FP2.

"The car appears to be in a good window. I’m confident we can figure out what happened and make a big step tomorrow!"

Sainz is second so far, with a gap of 0.098 seconds between himself and front-runner Charles Leclerc.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I'm really excited for the race, we've got three, potentially four different cars that could fight for a podium.

Franco Colapinto is preparing for his latest Formula 1 challenge following his Azerbaijan street circuit experience last weekend. The Argentine driver is off the mark in the championship, with his first points scored in Baku, so can he repeat that achievement in Singapore?

The 21-year-old has banked a few laps on the C5 soft tyre and is sitting in seventh place on the timesheets with a 1:31.819.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The Ferrari right now for me looks like the most balanced car, there doesn't seem to be a hint of oversteer or lack of traction.

Lewis Hamilton pushes his team-mate George Russell down the order as he goes fourth fastest in his Mercedes. After Friday's sessions, the seven-time world champion said he would be lucky to make it into Q3 today.

Charles Leclerc is also on the medium compound and the Ferrari driver is able to beat Max Verstappen's marker by 0.105 seconds. The new time at the top is a 1:31.525.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Purple in sector two for George Russell. Clearly that Mercedes is working better today than it was yesterday.

George Russell says he needs a change of gloves but before that, he puts his Mercedes third on the timesheets on a set of mediums with a 1:31.816.

If you're just joining us, welcome in! Third practice was delayed slightly because of a scaly fan on track.

Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, is on a flyer in the Alpine but the Frenchman finds George Russell's Mercedes just about to rejoin the action to the side of him. A quick swivel of the wheel and Gasly just about avoids a collision, commenting, "woah, that was close" over the team radio.

Image source, Getty Images