PRACTICE: Pulling hits the streets quickest in Singapore

Alpine’s Abbi Pulling started as she means to go on around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, ending Free Practice fastest of all. The only driver to set a time inside the 2:03s, the Standings leader kept building a gap over the pack, finishing three tenths clear of Nerea Martí.

The 16 drivers made the most out of every second of the 30-minute session as they began acclimatising to both the track and the humidity.

Doriane Pin set the early benchmark with a 2:11.332, whilst Wild Card Ella Lloyd brought out a brief Yellow Flag after stopping momentarily on track. Fellow Briton Pulling moved on to the top spot, reducing the time to beat to a 2:08.640.

As the track rubbered in, times continued to tumble. Pin went fastest once more, but only momentarily as PREMA Racing teammate Maya Weug utilised the tow to pull out an advantage of over one second. The trio traded personal best efforts and Weug responded quickly, setting a 2:05.167 to go 0.495s clear.

Drivers were all finding the limit and discovering how the Singaporean streets punish mistakes. A spin from Jessica Edgar saw the American Express driver tap the barrier at Turn 8, leaving her with a broken rear wing, whilst Williams driver Lia Block and Lloyd each found themselves facing the wrong way momentarily.

Inside the final 12 minutes, Pulling became the first driver below the 2:04s mark, going over four tenths faster than Weug on a 2:04.696.

Track evolution allowed the field to push until the end, as purple and green sectors littered the timing screens. As Pulling went fastest again on a 2:04.648, Martí climbed up into second and closed to within 0.057s.

Pin returned to the top spot in the final minute, but it would be Pulling who’d take the chequered flag first and leapfrog the Mercedes driver into P1, setting a 2:03.993.

Martí’s last-second improvement promoted her to second ahead of Pin, Weug and Kick Sauber’s Carrie Schreiner. Lia Block earned the sixth-fastest time ahead of Chloe Chambers, Hamda Al Qubaisi, Lola Lovinfosse and Aurelia Nobels, who rounded out the top 10.

Conditions will change when Qualifying gets underway at 19:00 local time, as the drivers will be looking to secure a pole position under the floodlights.