Afternoon everyone, and welcome to what could be a rare collector’s item – a grand prix not won by Max Verstappen or Red Bull. The world champion and his teammate, Sergio Pérez, start way back in 11th and 13th respectively after all manner of engine dissatisfaction yesterday as they failed to put a car into Q3. On a tight street circuit such as Marina Bay, at which the safety car is usually deployed at some point, hauling his way to the front could be a task beyond even Verstappen – though Fernando Alonso won from 15th here in 2008.
But it gives the others a chance, prime among them Carlos Sainz. The Ferrari driver sits in pole for the second race in a row and comes into today’s race on the back of a fine, tenacious drive for third place in Monza a fortnight ago, while George Russell in second leads British podium hopes, with Lando Norris (fourth) and Lewis Hamilton (fifth) in the mix.
Some disappointing news overnight though: Lance Stroll is out of the race following his high-impact crash in qualifying. It was initially hoped the Canadian might be able to compete after he was passed fit at trackside but he continued to suffer some after-effects overnight, so Stroll and Aston Martin have agreed to sit it out.
Lights out: 1pm BST