F1 Singapore GP: Follow the sprint race at Marina Bay circuit with live timing

"There is a large amount of standing water around Turns 2 and 3" is the rationale given for delaying the start.

We have a delayed start, but the actual start time is unspecified. Our track team report that at the time of writing, only part of the track is wet - so one part of Esplanade Drive is under water, the other end is bone dry.

Speaking of Gazebo, has anyone heard their cover version of Boney M's seminal 1970s hit 'Daddy Cool'?

Those paddock people who dressed in beige tones today now questioning their life choices as the cars sit under temporary gazebos on the grid.

The FIA says the medical car is going out on track to "assess conditions".

Well here we go - it's actually raining.

The sun is starting to set in Singapore and the lights are on. Threatening grey skies overhead - but tricky to discern whether they contain rain or another load of burned-tree particulates from Indonesia.

Lando Norris berated himself after sprint qualifying, saying he simply didn't do as good a job as McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Mercedes is running split car specs this weekend as it tries to understand the performance of its latest upgrade. George Russell has reverted to the previous spec, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli is running the latest one (albeit with the previous rear wing in sprint qualifying).

Antonelli qualified seventh for the sprint and that was "everything he had", said the team. It looks like the upgrade has made the car more nervous. But because it involves under-the-skin changes too, the team can't swap Antonelli back.

We're wondering what mental gymnastics the conspiracy theorists who think Mercedes is favouring Antonelli over Russell will perform to explain this to themselves.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

WELCOME TO SPRINT RACING IN SINGAPORE

And after a dramatic sprint qualifying session yesterday, Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position around the tropical city state. Mercedes had to come to grips with the flaws of its latest update package. And the FIA had to eat another portion of humble pie after timing glitches and "human error" with Overtake Mode made for chaotic scenes in the first knock-out segment of sprint qualifying.