Singapore Grand Prix: Live Report

Singapore Grand Prix: Live Report

LAP 21/61: So Vettel leads in Singapore, from Rosberg, Alonso, Webber and Grosjean. Next up are Hamilton, di Resta, Massa, Button and Raikkonen.

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session of the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix on September 21, 2013.

LAP 20/61: The tyres are "terrible" says a clearly unamused Lewis Hamilton, as replays show sparks springing up from his Mercedes as he rounds one corner at pace. He is seventh.

LAP 19/61: We are nearly a third of the way through this captivating night race under the lights of Singapore. And it is all going rather nicely for runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. He is eight seconds out in front -- a big distance in a sport that is measured in tenths of seconds.

LAP 17/71: Now it is Vettel's turn to pit. The stop was just 2.8 seconds, meaning he can return to his place as race leader. All but one driver -- Paul di Resta -- have pitted now.

LAP 16/61: Breathtaking three-way battle between Hulkenberg, Perez and Gutierrez as they squabble for 12th, 13th and 14th. Great stuff. Just a whisker between Perez and Hulkenberg, who was forced off but returns swiftly.

LAP 16/61: Now Rosberg pits. This is almost certainly a two-stop strategy. Grosjean of Lotus also goes in, returning to the action in sixth, ahead of Hamilton.

LAP 14/61: Vettel now registers the best lap, while a host of drivers pit to change tyres. Alonso set to come in for his first stop. He rejoins the action in fifth place. That stop was just 3.4 seconds. Efficient.

LAP 13/61: F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, 82, has sent a very public 90th-birthday greeting to Lee Kwan Yew, Singapore's founding president, with a large banner down the home straight reading: "Happy birthday Mr. Lee Kwan Yew - Bernie."

LAP 12/61: Ferrari's Alonso clocks the fastest time of the race so far. He is third, behind leader Vettel and second-placed Rosberg.

LAP 10/61: David Beckham, arms crossed, looks like he is thoroughly engrossed. And he appears not have a bead of sweat on him, amazingly. Back to the action - Raikkonen pits. He is the first to do so. Three-stop strategy for the unpaid Lotus man?

LAP 9/61: Harris also says that this is a long course at 3.1 miles (5.1 kilometres) with 23 corners, so lots of work to do -- and very, very hot and sticky. Drivers will lose about three litres of sweat during the race, he tells me from track-side.

LAP 8/61: AFP Asia sports editor Talek Harris says the Marina Bay Circuit might be spectacular , but it is hell for the drivers, he says, bumpy over the manhole covers and street markings and F1 cars are not exactly designed for comfort, he points out.

LAP 7/61: Vettel looking a class apart here. Already. He is more than six seconds ahead of the chasing pack. Rosberg leads that pack, followed by Alonso, Webber and Grosjean.

LAP 5/61: Raikkonen might have a bad back, but he is showing why Ferrari have snapped him up for next season. He is down in 11th but putting real pressure on Hulkenberg, just ahead of him.

LAP 4/61: Replays show Alonso's stunning start, where he nipped down the side, from seventh, zipping into third. That is why he is one of the most highly rated in the business.

LAP 4/61: Scorching start from Vettel, who is now a mammoth six seconds clear and he is going like the clappers. He will need to watch those delicate tyres though.

LAP 3/61: Vettel is ominously pulling away from the field already. He is 2.2 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Alonso third, Webber fourth and Grosjean fifth. Next up is Massa, then Hamilton and Button.

LAP 2/61: Early reprimand for Lewis Hamilton who has been instructed to give his place on the track back to Felipe Massa after going off the track and overtaking the Brazilian in doing so.

LAP 1/61: Rosberg very nearly grabbed Vettel's lead going into the first corner but the German just about held him off. Alonso jumps from seventh to third.

IT"S GO! GO! GO!

1202 GMT: And here we go. Belt up, this could be special. Sixty-one laps of racing coming right up.

1157 GMT: The race engineers and assembled crew scurry off the track and here we go on the formation lap. Cameras pop and click from the jam-packed grandstand as the cars roar away, front lights blazing. Glad to say no sign of rain.

1154 GMT: Special mention for Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who is alongside Vettel on the front row and was highly impressive in qualifying, even outgunning his more celebrated team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg is a picture of concentration as he sits in his sleek, silver machine.

1151 GMT: Let's get back to the racing. Pole-sitter Vettel cannot wrap up the world title this weekend, but the hot favourite can get awfully close to doing so. There are six races to go after this one. Korea is next up and then Japan -- he could clinch the championship there. He has 222 points. Alonso is second with 169.

1148 GMT: Some fans will do anything. Including gazing down from the world’s biggest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer, which overlooks the pitlane, Harris says. This is some sight.

1145 GMT: As Harris rightly points out, night has fallen over Singapore -- it is coming up to 8:00pm local time -- and the view is spectacular, skyscrapers and colonial-era buildings peering over proceedings. Just 15 minutes to the big off.

1142 GMT: Talek Harris, the AFP Asia sports editor, says that it’s a typically hot and steamy night in Singapore with track temperatures at 30C (86F). Large crowds of fans are wearing team shirts, he says, and toting big cameras outside the paddock trying to get shots and autographs of the drivers.

1139 GMT: There are some big names in Singapore for arguably one of the most glamorous races of the season. And they don't come much bigger than David Beckham, spotted pressing the flesh with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

1135 GMT: Just 25 minutes till the only night race of the F1 season gets under way. To recap, Vettel is on pole, alongside Rosberg at the front of the grid. Next up are Romain Grosjean (Lotus) and Mark Webber (Red Bull); third row is Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari); then Alonso (Ferrari) and Jenson Button (McLaren). Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) and Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) round out the top 10.

1132 GMT: First up, good news for soon-to-be Ferrari man Kimi Raikkonen, who will definitely take part after intense physiotherapy helped keep a painful back injury under control. He still, in theory at least, can win the world title. In theory.

WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the Singapore Grand Prix, where hot favourite Sebastian Vettel driving for Red Bull will be looking to take another huge step towards his fourth straight world title and Formula One greatness when he starts on pole.

The sublime young German zeroed in on his third win in Singapore, and his fourth in five races this season, with a brilliant drive to qualify at the front of the grid late on Saturday.

He will start the night race knowing another victory will put him closer to joining Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio as only the third man to win four world titles in a row.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg will start from second but Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, second in the standings but 53 points behind Vettel, is seventh.

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