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Formula 1 Singapore GP

F1 Singapore GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race

Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix

An aerial view of the action

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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The drivers are getting suited up and strapped into the cars with under 10 minutes to go until lights out. Sainz is taking extra care to wipe sweat from his balaclava, he's got a huge opportunity to stamp his command on this race from pole.
The minute silence is observed impeccably, ended by the Singapore national anthem sung by a choir of air stewards and children... who are only a little bit out of time with the audio.
F1 holds a minute silence observed for the victims of the earthquake in Morocco and the flooding in Libya.
The drivers have surfaced from their hiding places and are forming at the front of the grid, cutting through a throng of team members, media and celebs. Not quite Miami levels of mania but still a busy old grid.
Last year it was a wet and wild Singapore GP, but this time we've had almost no precipitation since F1 landed at the Marina Bay track. There's a very low chance of rain for the race, with the air temp at a toasty 29.8C.
All the cars are on the grid and the drivers have disappeared to somewhere quiet before the national anthem and front-of-grid niceties.
But Pirelli isn't totally convinced in Mercedes' additional plan, as it fully expects the race to remain a one-stop game.
 
Breaking news
Mercedes has given itself another string to its strategy bow, with an extra set of medium tyres against its rivals, but that could only come into play if certain factors take place. Here's the full explainer: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/what-mercedes-needs-to-make-its-exciting-f1-tyre-offset-work/10521500/
There has been at least one safety car in every Singapore GP, including 10 in the last five races, so this race could be flipped on its head at any moment. An afternoon for the race strategists to earn their corn.

Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car

Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

But there will only be 18 of the 19 drivers on the starting grid, as Zhou starts from the pitlane after Alfa Romeo made changes to his car post-qualifying. He was due to start last with Stroll absent, so hasn't really lost out, especially if there is an early safety car...
19 drivers are completing their laps to the grid, one fewer than usual as Stroll will miss the race following his nasty qualifying crash. The Canadian is still sore from the off and the team has opted to focus on the Japanese GP for his return.
But given it is Red Bull, Verstappen and Perez, after all, nobody is fully counting them out of the victory fight today. At the front, Sainz took a second straight pole while Russell split the Ferraris to join him on the front row.
The dominant Red Bull RB19, winner of every race this season and polesitter in 10 out of 15 qualifyings, has endured a slippery Singapore weekend. Both Red Bull drivers dropped out in Q2, meaning to keep its 100% win record will be an almighty challenge.
Hello! Well, this is a little different to what we are used to in F1 2023.

By: Autosport Staff

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