ALEX ALBON suffered a Formula One nightmare in the Singapore sauna after his car went up in smoke.
The Williams star was in his car and had just returned to the pit lane following his first out lap during Free Practice 1.
However, smoke was then seen coming out of Albon's rear brakes.
Team mechanics rushed to find fire extinguishers to put out the blaze in the 29-year-old's brakes as Albon remained seated in his cockpit.
The Thai-Brit driver was eventually able to climb out as the fire got under control.
The car was still burning minutes later, with Williams confirming the issue was a hardware problem and was being investigated.
Williams added they were confident that they would be able to get Albon's car out for FP2.
Team principal James Vowles later revealed the brake temperatures had spiked to over 1,000 degrees, which was too far gone for the team to repair them and get Albon back out on the circuit.
It was far from an ideal start to the F1 weekend after team-mate Carlos Sainz scored a podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Albon admitted the Williams car tends to struggle in warmer climates, but the bumpy surface of the Marina Bay Street Circuit could make up for that.
This weekend's race was issued with a first-ever "heat hazard" warning from the FIA, with temperatures set to climb as high as 31C.
Drivers have been mandated the use cooling vests that pump cool water around the wearer's chest while they are in their car.
It is optional for drivers, but not using it means the car will need to be fitted with half a kilogram of ballast in the cockpit to ensure an advantage is not gained.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso topped FP1 with a time of 1:31.116.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was just over a tenth behind, leading on from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri followed closely behind, with Lando Norris a further two-tenths down.
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