George Russell fastest in smoggy Singapore GP practice

George Russell topped the only practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday as smoky haze from fires in Indonesia affected the Marina Bay Circuit.

Russell's Mercedes set a fastest lap of 1 minute 32.274 seconds. Charles Leclerc was second for Ferrari, 0.198 seconds behind, and McLaren's Lando Norris was third.

Singapore is holding a Formula One sprint race for the first time, leaving teams with one hour of practice before sprint qualifying later Friday. The practice session took place before sunset, while Sunday's Grand Prix is a night race.

Russell will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid because of an engine-component penalty, but he can still compete for pole position in Saturday's sprint race.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was fourth and McLaren's Oscar Piastri fifth. Max Verstappen was sixth and was the fastest driver on medium tyres.

The race has also been declared a “heat hazard”, allowing drivers to use cooling vests because the heat index is expected to exceed 31C during either the sprint or the race.

Singapore's air quality fell to an “unhealthy” 205 on Friday according to the IQAir tracking website. Motorsport governing body the FIA said the race was not under threat from the haze.

“Air quality levels are being monitored by the relevant local authorities and appropriate contingency measures are in place should conditions worsen,” the FIA said, adding that the latest information did not forecast a threat to track activity or the running of the event.