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Singapore GP
F1 Singapore GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
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Max Verstappen will be hunting for his first Marina Bay victory this weekend, having scored an historic 10th consecutive F1 win last time out in Italy.
However, he will have to do so from 11th on the grid after a difficult qualifying in his Red Bull.
It hosted arguably his worst performance of the season last year, when he went off and could only recover to seventh.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will start from pole having also been fastest in practice, with Mercedes' George Russell alongside on the front row.
The 2023 Singapore GP starts at 1pm BST.
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Verstappen has rapidly caught Piastri, and makes short work of the McLaren by slicing down the inside of Turn 14 to claim seventh. The mediums are clearly the tyres to have at this phase of the race.
Half a lap later Hamilton also gets by Leclerc, using DRS before taking the place under braking at Turn 7.
While the cameras are on the Mercedes cars, both Albon and Perez have passed Hulkenberg and are closing on ninth placed Lawson.
Russell takes the inside line at Turn 14 and pushes clear of Leclerc to take third place on lap 53.
Zhou also drops behind Perez, who was stone last when he rejoined from his stop. The Mexican is now up to 12th and isn't totally out of the reckoning for points.
Zhou was all over Hulkenberg a minute ago, but has now lost 11th to Albon, who has a point in his sights.
Right, who is your money on to win this Singapore GP with 10 laps to go? This is about to get tasty.
Verstappen now has 5s to make up on Piastri ahead of him if he wants to claim seventh. Zhou meanwhile is giving Hulkenerg a going over for tenth.
Russell and Hamilton are closing in, Russell now 2.2s off Leclerc. Hamilton is actually the faster car at the moment, three-tenths up on his team-mate.
Lawson doesn't make it easy for Verstappen, but the world champion moves ahead of the AlphaTauri rookie to claim eighth at Turn 16.
A pit exit infringement involving Perez and Albon has been noted by the stewards.
Perez remarkably is still in the same place he started, 13th. He's behind Albon, who as we know isn't an easy customer to pass. Next in Verstappen's sights is Lawson in eighth.
Sainz is given the hurry up by Ferrari in order to keep out of reach of Russell. The Mercs are still two seconds per lap quicker than those ahead. Theya comin'.
No sooner does he grab tenth than Verstappen moves into ninth, passing Hulkenberg's Haas - still on hards - with a much better exit from Turn 13.
Verstappen is all over Zhou in the battle for tenth and gets the move done in a carbon copy of his earlier effort on Hulkenberg into Turn 13.
On the last lap Russell was two seconds faster than Leclerc, so he will catch the three in front before the end, but the other bigger challenge is getting by on this tight track.
It's going from bad to worse for Alonso, who had a 5s penalty to serve for going over the white line at pit entry, then had a slow right-rear change. He's just paid a visit to an escape road.
So, we have a sprint to the finish. Sainz leads by 1.4s from Norris with Leclerc 2.7s back in third. But they will be fearing the charging Mercedes pair on fresh mediums. Russell in fourth has 11.4s to eat into before reaching Leclerc with 15 laps to go.
Ocon's reliability woes and Alonso's pitstop dramas have lifted Gasly to sixth, ahead of Piastri, Lawson, Hulkenberg and Zhou. Verstappen is just outside the points in P11.
Pit stop
Alonso also came in for softs, but it was a horribly long pitstop for the Spaniard with a problem at the rear right corner dropping him from sixth to 15th. Disaster for Aston.
Green flag
The race is back under way at full speed.
So they have given up track position, with Russell going from second to fourth and Hamilton fourth to fifth, but they have that extra set of medium tyres to use compared to the rest! Exactly what they wanted!
Pit stop
Mercedes gambles and pits both Russell and Hamilton - a double stack - as the Ferraris and McLaren's Norris stay out.
The Red Bull stops were just at the wrong point, then. Had Ocon's Alpine let go just a few laps earlier then they would have been well on course for a goof haul of points. Such is the way things can quickly change in F1...
The team strategists will be crunching the numbers this lap to decide whether to stick or twist for a pitstop.
From the lower midfield, Albon and Magnussen take the chance to pit. The Williams switches to mediums, the Haas to softs.
But the top five have all gone by the pits just as the VSC was called so none of them pit just yet.
"No, no!" yells Ocon over the radio. A galling end to a valiant drive.
Safety car
The virtual safety car is deployed to cover Ocon's stationary Alpine.
Mechanical problem
Ocon is out!
The Sainz train at the front rumbles on, with the gaps remaining the same, which has allowed Leclerc to belatedly rejoin the party. A five-way fight for the win which doesn't involve a Red Bull. Wild.
"This is undriveable," complains Alonso over the radio. He's been rather subdued today, and remember could face sanction over crossing the white line at pit entry earlier on. Having been mugged by Ocon while sat behind Perez, he's still seventh for now.
With Verstappen out of the way Ocon moves up to sixth which would be a mega result for him and Alpine, and on his 27th birthday too, but there is still 20 laps to go so nothing is settled yet.
Bottas now comes in too, moving Perez up one place to 17th. Points look a tall order in any case for 2023's most dominant team, let alone continuing its 100% win record.
Pit stop
Verstappen comes in one lap later, and rejoins 15th. Not a good day for Red Bull.
Pit stop
Having been absolutely freightrained by the midpack, Perez finally pits to ditch his hards and rejoins last on mediums.
Without his left-front wing endplate from his lap one clash with Tsunoda, Perez is beginning to struggle. Ocon is ready to capitalise and powers past around the outside into Turn 9 before Alonso finally moves ahead into Turn 14, with Gasly following into Turn 16.
Russell is told about Sainz's boast 1s of pace in hand and comes back with "I'm surprised he didn't say 2s".
What a move from Ocon! He anticipates brilliantly Alonso being delayed on the exit of Turn 9 behind Perez and charges past into the Singapore Sling to claim eighth.
"Let me know when you think it's good to push. I should have 1s of pace in hand," Sainz tells Ferrari. Yeah, we know, Carlos.
By: Autosport Staff
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