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Formula 1
Singapore GP
F1 Singapore GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
Minute by minute updates from the F1 Singapore Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc took pole for the 2022 edition of the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, capitalising when concerns over fuel ended Max Verstappen's chances of snatching it late on.
Verstappen can win the title if he takes victory in Singapore and Leclerc finishes lower than eighth, but thousands of other permutations will apply once the 61-lap race begins.
Sergio Perez starts on the front row in a closely contested battle for pole, as Lewis Hamilton was half a tenth away from the pole time. He starts in third, alongside Carlos Sainz.
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Pit stop
Verstappen duly pits and comes out in last place, but not for long as Russell has a puncture and is going very slowly.
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"I need to pit," Verstappen says, with massive flat spots on his tyres.
Off track
Verstappen tries a move on Norris into Turn 5, but locks his tyres up massively and goes into the run-off! He drops to eighth, just ahead of Hamilton.
Russell, who has had an eventful race like a few others, takes two places at the restart on Magnussen and Bottas to move up to 12th place.
Green flag
Perez kicks us off again! He stays ahead of Leclerc, as Norris has Verstappen all over him.
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"Respect the distance with the safety car," Perez is told after having been apparently marginal last time out.
Safety car
The safety car will be in at the end of this lap - lap 39.
The TV graphics have switched from the lap counter to a countdown timer. So there's 37 minutes left in this race, or 23 laps, whatever comes first.
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"I'm so so sorry about that guys, I f***** up big time," Hamilton says of his earlier wall-bothering antics. He's told not to sweat it, which will be hard in this humidity.
Pit stop
Norris takes the opportunity to pit under the safety car, and comes back out in fourth place - just behind Sainz. Ricciardo pits too, taking on the soft tyre and comes out behind Verstappen.
Tsunoda, who had just pitted for dry tyres remember, locked up into Turn 10 and slid into the outside wall head-on. He's out of the car, all OK, and off for an early bath.
Safety car
It is a full safety car this time to recover the car and repair the barrier.
Crash
Another car in the wall! This time it is Tsunoda who has crashed at Turn 10.
Pit stop
Perez comes in at the end of lap 36 for his own slick-tyre stop, as does Sainz. Leclerc's stop was marginally slow, as he slid into the pitbox. Verstappen also comes in.
Hamilton comes out in ninth place and is three seconds behind Vettel.
Stopwatch
There's a 1m56.177s for Russell, underlining the slick tyre pace now.
Pit stop
And here comes Charles Leclerc to pick up the slicks! He was told earlier to do the opposite of Perez, and he's collected some medium tyres. Hamilton duly does the same, plus new front wing.
Pit stop
A lap later Tsunoda, Bottas and Magnussen all pit for dry tyres. Here we go, time for the pit crews to do their thing.
Pit stop
Gasly is the second driver to pit for slicks just as Russell puts in a 1m57s - matching the leaders. It is now time for slicks.
Hamilton's gone into the wall! He goes too deep at Turn 7, backs it out of the barrier, and returns to the track right in between Norris and Verstappen!
In short, it still isn't time for slicks, but it is very close and will require some bravery.
Soft tyre watch: Russell, who has needed to move aside due to blue flags, is starting to light up the timing screen in some mini sectors. But overall he's slower because he's losing so much time in the wet final sector.
Stopwatch
Leclerc's just hacked a second out of Perez's lead, posting a 1m56.259s. Mistake for Perez, or is Leclerc finding time?
A moment for Verstappen, where he tried to anticipate the end of the VSC and had to get on the brakes to avoid passing Norris too soon. A bit over-eager there.
Green flag
Off we go again, back to green flag racing!
Ferrari's pitcrew is left hanging for a stop, as neither Leclerc nor Sainz fancy coming in. Inter-slicks are still the way to go here.
Not a day for the teams in blue - double DNFs for Alpine and Williams. Two engine blows for the French squad and two crashes for the British team.
Safety car
Ocon reports "a failure" on his Alpine and he's out of the race. Another virtual safety car is called for with Ocon stuck trackside at Turn 13.
Mechanical problem
Now Ocon has stopped on the track! He's got a smoking car - double disaster for Alpine!
"I'm losing so much time behind this guy, he's really slow," Hamilton says of Sainz. He's less than a second behind, but struggling to make a pass.
Mechanical problem
Albon makes it back to the pits but suffers the same fate as his Williams team-mate Latifi from earlier, as the mechanics call time on his race due to the damage.
A 1m58.161s for Perez on the previous lap before the VSC, who is now 3s clear of Leclerc. Still no takers for a pitstop under the yellow flag period.
Safety car
Another virtual safety car is used so the track marshals can clear up Albon's discarded front wing from the track.
Crash
Albon has crashed! He's lost his front wing in the wall but has managed to get going again.
Next time around, Russell puts in a 2m05s so is gaining time, but he's way off the pace still.
Guinea pig Russell puts in a 2m09.869s on his first clear lap which is six seconds per lap slower than Albon who is next up the road. He’s gone too early.
Stopwatch
Alonso's retirement has massively helped Verstappen out, and he's now in free air and closing Norris down after doing a 1m58.377s.
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"No grip," Russell reports on team radio. The virtual safety car period is over, so back to green flag conditions.
Brown flag for Russell, big slide out of the first corner and he manages to keep it out of the wall.
Pit stop
Slick tyre gamble klaxon! It is Russell, who didn't have much to lose in 16th place, as he puts on the mediums. He's instantly slipping and sliding around coming out of the pits.
By: autosport.com
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