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Drivers don't have to wear the cooling vest for this year's Singapore Grand Prix if they don't want to, but the system will be mandatory for races deemed a heat hazard from the 2026 campaign.

The FIA's ruling was triggered because temperatures were predicted to exceed 31C amid high humidity at Marina Bay.

Polesitter Russell said he would run the system, while Oscar Piastri was still on the fence when he was asked his plans.

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Max Verstappen, though, will leaving his vest in the Red Bull garage. "I don't like it," he said. "I don't like the tubes that are on you and your body with the belts that go next to you. Then they can say it's a bad design. I disagree. It just needs to be an option for the drivers to choose.

"Some like it, some don't. And that's fine. It should be a personal preference."

McLaren boss Zak Brown is keeping his spirits high before the team's date with destiny tonight. The American tells Martin Brundle on the grid walk sealing constructors' championship in Singapore is "goal number one", adding: "And hopefully we get two cars on the podium."

Martin chats to Williams' Alex Albon next, who is starting from the pit lane and confirms it's "really wet in sector three". Lots for the pit wall to think about concerning starting tyres.

National anthem time.

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Oliver Bearman starts in ninth in the Haas, speaking to Sky Sports: "It was strange, sector one was fully dry and then you get to the low speed sector two and there is still a bit of standing water."

On the tyres: "I think the intermediate [tyre] will be the faster for one lap at this point and there is still another 30 minutes until the race starts."

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What did Lando Norris make of Max Verstapen's comments about him? "Ah, they always complain. They complain about everything," said the McLaren driver. "It's Red Bull. I was, like, three seconds ahead or something."

Away from the Verstappen remarks, Norris, who has been unwell this week, said his qualifying day was "not great", adding he wasn't able to drive at the limit where he needs to be. He was 0.062 seconds away from team-mate Oscar Piastri and highlighted struggles with front tyre temperature.

"We know that's a weakness of our car," said Norris. "At times it's also my worst nightmare, understeer.

"Like we've seen in Vegas, whenever people struggle to get the front tyres in, Mercedes normally rides to the top, like they've done this weekend.

"We just couldn't get the front of the car to work this weekend."

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Oscar Piastri said McLaren didn't quite have the pace to challenge for pole position this time around, which he said was a little bit of a surprise for the team. "We were relatively confident going in," he added.

But third on the grid is a positive start for the championship leader following his difficult weekend in Azerbaijan two weeks ago. The Australian crashed in both qualifying and the race and walked away from Baku with no points to add to his title tally.

On whether he can move up the order tonight, he said: "Depends how good my start is, if my start is good then I can get involved [with Max Verstappen and George Russell].

"If it's not so good then I can watch whatever unfolds in front of me, so we will see what happens. I will try and take the opportunity if it's there."

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The 'Verstappen factor' might not be enough to steal the F1 crown away from one of the McLaren drivers this year, although he can still mathematically win the title by scoring an average of 10 more points than Oscar Piastri in every race, with 199 race and sprint winner points left on the table.

But the four-time world champion's form in the recent weeks has seen him back on the top step of the podium at Monza and Baku, and tonight he starts ahead of Piastri and Lando Norris for the third race in a row.

Verstappen said the weekend for Red Bull so far has been "solid" and the car has been working "really well", adding: "For us to be this competitive in qualifying on a track like this, with high downforce, is very promising."

BBC 5 Live's F1 commentator Harry Benjamin gives his list of five things to look out for at the Singapore Grand Prix.

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One person Max Verstappen is not so happy with is Lando Norris. The pair might be pals outside of racing but the Dutchman let his thoughts be known after he felt the McLaren driver was going slowly ahead of him on the run to the last chicane on his final lap.

Verstappen's engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase said on the radio after the session: "You can thank your mate for that". The four-time world champion then responded with some flowery language.

He joked in the post-qualifying interviews it was "not Oscar!" when asked who was the driver "cruising" in front. But by the end of the official news conference, he told BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson: "Of course these things happen, I just hope it wasn't deliberate."

The pit lane is open and drivers are checking out the conditions after the light rain earlier on. Mercedes radio in to George Russell to say team-mate Kimi Antonelli is thinking it's too wet for slick tyres. "Yeah, affirm," says the polesitter.

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The Singapore Grand Prix is a race Max Verstappen hasn't conquered yet during in his title-winning career. He was on the podium last year at Marina Bay in second place but his recent results at the circuit have been lower than the top three.

For George Russell, he said he's got "history" with this grand prix. The Mercedes driver was battling for a potential win after some bold strategy calls in 2023 but he crashed late on and was devastated.

So, if things like safety cars and bad weather stay away tonight, and it's these two fighting for the main honour throughout, who do you think will win?

Send us your predictions via #bbcf1 and f1@bbc.co.uk.

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George Russell was the driver to beat in qualifying yesterday as he claimed pole position for the second time this season. The Mercedes man was 0.182 seconds quicker than nearest rival Max Verstappen, who will line up alongside the Briton on the front row.

These two have history, as we well know, but the pair were all smiles as they shook hands after a thrilling Q3 session. Russell was last on pole in Canada in June and he won the race ahead of, you guessed it, Mr Verstappen.

Saturday was a good recovery from Russell after his crash in practice on Friday. The 27-year-old did, however, touch the wall on his first lap in Q3. Asked whether his brush with the wall on his first lap was a kiss or a hit, Russell said: "A bit more of a snog."

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The pit lane will be occupied by Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly at lights out tonight, after set-up changes were made to the two drivers' cars overnight. Williams have modified Albon's suspension settings, while Alpine have made tweaks to Gasly's floor.

The other Williams of Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, will start at the back of the grid.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Singapore

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Williams, whose drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz qualified 12th and 13th, were both disqualified from qualifying because their rear wings were found to be illegal.

The gap when the DRS overtaking aid was open was found to exceed the permitted maximum of 85mm on both cars.

Williams team boss James Vowles said: "This is bitterly disappointing for the team and we are urgently investigating how this happened.

"At no point were we seeking a performance advantage and the rear wings had passed our own checks earlier in the day, but there is only one measurement that matters and we fully accept the FIA ruling."

Singapore presents McLaren with their second opportunity to wrap up the constructors' championship, after the team failed to secure the trophy in Azerbaijan.

To be crowned champions for a 10th time - and with six races still to go - McLaren just need to score 13 points.

Even if McLaren don't manage 13 points, second-placed Mercedes would need to outscore them by 31 points to keep the championship alive, while Ferrari in third need to outscore the leaders by 35 points to mathematically stay in the hunt.

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Oscar Piastri is starting two places higher than his team-mate Lando Norris tonight and if the two McLaren drivers finish in the same positions after the gruelling test (third and fifth), then Piastri will take a 30-point lead to the United States Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

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Harry Benjamin, Sam Bird and Jennie Gow review yesterday's qualifying from Singapore and hear from George Russell, Max Verstappen and title leader Oscar Piastri.

Take a listen as we build-up this afternoon.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature 28.7C, track 33.3C. Shower recently across the circuit from south east-north west, with rain rates of ~5mm/hr; expected to clear by 7.05pm local.

Rain since 3pm has been limited (~2mm in circuit gauges). A dry race still most likely.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

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Hello, folks. The early evening has arrived at the Marina Bay street circuit and drivers are preparing for the most physically demanding race of the year. All those hours in the sauna will be needed this year, as the race has been declared Formula 1's first 'heat hazard'. How many drivers will wear a cooling vest tonight?

Lights out for the Singapore Grand Prix is at 13:00 BST.

The Mercedes has favoured the chillier tracks on the calendar in recent times but it was George Russell who came out on top in Saturday's sweaty qualifying session, beating out Red Bull's Max Verstappen and the McLaren of title leader Oscar Piastri.

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Australian Piastri leads the charge in the drivers' championship by 25 points from team-mate Lando Norris, who could only manage fifth on the grid for today's 62-lap event.

As you can see from the picture above, Max Verstappen is holding an umbrella in the paddock. The stifling heat and humidity are permanent fixtures at this event but some light rain has just arrived at the circuit. It was just a sprinkle, so the track isn't soaked. But we'll keep an eye on the weather.