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Russell fastest from Leclerc in Singapore practice

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Cite

Benson, A. (2026, October 9). Russell fastest from Leclerc in Singapore practice. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cm0e0w5ele7wo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

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BBC News · collected 2026-10-09 · by Andrew Benson

Quick Summary

In the Singapore Grand Prix practice session, George Russell of Mercedes was the fastest ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was 0.198 seconds behind on a different tyre compound. Lando Norris from McLaren took third place, while Lewis Hamilton came in fourth for Ferrari. The session revealed mixed strategies among teams due to varying tyre choices and car specifications; Russell is set to start Sunday's race from the back because of an engine penalty. Additionally, severe air pollution warnings are affecting Singapore due to haze caused by wildfires in Indonesia, impacting outdoor activities in the city state.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

George Russell led practice at the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top four. The top five drivers used soft-compound tyres while Max Verstappen was fastest on medium tyres, placing sixth. Due to using too many engine parts, Russell will start Sunday's race from last position after his engine failure in Bahrain. Practice took place amid air-quality warnings caused by haze from wildfires in Indonesia, primarily due to illegal slash-and-burn practices.

Written for “Formula One Practice Session” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Formula One Practice Session
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Verstappen wins chaotic Singapore GP F1 sprint after Russell crashes Different event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A describes practice sessions for the Singapore Grand Prix, while Article B reports on a sprint race where Russell crashed and Verstappen won.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 5079 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Andrew Benson
38 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Russell thanked his team for "producing the best car and power-unit this season" and said it had been "inspiring to see everyone coming together over four tough years to bring Mercedes back to the top". He had gone into the race knowing it was highly likely Antonelli would clinch the title, but afterwards emotions overwhelmed him and he was close to tears while being weighed.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Russell says F1 title loss 'tough to deal with'
🔮 To Antonelli, firstly, who said: "I will definitely frame the picture and put it in my house because it's just an incredible moment.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · How Antonelli 'blew everyone away' to make Formula 1 history
🔮 When informed Hamilton was unhappy, Leclerc said: "I will speak with Lewis.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · 'We've got big problems' - Hamilton says Ferrari need 'serious talks'
🔮 This is an updated version of an article first published in August 2026 Kimi Antonelli was 10 when his father Marco first realised the boy sitting on his lap, operating the steering and gears, might have an exceptional talent as a racing driver. The pair were at the Adria circuit in north-east Italy, Marco with his Lamborghini sports car team, Kimi competing in a karting race.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Antonelli - the boy 'born in a garage' who became world champion
🔮 The key stories of the race were: Antonelli delivering the title with several races to go in a season he has taken by storm Tension at Ferrari after Leclerc's successful attempts to grab the lead on the first lap led to controversy and unhappiness at the team Verstappen benefitting from the internal battle to take his third win in four races. Antonelli keeps calm during late chaos Antonelli went into the race knowing that effectively he only had to stay out of trouble to ensure he secured the title. The only way he could not do so was if Russell or Hamilton won the race.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Antonelli becomes world champion as Verstappen wins in Mexico
🔮 It still puts the 20-year-old Italian in a strong position to seal the maiden title that will make him the youngest champion in history.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · On 'tense' Antonelli's big weekend, this was Hamilton's day
🔮 Antonelli qualified fifth behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, but will start fourth because of a one-place penalty for the Dutchman.
2026-10-31 · assertive framing · Hamilton takes first pole for Ferrari at Mexico City Grand Prix
🔮 Leclerc was 0.659 seconds quicker than Antonelli, for whom a ninth-place finish will secure the championship regardless of any other results.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Leclerc fastest in Mexico City Grand Prix first practice
🔮 A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We expect him to be back tomorrow." Practice for the race starts on Friday at 18:30 GMT. Antonelli will seal the championship, and become the youngest winner in Formula 1 history, as long as he does not lose more than two points to team-mate George Russell and one point to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in the grand prix on Sunday. The only way he could be stopped from tying up the title is if one of Russell and Hamilton wins.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Antonelli to miss Mexico media day with illness
🔮 Antonelli will be crowned champion in Mexico City next weekend as long he does not lose more than 23 points to Russell and 24 to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Antonelli wins in US but has to wait to secure title
Also by Andrew Benson
Russell says F1 title loss 'tough to deal with'
2026-11-02 · BBC News
How Antonelli 'blew everyone away' to make Formula 1 history
2026-11-02 · BBC News
'We've got big problems' - Hamilton says Ferrari need 'serious talks'
2026-11-01 · BBC News
Antonelli becomes world champion as Verstappen wins in Mexico
2026-11-01 · BBC News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 38 articles by Andrew Benson →

Topics

Ferrari Malaysia McLaren Mercedes Red Bull's

Subjects

Russell PERSON · 4× Malaysia GPE · 3× Mercedes ORG · 3× Ferrari ORG · 2× McLaren ORG · 2× Red Bull's ORG · 2× British NORP · 1× Charles Leclerc PERSON · 1× George Russell PERSON · 1× Leclerc PERSON · 1×

Narrative

His team-mate Isack Hadjar, also on the medium, was eighth fastest, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson completing the top 10. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in the top 10 for a time, but dropped back in the closing stages of the session to end up 14th. The racing action is taking place amid air-quality warnings in Singapore as a result of haze from wildfires in Indonesia, primarily caused by illegal slash-and-burn practices used by farmers and companies as a cheap method to clear vegetation.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 The split between tyre compounds made it hard to form any conclusions about relative pace. Russell will start Sunday's race from the back as a result of a penalty for using too many engine parts, following his engine failure while running third in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. He and Antonelli are also running different specifications of car, Russell reverting to a previous spec and the Italian the new aerodynamic package introduced in Malaysia.
2026-10-09 · BBC News
Russell fastest from Leclerc in Singapore practice · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 0 hedged)

- Published Mercedes driver George Russell led Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in practice at the Singapore Grand Prix. asserted
Russell → publish → Prix
A late lap from Leclerc, who was 0.198 seconds off Russell's pace, split up what had been an all-British top three. McLaren's Lando Norris was third fastest, 0.273secs behind Russell, and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton fourth, 0.499secs off the pace. The top five, concluded by McLaren's Oscar Piastri, were all on the soft-compound tyres, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen was the fastest driver using medium tyres in sixth place. asserted
Verstappen → split → place
It was the only practice session of the weekend with sprint qualifying taking place at 13:30 BST. asserted
qualifying → take → BST
The split between tyre compounds made it hard to form any conclusions about relative pace. Russell will start Sunday's race from the back as a result of a penalty for using too many engine parts, following his engine failure while running third in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. He and Antonelli are also running different specifications of car, Russell reverting to a previous spec and the Italian the new aerodynamic package introduced in Malaysia. asserted
Italian → make → Malaysia
This is so Mercedes can get a better read of whether the upgrade package is working after struggling for pace in Malaysia when they expected to make a step forward. asserted
they → get → step
Verstappen took his and Red Bull's first win of the year at Sepang, and looked quick at times in the session before tyre strategies diverged. asserted
strategies → take → session
His team-mate Isack Hadjar, also on the medium, was eighth fastest, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson completing the top 10. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in the top 10 for a time, but dropped back in the closing stages of the session to end up 14th. The racing action is taking place amid air-quality warnings in Singapore as a result of haze from wildfires in Indonesia, primarily caused by illegal slash-and-burn practices used by farmers and companies as a cheap method to clear vegetation. asserted
action → complete → vegetation
This is leading to record levels of air pollution in the city state and citizens are advised to limit outdoor activities. asserted
citizens → lead → activities
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