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McLaren’s Lando Norris said he had a “bad day” in Friday practice at the Singapore Grand Prix after setting fifth fastest time following a collision in the pit lane.

The Briton was 0.483 seconds slower than the pace-setter, his team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri, who leads Norris by 25 points in the championship.

Norris, who won Singapore from pole position last year, said: “A difficult day for me. Not feeling too great with the car, missing all the feelings I had here last year, plenty of things to work on. Just a bad day.

“Oscar’s quick so I have nothing to complain about, just not doing a very good job.”

Norris sounded unhappy with his performance over the radio in the car before speaking to media.

In a conversation with engineer Will Joseph in discussing run strategy, Norris said his lack of pace was down to “my driving”.

Before setting his fastest lap, Norris was hit by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the pit lane in an incident which broke the McLaren’s front wing.

Norris shrugged the incident off, saying it “cost the team a bit of money, which is a shame”. Leclerc and Ferrari have been called to the stewards and are likely to be fined for an unsafe release.

Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar was second fastest in a session interrupted by two red flags for crashes, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

The two incidents that led to red flags were crashes by Mercedes’ George Russell and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

Russell lost control on the entry to Turn 16, and nosed into the barriers, breaking his front wing. He missed the rest of the session because the car required a full system reset.

Lawson crashed on the exit of the same chicane, clouting the wall out of Turn 17, breaking his right-side wheels and coming to rest in the pit lane entry.

Piastri looked and sounded confident as he returned to the track after his incident-strewn weekend in Baku, in which he crashed in practice and qualifying, jumped the start and then crashed on the first lap of the race.

He was making jokes about the Ferrari drivers getting in his way in the first session, saying: “I’m sure Ferrari will invent mirrors some day.”

And at the end of the second session he made a tongue-in-cheek remark about the driver cooling vest causing difficulties in the cockpit.

Red Bull, who have struggled in Singapore for the past couple of seasons, felt they had had a positive day.

Verstappen, the winner of the past two races at Monza and Baku, said: “The car was not too bad, a bit like the last two weekends. There were no major problems.

“Tried a few things, some were good and we just need to try and optimise that a bit more. In general quite satisfied, but definitely need a bit more pace to fight up at the front tomorrow.”

The disrupted session meant drivers did not have time to do their race-simulation runs at the end, so a clear indication of form did not emerge.

Alonso was quick all day in the Aston Martin on a track where the car’s weaknesses are not exposed and where he has always been strong.

But the team would be expected to slip down the field on Saturday.

Alonso said: “Seems little bit better than the previous grands prix. Let’s try to fine-tune the set-up. It’s still not in a happy place, especially on the front axle. Still a little bit too much understeer. Something to work tonight but a good start.

“Since the first lap we were in a comfy place and were able to find the limits quite quickly.

“Let’s see if we can be in Q3 tomorrow and points on Sunday. Both sessions in the top four is probably the best Friday so far but sometimes Friday we run with a different programme or different fuel, and the real test is tomorrow.”

His team-mate Lance Stroll was sixth fastest, 0.345secs off the Spaniard, followed by Haas driver Esteban Ocon, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and the Ferraris of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren’s Lando Norris said he had a “bad day” in Friday practice at the Grand Prix of Singapore after setting fifth fastest time following a collision in the pit lane.

The Briton, who leads Norris by 25 points in the championship standings, was 0.483 seconds behind his team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri, who was the pace-setter.

A difficult day for me, according to Norris, who won Singapore last year from pole position. I’m not feeling particularly well with the car; I’m also missing the emotions I had last year. There are plenty of things to work on. Just a bad day, really.

Oscar does a good job, but I have nothing to complain about because he is “so quick.”

Before speaking to the media, Norris reportedly complained about how poorly he handled the car radio.

When asked about running strategy, Norris claimed that his lack of pace was brought on by “my driving.”

In a collision that caused the McLaren’s front wing to break before Norris’ fastest lap, Charles Leclerc hit him in the pit lane.

Norris blasted the incident, saying it “cost the team a little money, which is unfortunate.” Ferrari and Leclerc have been informed to the stewards, and their release is likely to result in fines.

Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls was second fastest, ahead of Max Verstappen from Red Bull and Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin, in a session that was interrupted by two red flag crashes.

Mercedes’ George Russell and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson both crashed, which produced two red flags.

Russell slammed into the barriers before Turn 16 and lost control, breaking his front wing. Because the car required a complete system reset, he missed the remainder of the session.

Lawson crashed into the pit lane entry after leaving the same chicane and breaking the wall out of Turn 17.

After crashing in practice and qualifying, jumping the start, and then colliding on the first lap of the race, Piastri appeared and sounded confident as he made his return to the track.

In the first session, he joked that Ferrari would eventually create mirrors. “I’m sure Ferrari will invent mirrors one day.

And he made a tongue-in-cheek comment about the cockpit’s issues caused by the driver cooling vest at the end of the second session.

Red Bull felt happy after a difficult start to their recent run in Singapore.

Verstappen, the previous two-time champion at Monza and Baku, said: “The car was not bad, a little like the last two weekends. There were no significant issues.

We just need to try and optimize that a little bit more, he said. “Tried a few things, some were good.” Overall, quite satisfied, but we will need a little more tempo tomorrow to battle it out front.

A clear indication of form didn’t show up because of the disrupted session, which meant that drivers had no time to complete their race-simulation runs at the end.

Alonso was quick all day driving an Aston Martin on a track where he has always been strong and where his flaws are hidden.

On Saturday, the team would be expected to slack off the field.

Alonso praised the performance, which he described as “a little better than the previous grand prix.” Let’s try to adjust the configuration. Even on the front axle, especially, it’s still not in a happy place. Still a little understeering a little bit. A good start, but there is still work tonight.

We were comfortable on the first lap and were able to locate the limits fairly quickly.

“Let’s see if we can win the Q3 on Sunday.” The best Friday so far, with both sessions in the top four, is probably tomorrow, but we occasionally use a different program or fuel on Friday.

His team-mate Lance Stroll was sixth fastest, 0.3445 seconds off the Spaniard, followed by Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, Williams, and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.

Christian Horner, the former Red Bull team’s manager, is “ringing up pretty much every team owner,” according to Aston Martin’s CEO Andy Cowell.

One of the teams linked to Horner is Aston Martin.

Cowell stated that he and the team’s owner Lawrence Stroll had checked the situation at the Grand Prix of Singapore on Friday.

Cowell noted that “Christian seems to be ringing up pretty much every team owner right now.”

Horner “approached” the US-based team, according to Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu, adding that “nothing has gone any further.” It is finished.

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen claimed that Horner and the French team’s executive adviser and de facto boss Flavio Briatore were “old friends.”

Nielsen continued, “I don’t know what they talk about. Although I am aware that there are no plans for Christian to visit Alpine, it won’t change that.

James Vowles, the Williams team’s principal, claimed Horner had not approached them.

Vowles remarked, “We’re very pleased with the structure we have, and it’s working.” There is no reason to change that, I believe.

In August, Horner’s relationship with the Cadillac team’s boss, who is preparing for Formula One, was ruled out. There haven’t been any discussions with Christian Horner, according to Chief Executive Officer Dan Towriss.

After agreeing a severance package with Red Bull on September 22nd, Horner will be free to return to F1 by the middle of next year.

Following the British Grand Prix in July, the 51-year-old was fired as the team’s principal.

Former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is “ringing up pretty much every team owner” as he seeks a route back into Formula 1, says Aston Martin chief executive officer Andy Cowell.

Aston Martin are among the teams that have been linked with Horner.

Cowell said he had checked the situation with team owner Lawrence Stroll on Friday at the Singapore Grand Prix.

“It looks as though Christian is ringing up pretty much every team owner at the moment,” said Cowell.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said Horner had “approached” the US-based team but added: “Nothing has gone any further. It is finished.”

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen said the French team’s executive adviser and de facto boss Flavio Briatore was “old friends” with Horner.

Nielsen added: “I don’t know what they talk about. Everything I know is there are no plans for Christian to come to Alpine but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

Williams team principal James Vowles said Horner had not approached them.

“We’re very happy with the structure we have and it’s working,” Vowles said. “I don’t see any reason to change from that.”

The boss of the Cadillac team that is entering F1 ruled out any connection with Horner in August. Chief executive officer Dan Towriss said: “There have been no talks with Christian Horner and there are no plans to do that.”

Horner is free to return to F1 by the middle of next year after finalising a severance package with Red Bull on 22 September.

The 51-year-old was fired as Red Bull team principal after the British Grand Prix in July.