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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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Mechanical problem
Alonso appears to lose power instantly and has to pull off the track at Turn 10. His 350th F1 race won't be one to remember.
Nobody's opting for a stop under this VSC so far among the front runners, looking to keep track position.
Safety car
Alonso has stopped with an engine issue! That releases Verstappen into sixth place, as a virtual safety car is called.
"Is there any dry line? Because I cannot see from the car," Alonso asks on team radio. Due to the lights and shadows the dry line isn't clear so he's relying on feel. It's a big call with a switch to slicks in mind.
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“Massive lag on the upshift,” Verstappen warns over team radio.
Stopwatch
A 1m58.717s for Perez on that lap, extending his lead over Leclerc to 2s. Sainz is a further 10s back.
Verstappen clearly has the pace in clean air, just look at how get caught up to Alonso, but given the track characteristics coupled with the damp conditions, trying to find a way to overtake is proving very difficult.
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Verstappen is asked about conditions and says "it is still too wet", indicating he isn't ready for a switch to slicks.
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"Not far from slicks now," Sainz says. Who's going to be first to gamble - and when?
Sharing Verstappen's problem is Russell, who still cannot find a way ahead of Bottas. The Mercedes driver remains down in 16th place.
Norris says that the tyres are becoming more slick, with more grip on the dry bits but slippier on the damper parts of the circuit. Not dissimilar to Turkey 2020, when Hamilton kept life in his slicktermediates to win.
Verstappen's Alonso blockage is losing him vital time that was handed back to him by the earlier safety car. He's still stuck behind the Alpine and is almost a full pitstop worth of time behind the leaders.
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"The goal is to make these inters last longer than everyone else's," Norris is told.
Perez is 1.7s up on Leclerc, adding little bits to his lead over Leclerc with each lap. He was 0.3s quicker than Leclerc on lap 15, as both protagonists are trying to keep tyres cool.
The stewards will take no further action on the Verstappen vs Magnussen clash from the opening lap, so both can breathe easier. Verstappen, though, is still stuck behind Alonso who is putting in a defensive masterclass.
The Dutch driver is already right behind Alonso, looking to continue his charge. You feel it is only a matter of time.
Stopwatch
Perez the first man into the 1m59s, with a 1m59.580s on the restart. Hamilton, however, reckons Perez backed the pack up before the lights went out on the safety car.
But could trouble follow for Verstappen? His clash with Magnussen from the opening lap is being investigated. The stewards are also looking into the Zhou vs Latifi clash that took both of them out of the race.
Verstappen isn't hanging about now, as he gets by Gasly later on in the lap and is up to seventh.
Verstappen gets Vettel at Turn 5 on the safety car restart to move up to eighth place. A smart move by the Dutch driver.
Green flag
And we're back! Perez gets away well, as Hamilton goes with Sainz in his overtures for third.
Safety car
Safety car will come in at the end of lap 10 - so, this lap.
It's all been going on. Before the safety car Russell tried a move on Bottas but clipped his back-right wheel on to the Finn's front wing. Both avoid any serious damage as Russell took to the run-off.
Mechanical problem
Latifi makes it back to the pits but the damage to his car looks terminal. The mechanics at the back-left wheel wave their arms around with the new tyre wobbling around. That's his race run.
The safety car has picked up the right car this time, so that's reassuring. Sainz and Hamilton are on the back of the train behind Perez and Leclerc, with Norris catching up.
Safety car
They did indeed clash! Zhou, looking for space around the outside of Latifi at Turn 5, gets squeezed into the wall and the contact breaks his front-right corner. The safety car has been deployed.
Has there been a clash between Zhou and Latifi? The Chinese driver has stopped on track at Turn 5 and Latifi has a puncture and is limping back to the pits.
Magnussen has been shown the black and orange flag, not for the first time this season, so he'll need to pit to fix the damage to his car. The Dane is currently running in 12th.
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Norris, meanwhile, reports that the circuit isn't drying up particularly quickly. He's still fifth, about 6s behind Hamilton but 3.6s clear of Alonso.
Verstappen is staring at Vettel's rear wing but can't find a way through. He'll need to quickly if he wants to fight for the podium because he's losing almost three seconds per lap to Perez and co.
Leclerc now does a 2m00.219s to cut the arrears slightly to Perez, but the Red Bull driver is going slightly quicker so far on lap 6.
The other climber through the field is Russell following his pitlane start. He's already up to 17th, getting up the inside of Latifi at Turn 14.
Perez has unlocked a bit of pace, gapping Leclerc by an extra 0.4s on lap 4 to extend his lead to 1.3s. Sainz is another five seconds down the road.
The F1 world championship leader is continuing his climb up the order as he gets ahead of Tsunoda for ninth place. Next up for him is Vettel.
Verstappen, who took to the inside of Turn 1 at the start, will not be put under investigation by the stewards for gaining an advantage at the start. He did lose places after all, even if it was cheeky.
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Lap 3, and Leclerc is glued to the back of Perez. Hamilton, meanwhile, says he has no grip on the intermediate rubber.
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"I got hit by Sainz at the start, he sent me wide," Hamilton reports, which the stewards have noticed, but will make no further investigation.
Verstappen is getting his elbows out now and gets by Magnussen and Stroll in quick succession to move up to 10th on lap two.
On the opening lap at Turn 7 there's a tangle between the backmarkers as Albon is spun off into the run-off area. He gets going again but is in last place.
Norris got ahead of Alonso at the start, as the Alpine driver was forced to defend from Gasly.
By: autosport.com
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