🔗 Share this article Alonso Leads Opening Session at Marina Bay F1 Singapore 3-5 October will see the race kicking off at 1pm BST on Sunday. Real-time coverage provided on digital platforms and official website. Opening Round Highlights Aston Martin's Spanish veteran set the pace in front of Scuderia star and Dutch ace during first practice at the street circuit event. The British team's championship contenders Oscar Piastri and British talent finished the run in fifth and sixth. The young Australian was over two tenths faster than the Briton. The experienced Spaniard was a tenth and a half leading of Leclerc and 0.276secs faster than the Red Bull star. The Italian squad's seven-time champion was P4. Team Strategies Unlikely that Aston Martin will be contenders for P1. Nonetheless, the outfit are hopeful of a strong showing on a technical venue that is better matched to their chassis, which performs better when high levels of aerodynamic grip are required. Double world title winner Fernando is also known as a Singapore specialist, and often shines on the Marina Bay street track. But he was almost certainly using reduced weight or a more aggressive setting than his opponents, or both, to achieve that pace. Session Details Fellow driver Canadian racer was almost two seconds behind in the lower order. He had problems with his driving position early in the session and was also evaluating new components. The first session in Singapore is not indicative of conditions for qualifying and race as it is run in afternoon sun in late afternoon, while the shootout and the grand prix are held under floodlights. Championship Standings Piastri has an advantage over his teammate by a solid margin with the final stretch left entering the event in Singapore. McLaren are in position to secure the constructors' championship on race day. The only way they can miss out in this race is if the Silver Arrows outscore them by 31 points or the Scuderia do so by a similar margin. Rival Teams Red Bull are positive of a positive weekend after recent successes in Monza and Baku preceding this weekend. They were relieved when precipitation falling before the session stopped by the time the vehicles went out on a circuit that had remained dry. Senior figure the Austrian stated before the session that they wanted a clear session to make a comprehensive start on optimizing their set-up for the event.