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Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay. ---- 20:01: Rosberg takes his place back on pole position. The field filters in slowly behind him. --- 20:00: Rosberg leads the field away. Outside the top ten, only Nasr and Palmer are on super-softs, while Vettel, starting 22nd, is on soft tyres in a bid to try and leap up the order. Looks like it's going to be a DNS for Grosjean - he's out of his car and looking very unhappy about it in the Haas garage. --- 19:59: Off come the tyre blankets. Nearly time for the formation lap. --- 19:56: Radio messages suggest Rosberg isn't happy with his practice starts so far this evening. Real good chance for a Red Bull to be going into Turn 1. --- 19:53: This is really turning in a calamitous weekend for Grosjean. He'll be starting from the pit lane due to some issues firing his car up ahead of the start. He already has a fresh gearbox in his car after that shunt in Q2 yesterday. --- 19:50: Interesting to note the big rain showers that happened overnight last night - that means the track is effectively green again, washing away a lot of the rubber that's been put down over the weekend so far. Could make for some interesting early laps... --- 19:48: The drivers stand at the front of the grid for the Singapore national anthem. --- 19:44:There's no Perez in the top ten after his hefty grid penalty yesterday. That's moved both Williams drivers up a place and might well be a big boost for them in the ongoing battle with Force India for fourth in the championship. --- 19:41: Kvyat and Hulkenberg line up next and might each fancy a strong result. Alonso is next and predicted the McLaren can move up the pecking order in the race and challenge the Toro Rosso. --- 19:39: Verstappen and Raikkonen starting fourth and fifth, which could get a bit punchy later on in the race. Behind that is the ever-impressive Sainz, let's see how well Toro Rosso stacks up in its race pace but it could a lot of points on offer. --- 19:36: Behind that, Hamilton might well be crossing his fingers for a slow start from Rosberg. But I expect we'll start seeing more cautious starts from the Mercedes drivers as the end of the championship draws near. --- 19:34: So, what's the grid looking like today? Rosberg took a majestic pole position yesterday, one of the finest laps in his career, but has Daniel Ricciardo alongside him in that nippy Red Bull and on super-soft tyres. That could come into play later in the first stint - how much longer will Red Bull be able to go before its first stop? --- 19:33: Hamilton nails his own practice start -- how he must wish he'd done that at Monza. --- 19:32: A few practice starts taking place at the end of thepit lane. We've seen Mercedes struggle with those all season - how important will that be at the start of this race? --- 19:30: There's a green light -- the pit lane is open, meaning the cars can make their way round to the grid. |
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Lap 1 |
Great start from Rosberg and he leads into Turn 1 but Hulkenberg has been tagged and flipped straight into thepit wall!
Hulkenberg complains he was "sandwitched" by the Force Indias. That's a big blow in their fight with Williams. Replays show Hulkenberg has a rocket start and went into the gap between Sainz and Kvyat, which closed up . Sainz had to move right to avoid the slow-starting Red Bull of Verstappen, so harsh to apportion any blame there. Puncture for Bottas as well! his left rear is completely gone. |
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Lap 2 |
Bottas pits for fresh rubber. Soft tyres for the Finn and he might well be in trouble as Williams releases him straight into the path of Bottas. Sensibly, the Finn holds off and lets Vettel take track position as they leave the pit lane. Replay with Verstappen shows he very nearly got wiped out by Hulkenberg was he was thrown into the wall. Button lost a front wing in the incident too, it seems, and has also pitted. Safety car due in this lap... |
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Lap 3 |
Alonso's up in fifth position after all that. Crazy replay of the restart showing a marshal still on the start-finish straight clearing debris as Rosberg came roaring down. That could have ended in disaster. Luckily he managed to bolt in time.... |
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Lap 4 |
Rosberg sets a 1:52.299, a fastest lap. |
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Lap 5 |
Rosberg has a massive lead on Ricciardo, already 2.2s. Hamilton has dropped right back and is now much closer to Raikkonen in the red Ferrari. Replays show Vettel dispatching Ocon's Manor into Turn 1. |
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Lap 6 |
Sainz has been shown the black and orange flag for a loose bargeboard on his car. That flag means he must pit to get it remedied. Fastest lap from Hamilton, a 1:51.838. A bit of a train forming behind Alonso in the battle for fifth. |
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Lap 7 |
Sainz doesn't pit despite seeing that flag earlier. Ricciardo sets a fastest lap, a 1:51.787. Manor's Ocon being investigated for overtaking under the Safety Car. |
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Lap 8 |
Fastest lap from Rosberg now, a 1:51.284. Sainz now peels off and pits, freeing Verstappen into seventh. Toro Rosso tear off the offending part, give him some super-soft tyres and send him on his way again. Stewards are investigating the incident at the start of the race involving Sainz and Hulkenberg.... and then immediately confirm no action warranted as it was a racing incident. No action for Bottas following that earlier unsafe release, either. |
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Lap 9 |
Mercedes tells Rosberg he needs to look after his brakes. He's 3.4s up on Ricciardo in second position. Hamilton is shaking the attention of Raikkonen as well. "This is serious, Nico, we do need that brake management," comes another message to the race leader. He just set a fastest lap, a 1:50.966... Hamilton is 2.0s behind Ricciardo. |
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Lap 10 |
The gap continues to improve for Rosberg but the lap time has gone down slightly... Hamilton also being told he needs to look after his brakes. "I'm slowing down so much," is the reply. |
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Lap 11 |
Rosberg has opened a 4.5s gap on Ricciardo despite these issues. |
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Lap 12 |
Rosberg sitting pretty out in front, he's now over five seconds ahead of Ricciardo. Five-second penalty for Ocon after overtaking behind the Safety Car. Palmer pits for super-soft tyres. Vettel watch: The four-time world champion is up to 13th. |
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Lap 13 |
Rosberg still lapping nearly a second faster than Ricciardo. Spare a thought for Sainz, who is now running down in 18th after what was looking like a very promising weekend. Kvyat on for a very timely sixth place finish - I don't think anyone would begrudge him that after what he's been through recently. |
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Lap 14 |
Verstappen pits, getting himself out of that Alonso train. This could trigger a chain reaction further up the order. Red Bull gives him a fresh set of super-soft boots. He rejoins 15th, going wheel-to-wheel with Ocon into Turn 1 and slotting behind the Manor driver. He eases by him further down the circuit however, that was always going to be a one-sided battle. "Can you keep me up to date, please? I have no idea what's going on." Hamilton asks Mercedes. |
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Lap 15 |
Alonso pits from fifth position.Super-soft tyres for the Spaniard. He re-joins in 13th but well ahead of Verstappen. Sainz has passed Button for 16th. |
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Lap 16 |
Ricciardo and Hamilton pit from second and third. Soft tyres for Hamilton but he doesn't get out ahead of Ricciardo - but he'll be able to stay out a lot longer, as Ricciardo takes on the super-soft tyres. Interesting that Mercedes called Hamilton in before Rosberg there. "Come on guys, I needed a strategy that can get me past!" Hamilton says as he leaves the pits. |
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Lap 17 |
Race leader Rosberg pits. Soft tyres for the German, as well. Fairly sluggish stop for the Mercedes man as well. Luckily Rosberg had acres of time over Ricciardo, who isn't even in sight when Rosberg pulls out of the pit exit. Raikkonen now leads the race. How long until Ferrari bring him in? Raikkonen pits from the lead of the race. |
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Lap 18 |
Raikkonen a long way down on jumping Hamilton - Ferrari should have done that much, much earlier. Raikkonen is now just a couple of places ahead of Vettel,who has climbed to seventh but is yet to pit. Personal best lap from Ricciardo. |
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Lap 19 |
Verstappen and Kvyat going wheel to wheel through the middle sector. Kvyat refusing to give an inch to the man who took his seat at Red Bull! Great driving from the Russian driver, refusing to yield even when it looked like Verstappen had got by at Turn 16. They keep fighting at the next corner and Kvyat forces Verstappen wide at Turn 7! Great, bolshie stuff from Kvyat. "Come on, man," complains Verstappen. Pot, kettle, black? |
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Lap 20 |
Verstappen has another go under braking but Kvyat refuses to yield at Turn 9. This is excellent. Helmut Marko watching on with a bit of concern on his face. |
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Lap 21 |
"Ok Dany, Alonso is our race, Alonso is our race," Kvyat is told. Is that a disguised order from the team? They're basically saying this current battle is going to ruin his race. Controversy theorists, start your engines! All of this is for eighth position, by the way, and a whole lot of pride. Raikkonen is closing in on Hamilton - has taken three seconds out of him in the last two laps. |
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Lap 22 |
Massa being told the Kvyat/Verstappen battle could play into his hands, and that he can use the overtake button if it does. Hamilton has done a personal best but he's struggling to turn these soft tyres on in the same way. |
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Lap 23 |
There's a big piece of debris at the final corner, which seemed to come loose from Kvyat or Verstappen's car earlier. Double yellows for the final sector -- that means slow down and be prepared to stop... |
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Lap 24 |
Personal best from Hamilton, pulling another 0.2s on Raikkonen. Perez and Vettel, who have stops to come, still running fifth and sixth. Ricciardo is closing on Rosberg and Hamilton isn't happy either. "We need to think of some sort of plan because this is all the pace I have with these brakes!" Raikkonen is right there in the world champion's mirrors, just 1.4s down now. Not far from DRS range, either. |
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Lap 25 |
Vettel finally pits and takes on some ultra-soft tyre. Nasr gives him space as the Ferrari exits the pit lane and sensibly yields the following corner, realising it wasn't his fight. |
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Lap 26 |
Raikkonen is now within DRS range of Hamilton. Some frantic strategic planning needed on the Mercedes pit wall. Perez now pit to deal with Vettel's undercut... Vettel gets out well clear of the Force India driver, so that's good work from Ferrari. |
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Lap 27 |
Raikkonen edging closer and closer to Hamilton in this battle, 0.8s as they cross the line. Vettel, Sainz and Gutierrez all take Turn 9 wheel towheel and they nearly go three-wide into Turn 11.... Vettel moves up to 10th position. "Well done Seb, keep your head down," Ferrari tells the German. |
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Lap 28 |
Rosberg's lead is now 3.8s. Verstappen pits from ninth position. Lesley says: "Mercedes are nobbling Hamiltons car to get the championship for Rosberg!" Ricciardo getting closer and closer to undercut range but it seems Rosberg has enough in hand to see this one to the flag... |
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Lap 29 |
Alonso still posting quick laps in fifth, he's currently lapping 1.2s quicker than Kvyat, who is about two seconds behind him. |
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Lap 30 |
"Does the other car not have the same problem?" Hamilton asks, referring to the fact he's still having to lift and coast with those brake issues. Hamilton now losing out from all that lost time in free practice, missing half of FP2 with that hydraulics issue. Rosberg managing the same issues. Raikkonen being told Hamilton is still having problems. Meanwhile teammate Vettel sets a 1:49.641, the fastest lap of the race so far. |
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Lap 31 |
Raikkonen drops just outside the DRS range. Verstappen has now caught right up with Perez's Force India, in the battle for tenth. "I don't think we will get these tyres to the end, man," Perez tells Force India. Verstappen eases past Perez later on in the lap with complete ease, and its Gutierrez next up the road. Nice switch back from Verstappen to catch the Mexican driver. |
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Lap 32 |
"Remember to drink and remember to manage brakes, please," Mercedes tells race leader Rosberg. His pace is now better than Ricciardo's. Siddhesh says: @Lesley: "The same way they maybe hobbled Rosberg for the last years? Do understand that teams invest a lot into F1, and would like the best possible return with both their drivers, and not just 1. Hamilton is just down on pace due to possible balance/brake issues plus being in dirty air doesn't help." |
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Lap 33 |
Red Bull pits from second position. He was about 4.5s down - last throw of the dice to catch Rosberg? Soft tyres go on for the Australian driver. Raikkonen gets past Hamilton for third! Replays show Hamilton locking up at Turn 9, then Raikkonen catches him and passes through Turn 10/11. Hamilton, probably thinking about the title fight, doesn't fight back too strongly. |
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Lap 34 |
Rosberg pits from the lead. Raikkonen also pits for soft tyres. There's a man in the Williams cockpit, seemingly trying to adjust Bottas' seat belt. It's a very slow pit stop and he finally gets going again but that's a long and painful stop for the Finn. Hamilton now suddenly leads the race but that's before you take pit stops into account. Replays show Williams trying to readjust Bottas' seatbelt. |
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Lap 35 |
Hamilton pits himself. He takes on another set of soft tyres and he re-joins behind Raikkonen. Vettel is closing in on Kvyat, who has had a very strong drive to fifth. Alonso has dropped to ninth after his most recent pit stop. Magnussen riding high in seventh but has a stop to come - he must fancy his chances of a points finish, though... Vettel eases past Kvyat for fifth. |
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Lap 36 |
Rosberg still turning in personal best laps out in front. It's been a dominant display so far from the German and it's one that will move him back into the lead of the championship. |
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Lap 37 |
Hamilton sets a personal best lap now as he starts trying to overhaul the six-second gap to Raikkonen. Bottas has pitted again to retire. |
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Lap 38 |
Hamilton seems a bit more comfortable on this set of soft tyres, his lap times look a lot healthier in this stint. Verstappen eases past Magnussen into Turn 1, taking sixth position. Rosberg leads by 5.3s, with Raikkonen 11 seconds down on the lead. Hamilton a further six seconds off Raikkonen's tail. Hamilton being told to use all the power unit, as there "may be opportunities at the end of the race". |
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Lap 39 |
Hamilton has been switched to "Plan B" - is another stop coming for the world champion? This one ain't over just yet... Rosberg is probably too far down the road but are Mercedes looking at that long soft tyre run Ricciardo is on... he might be struggling by the end. |
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Lap 40 |
Fastest lap from Hamilton after those messages, a 1:49.263. He's turned that engine right up. As it stands, here's the championship standings: Rosberg 273 Hamilton 262 Ricciardo 179 Vettel 153 Raikkonen 151 |
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Lap 41 |
Hamilton cutting that gap to Raikkonen, it's now down to four seconds and he's visibly quicker. |
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Lap 42 |
This strategy basically means Hamilton can use these soft tyres in a way he wasn't able to use the last set. A stop then puts him in a very, very nice position if there's another Safety Car at the end of the race. "Rosberg is 4......" Tony Ross starts saying. "Stop..stop..stop telling me that!" Rosberg replies. |
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Lap 43 |
Vettel makes his final pit stop of the race - he will rejoin in sixth, just ahead of Alonso. Hamilton is now within 2.5s of Raikkonen. |
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Lap 44 |
Raikkonen being told he's quicker than Ricciardo in front and to keep "squeezing the gap". He's five seconds behind Ricciardo, who is four seconds down on race leader Rosberg. Massa pits from 11th for ultra-soft tyres. |
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Lap 45 |
Verstappen pits from sixth position as Vettel sets a fastest lap, a 1:47.706. Button pulls into the pits to retire. Teammate Alonso is still lapping very well in sixth. |
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Lap 46 |
Hamilton pits from fourth, for super-soft tyres. "Push push push," goes the message to Raikkonen, so is Ferrari doing the same thing with the Finn? This could all get a bit spicy. Vettel sets a 1:47.345, a mega fastest lap. He's had a great fastest lap. "So, we are boxing this lap?" Raikkonen asks. "I'll let you know... I'll let you know," comes the response. They'll be looking at Hamilton's first two sector times... |
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Lap 47 |
Raikkonen pits from third! He'll be getting new super-softs like Hamilton... This is going to be very close... Raikkonen comes out as Hamilton passes for Turn 1. This one ain't over yet, though. Hamilton up to third but now it's a straight fight for 14 laps for the final spot on the podium. If Raikkonen can stay in DRS range it could get very tasty. Good work from Mercedes, but you've got to wonder if Ferrari needed to pit right there as Raikkonen had track position. |
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Lap 48 |
Ricciardo pits from second position. We've not seen much of the Australian on the FOM broadcast... super-soft tyres going on now. That puts Rosberg and Mercedes under a bit of pressure now. This race is coming alive in the final few laps. Correction: Raikkonen took on ultra-soft tyres now. "Push hard now Nico, push hard!" comes the message to Mercedes. We've got a race on our hands! |
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Lap 49 |
Rosberg must be wondering what on earth has just unfolded behind him. He stays out, but Mercedes was ready for him to come in.... He was leading by 28 seconds and you need about that sort of time to get in and out again. Ricciardo posts two purple sector times on those new tyres. Kvyat-Verstappen-Perez are all battling for seventh position as well now.This one could get tasty again, we saw Kvyat unwilling to yield earlier. No such repeat this time, Verstappen decisively jumping down the inside of Kvyat at Turn 20. |
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Lap 50 |
Wow. Replays show Verstappen driving around the outside of Perez after Kvyat made a mistake in the FOrce India driver, and then diving down the inside at Turn 20. Lovely stuff from the 18-year-old. Ricciardo does a 1:47.187 - that's a mega fastest lap. He's got enough laps to catch the German out in front! So from out of nowhere, Rosberg and Ricciardo, who we've barely seen all afternoon, in a battle for the win out in front. Ricciardo 20 seconds behind Rosberg... "OK Daniel. There's no way Rosberg can cover us now, he'd come out behind Raikkonen," Red Bull tells Ricciardo. The German has to make his soft tyres last for the final ten laps if he wants to win this lap. He's lapping nearly four seconds a lap quciker! |
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Lap 51 |
"At this rate, you'll catch him with four laps to go," Red Bull tells Ricciardo. Some nervy faces on the Mercedes pit wall. Rosberg responds with a personal best first sector. He's not going to give this one up without a fight. |
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Lap 52 |
Ricciardo now within 16.9s of Rosberg. That gap is going to keepcoming down at this rate. Hamilton and Raikkonen both do personal best laps, too... Hamilton hasn't shaken Raikkonen yet, he's still well within range of Hamilton. The gap is 2.2s, however, and you've got to wonder whether those ultra-softs have much left at this stage. |
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Lap 53 |
Perez has got past Kvyat for eighth. Rosberg's lead now down to 13 seconds. Ricciardo is absolutely flying! Hamilton pulls 0.9s out on Raikkonen, so third place is looking quite comfortable. |
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Lap 54 |
Verstappen right behind Alonso in the battle for sixth. You'd back Red Bull over McLaren.. Rosberg asking Mercedes how much he can take out of his brakes before the end of the race. Ricciardo takes two more seconds out of Rosberg, the pace has come down slightly. "We'll definitely give you more at the end, Nico," Tony Ross tells Rosberg, meaning he'll be able to lean more on his brakes when Ricciardo appears in his mirrors. Verstappen swings to the left of Alonso on the run down to Turn 7 and out-brakes the McLaren driver, that's sixth position for the 18-year-old. Lovely move, again. |
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Lap 55 |
Ricciardo now within 10 seconds of Rosberg. The race leader has hit a bit of traffic but of course Ricciardo will have to clear the same cars. 8.4s now the gap. |
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Lap 56 |
Raikkonen has taken nearly a second off Hamilton in the last three laps, that one could get spicy still before the end of the race. For conspiracy theorists: Mercedes' decision to pit Hamilton, which got it ahead of Raikkonen, could have cost Rosberg this race as it triggered a chain reaction of stops. Ricciardo now 5.7s behind Rosberg. He's only going to get two or three laps at this rate to pass Rosberg,if he keeps this pace up. |
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Lap 57 |
The gap is still 5.2s - has Rosberg got enough in hand now? Ricciardo has hit some traffic. |
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Lap 58 |
Rosberg was quicker than Ricciardo on that last lap, with the latter only clearing the traffic coming through Turn 1 on this lap. That traffic could be very costly for Ricciardo but now let's see what he can do in some clear air. |
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Lap 59 |
Ricciardo 4.6s behind with three laps to go. If he's got anything left, he needs to do it now. He's dropped off his earlier pace. This could be the lap that decides whether we get a fight in the final laps but the big beaming smile on the face of Toto Wolff suggests Mercedes feels very calm about Rosberg's chances. |
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Lap 60 |
Rosberg starts the penultimate lap 3.4s ahead of Ricciardo. Looks like he's done enough! Rosberg being warned about the cluster of backmarkers ahead of him - the gap is 2.6s. |
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Lap 61 |
Rosberg starts the final lap of the race, 2.1s clear. Ricciardo just outside a second behind as they come down the backfield straight. He's not got enough corners left to catch the Mercedes driver though,surely. And he doesn't! Nico Rosberg wins the Singapore Grand Prix! Stunning drive from the German. Ricciardo has to settle for second. Hamilton takes third ahead of Raikkonen and Vettel. "Yes! Come on guys, come on!" shouts Rosberg. That's more emotion than we've ever heard from him on the radio before. Super win and enough for an eight-point championship lead. Verstappen takes sixth, Alonso seventh ahead of Perez in eighth. Kvyat claims an impressive ninth place, with Magnussen earning a very valuable point for Renault and an even more valuable point for himself. |
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Rosberg leaps into his engineers' arms in parc ferme. All the momentum is with him at the moment after three wins in a row -- is he suddenly becoming favourite for a first-ever world championship? Ricciardo seems happy enough with second place. Says he took out just too much from the super-soft tyres immediately after his pit stop, thinking Rosberg was about to pit as well. Hamilton congratulates Rosberg on his "fantastic" win. We've got a real fight on our hands for the world championship! Please keep it with us here on ESPN as we bring you all the reaction from Singapore and build up to the Malaysian Grand Prix over the next two weeks. |
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Immediate Safety Car deployment.
The Safety Car peels in and Rosberg leads away. Hamilton looks close to Ricciardo and has a think about a lunge down the inside but moves in behind the Red Bull driver. This should be a great scrap. Two laps until DRS comes into play.
