How Singapore GP qualifying unfolded

1. Vettel on pole by half a second, Ricciardo 2nd
2. Hamilton only 5th a second behind
3. Raikkonen 3rd, Kvyat 4th, Rosberg 6th
4. Sainz hits wall, McLarens out in Q2
5. Vettel top in Q2, Kvyat top in Q1
6. Maldonado, Saubers, Manors out in Q1

Singapore shock

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That's all from us today, but what a race we have in prospect tomorrow. Will it be Ferrari or will it be Red Bull who take victory? 

Can Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg battle through from an unfamiliar position to win, or could there be another Singapore surprise in store?

Join us from 11:30 BST on Sunday to find out.

BBC

Need to pass some time before the qualifying highlights at 17:10 BST (on BBC One and online) then watch this video as Eddie Jordan looks at whether Volkswagen are taking over Red Bull.

EJ will also be talking about this on the qualifying show.

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The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows

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Mercedes are starting to sound a lot like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa in these tweets. 

They are not at washed up boxer on the comeback trail stage, but a fight back for victory in Sunday's race will be up there with Rocky beating Ivan Drago in my books.

Kvyat's warning

A warning from Daniil Kvyat, who will line up a career-best fourth on the grid tomorrow: "As the lights go off we will try and overtake the Ferraris."

Speaking of starts, that has been Mercedes Achilles heel in recent races. A busy night ahead for the team to try and make sure they don't lose any valuable time off the line tomorrow. 

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Fernando Alonso's 12th place equals McLaren's best performance in Q2 this season, with Jenson Button having also secured 12th in Monaco. He's finished inside the points at every single Singapore GP, and you;d fancy his chances of continuing that tomorrow.

We'll go for it - Rosberg

Nico Rosberg, who qualified sixth: “It’s disappointing. We tried everything but did not make progress. Those in front are so fast and phenomenal. 

"I lacked a lot of grip. Why, I don’t know. We will go for it tomorrow, but we think it will be tough for sure tomorrow.”

AP

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Hamilton 'on a knife edge'

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Fifth will be a tough place to fight for a 41st grand prix win from Lewis Hamilton but, regardless of the result, he says he enjoyed the qualifying session.

“It was a good qualifying and I enjoyed it, but I was on a knife edge to get as much as I could," he said. "Our problem this weekend is tyres, they are not giving us a lot of grip and we slide around a lot.

“We try to understand why our tyres are bad. We have the quickest car but cannot utilise it with the tyres.”

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Long runs brought to an end

That qualifying result has brought to an end a run of Mercedes dominance in a number of areas.

Their pole streak ends at 23, one shy of the record set by Williams across 1992 and 1993 (pictured), while Lewis Hamilton's consecutive front-row start streak ends at 20.

Hamilton's consecutive run of poles also ends at seven, one short of the all-time record set by Ayrton Senna.

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I am a little surprised to be in this position after how difficult it felt all day but we have to try hard tomorrow and get two cars on the podium.

Kimi Raikkonen, who qualified third

AP

It is nice to be back up here. Being on the front row has been a while. It is good. It should be a good race tomorrow. To have no Mercedes up here was a surprise. I thought they were playing a few card games yesterday.

Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified second

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Unbelievable. I know it is only Saturday and the main job is tomorrow but I had to enjoy the moment. The car was fantastic to drive and got better through qualifying. Surprised by the margin, but it just came together.

Sebastian Vettel, who starts on pole tomorrow

Reuters

Qualifying result 11-20

11) Hulkenberg 12) Alonso 13) Perez 14) Sainz 15) Button 16) Nasr 17) Ericsson 18) Maldonado 19) Stevens 20) Rossi

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Sebastian Vettel threw down the gauntlet with that final qualifying lap, clocking a 1:43.885. That was 1.4s faster than Lewis Hamilton's effort.

EPA

Qualifying top 10

1) Vettel 2) Ricciardo 3) Raikkonen 4) Kvyat 5) Hamilton 6) Rosberg 7) Bottas 8) Verstappen 9) Massa 10) Grosjean

My word! What a qualifying session that was! 

No eighth consecutive pole position for Lewis Hamilton and he has a tough day in prospect tomorrow in his pursuit of victory on a circuit where it is notoriously difficult to overtake on.

David Coulthard

BBC F1 co-commentator

That was impressive. We got a glimpse of that qualifying pace in Monza. You can see the joy of Vettel there. His finger is in the air.

Chequered flag

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Sebastian Vettel secures pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix.

And it is sixth for Nico Rosberg so no Mercedes on the front row. Here comes Sebastian Vettel to assert his authority...

Hamilton...fifth!

Daniel Ricciardo improves but is only up to second. Here comes Lewis Hamilton...but he is FIFTH!

EPA

Sebastian Vettel is the last man out of the pits. He has the time to beat - 1:44.305.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were the only two drivers not to set a time in that first run. What a moment it would be for Verstappen if he qualifies ahead of both of the Mercedes!

Ben Edwards

BBC F1 commentator

Vettel knows three tenths is a handy lead over the competition and the others will have to dig deep to get back up to the Ferrari

One last shot at a pole-clinching lap now as Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas head out on a new set of supersoft tyres.

Reuters

Ben Edwards

BBC F1 commentator

“Hamilton is looking for his twelfth pole of the year and a record eighth in succession, but it is looking like it might not happen.”

Sebastian Vettel goes fastest with 1:44.305, three tenths of a second quicker than Daniel Ricciardo. 

Kimi Raikkonen is P3, Daniil Kvyat P4 and Nico Rosberg P5, 1.5s off Vettel's time.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had to abort his lap after going over the kerb at Turn 7.

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First on the board is Daniel Ricciardo with a 1:44.607. Here comes the others though...

Before the yellow flags after Carlos Sainz's incident late in Q2, both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had personal bests through the first two sectors. 

What have they got for Q3?

Ben Edwards

BBC F1 commentator

“We now get to the situation where those drivers who saved supersofts from Q1 are at an advantage.”

Tom Clarkson

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

The atmosphere is electric down here. Everyone wants to know what Mercedes can do. The problem they have is that Ferrari can play them at their own game. Their engine upgrade means they can also turn up the wick as well. It is just going to make it harder for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Final qualifying starts

Here we go! Q3 is under way and what a fight we could have here.

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A fascinating top 10 shootout in prospect then. 

Ferrari were last on pole at Hockenheim in 2012, Red Bull in Brazil 2013. Either way, it has been a long time for the two teams. Will that wait end today?

IN

1) Vettel 2) Kvyat 3) Raikkonen 4) Ricciardo 5) Verstappen 6) Hamilton 7) Rosberg 8) Massa 9) Grosjean 10) Bottas

OUT

11) Hulkenberg 12) Alonso 13) Perez 14) Sainz 15) Button

Second qualifying ends

Sebastian Vettel finishes fastest in the second part of qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

EPA

Yellow flag

Carlos Sainz is limping his Toro Rosso back to the pits, his left rear wriggling about loosely after touching the kerb. 

David Coulthard

BBC F1 co-commentator

It is the shock of the season to see the gap of 0.9secs to Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg head back out. Quite amazing to see that they are nine tenths of a second off the fastest lap time. The top four of Sebastian Vettel, Daniil Kvyat, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo are staying in the pits.

Sebastian Vettel dips below 1:45, posting a 1:44.743 to go fastest. He is ahead of Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen, with Daniel Riccardo fourth and the two Mercedes fifth and sixth respectively.

In danger are Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Jenson Button.

Four minutes to go with everyone in the pits at the moment after their first runs.

EPA

David Coulthard

BBC F1 co-commentator

“Rosberg did the fastest first sector, a couple of tenths quicker than anyone else, so there is potential there.”

Better from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg as they post near identical lap times - 1:45.650 and 1:45.653 respectively. Those are the third and fourth fastest times, with Daniil Kvyat top of the timesheet with 1:44.979.

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Valtteri Bottas kicks things off with a 1:46.247, although that won't be the benchmark for long as the rest of the drivers come round on their first runs in Q2.

Tom Clarkson

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

I think we are looking at a 1:46.2 to get through to Q3.

Valtteri Bottas, with a fresh pair of supersoft tyres on, is the first to make his way on to the circuit.

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Second qualifying starts

The second part of qualifying is under way. Any surprises in store?

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Ben Edwards

BBC F1 commentator

Very tight for Jenson Button but he is in second part of qualifying, and for once McLaren have not lost a car in the first part

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IN

1) Kvyat 2) Hamilton 3) Vettel 4) Ricciardo 5) Rosberg 6) Bottas 7) Sainz 8) Raikkonen 9) Verstappen 10) Perez

11) Alonso 12) Hulkenberg 13) Grosjean 14) Massa 15) Button

Ben Edwards

BBC F1 commentator

Red Bull and Ferrari are saving their super softs for the latter part of qualifying, showing they are in a good place here

Close! Jenson Button just nipped into Q2 at the end there. Both McLarens through to the second part of qualifying. 

OUT

16) Nasr 17) Ericsson 18) Maldonado 19) Stevens 20) Rossi

First qualifying ends

Daniil Kvyat finishes fastest in the first part of qualifying.

Meanwhile, Jenson Button is teetering on the brink of elimination. He has the 15th fastest time at the moment and any improvement from those below him could see him exit at Q1...

New boots on, Lewis Hamilton leaps to the top of the timesheet with 1:45.765. 

All is well in the world of Mercedes? Not quite because Daniil Kvyat knocks Hamilton down a peg, going more than four tenths of a second faster. You don't often see the Mercedes making the switch to the softer compound so soon too.

EPA

Four minutes of Q1 left and Sebastian Vettel leads the way, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniil Kvyat.

In the dangerzone are Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado, Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens.

Lewis Hamilton has made the switch to the supersoft tyre, as has Nico Rosberg and Daniil Kvyat.

A 1:47.111 sees Jenson Button go fifth fastest, ahead of Nico Rosberg. Button's McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso is currently P13.

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Where's Lewis Hamilton? He's currently in the pits after a 1:48.627 - the 14th fastest time and he is not out of the woods yet. Plenty of  time to go with around eight minutes of the session left.

EPA

Alexander Rossi, taking part in his first qualifying session, goes half a second quicker than his Manor team-mate Will Stevens with a 1:52.092. Both are in the dangerzone, but a good start by Rossi after his first practice mishap.

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Now Daniel Ricciardo goes fastest with 1:46.805, two tenths of a second quicker than Kimi Raikkonen.

Nico Rosberg, meanwhile, posts a 1:47.571 and currently sits in P4.

There was a brief appearance of the yellow flags as Romain Grosjean locked up and went down the escape road at Turn 7.

Valtteri Bottas puts in the first timed lap of Q1 with 1:48.094. 

The vast majority of teams have sent their drivers out on the the soft tyres - the harder of the two compounds in Singapore - apart from the Saubers and the Manors.

Tom Clarkson

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

Track conditions have changed since final practice. There is a wind oscillating round so drivers have to be wary when they hit the brakes.

First qualifying starts

Off we go then! The first part of qualifying is under way.

What's the weather like?

David Coulthard

BBC F1 co-commentator

Good news for those who want a bit of unpredictability. Mercedes have dominated this season but that is in danger of coming to an end here. It will take a herculean effort to get on pole

That's right here on this page and is available now via the live coverage tab at the top of this page.

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There is a record in danger of not being equalled today.

Lewis Hamilton is gunning for an eighth consecutive pole position, which would put him level with Ayrton Senna's all-time record.

If Mercedes' Twitter feed is anything to go by, the team would appear to be more than a little concerned about the challenge from their rivals today...

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Speaking of Fernando Alonso, he loves a bit of Singapore. He has finished in the points in all seven previous races, climbing the podium in five of those.

He was seventh fastest in final practice earlier today, just 0.014s slower than the best effort from Nico Rosberg, who was P7.

From the archives

BBC

Pretty much synonymous with the Singapore Grand Prix is the controversy that surrounded its inaugural race back in 2008.

A Nelson Piquet Jr crash early on brought out the safety car, allowing Fernando Alonso, who had started 15th and pitted early, to gain time on the rest of the field.

Once the race restarted Alonso was fifth and eventually worked his way up into first place, where he stayed for the remainder of the race.

Want to know more about that race? Then watch the highlights here.

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Pacesetting Singapore

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Ferrari and Red Bull are not the only ones who are showing pace in Singapore, with the local population the fastest walkers in the world.

There's plenty more interesting and quirky stats in our Singapore GP preview feature.

Hamilton 'doesn't like' Singapore changes

Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer

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“There have been some tweaks to the Marina Bay track this year, with Turns 11 and 12 eased and the route over the famous Anderson Bridge tweaked in the hope of creating an overtaking opportunity into the previously very tight Turn 13 after the bridge. but they have not met with universal approval from the drivers. 

"Fernando Alonso was quite positive, saying ‘it should be safer’ and feeling that overtaking would be easier, with different lines possible into Turn 13. And as no-one is better at overtaking than him, it’s worth listening. 

"However, Lewis Hamilton said he ‘didn’t like’ the modifications, and Jenson Button agreed. ‘I don’t think it will make much difference tho overtaking,’ Button said, ‘and the bit before the bridge where it is just a concrete barrier, I’m sure there is more of an angle than it looks but it looks like the barrier is straight ahead of you. Last year it was more of an adrenaline rush, narrower, but still felt good, felt right, whereas now it doesn’t feel quite right.’” 

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Hamilton's task

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Lewis Hamilton can write his name in the history books (again) this weekend because victory would draw him level with Ayrton Senna on 41 wins from 161 races.

There's just the small matter of qualifying to get through first though. Just how important is pole position for Hamilton?

"You can't overtake here," he said on Friday.

Pretty important then.

Spoilt for choice

Some top, top multi-screen action from Shaun here. 

He has a point, though, plenty going on and we have it all covered.

BBC

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Sebastian Vettel caught up with some old friends at Red Bull on Friday. The German won three Singapore GPs in a row with the team from 2011. He also boasts the most poles on the circuit with three. Will he claim number four today?

Coming up

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One hour of qualifying gets under way at 14:00 BST, and you can listen to online commentary from five minutes before.

Then, qualifying highlights will be on BBC One and online at 17:10 BST. Saturday sorted.

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Get involved

Right then, this qualifying session is possibly the hardest one of the season to predict. How do you see it going? Could we be on for a Ferrari or a Red Bull on pole, or do you fancy Mercedes to pull it out of the bag?

Let us know via #bbcf1, text in on 81111 (UK only) and have your say on the BBC Sport Facebook page. 

Mercedes making 'fools' of everyone?

Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer

“What is going on with Mercedes? That is the big question heading into qualifying. 

"Is their apparent lack of pace an elaborate bluff and they will, as Daniel Ricciardo said on Friday, make ‘fools’ of everyone when it matters? If so, it doesn’t look like it at the moment. If it is not a bluff, what’s wrong? 

"The drivers are complaining of a lack of grip and traction. But why? There have been murmurings about the raised minimum tyre pressures this weekend, but other teams have rejected that as a cause. Whatever it is, it seems inconceivable that the team can have lost 1.5 seconds a lap on their rivals in the space of 10 days.” 

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Hello! Welcome to our coverage of qualifying for theSingapore Grand Prixand, I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to this one!

Sebastian Vettel finished fastest in final practice, with his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen second.

But it was the performance of the Mercedes that was really interesting as Lewis Hamilton was more than a second slower than Vettel while Nico Rosberg finished up only a smidge faster than Fernando Alonso. 

It may 'only' have been practice, but it certainly sets things up for a fascinating session of qualifying.  

Upset on the cards?

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Throughout this season, Mercedes have largely swept aside all before them. Whenever there has been a hint of a potential challenge to their dominance, they quickly put it to bed.

However, something in Singapore seems a little different. For the first time in a long while, they genuinely seem a little flustered. 

Could we be on course for a season first, with a car other than a Mercedes on pole?

A challenge Mercedes want and it is a challenge it looks like they are going to get. Will they turn it up for qualifying? 

We are going to take a short break. You can read Andrew Benson's FP3 report in the interim and join us at 13:00 BST for build-up to what could be a very intriguing qualifying session indeed.

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The rest

11) Bottas 12) Hulkenberg 13) Button 14) Massa 15) Maldonado 16) Perez 17) Grosjean 18) Nasr 19) Rossi 20) Stevens

FP3 top 10

1) Vettel 2) Raikkonen 3) Kvyat 4) Ricciardo 5) Hamilton 6) Rosberg 7) Alonso 8) Sainz 9) Verstappen 10) Ericsson 

James Allen

BBC Radio 5 live F1 commentator

A great lap from Sebastian Vettel. He is a bit of a Singapore specialist, a three-time winner here and there is an element of the driver making a difference here. Plenty for Mercedes to think about. Have we seen the best they have to offer, or have they got more up their sleeve?

A Ferrari one-two in FP3 as Sebastian Vettel finishes fastest ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. The Red Bulls of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo are third and fourth respectively but Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are down in P5 and P6...

Chequered flag

Sebastian Vettel finishes fastest in final practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Reuters

Three minutes left of the session as Sebastian Vettel heads into the pits. It looks like we are on for a Ferrari one-two in FP3 and that means just one of three practice sessions will have been topped by a Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen gets in the way of Lewis Hamilton at Turn 13, prompting a little shake of the fist from the reigning world champion. 

This is good from McLaren as Fernando Alonso goes seventh fastest with 1:47.223, pretty much level pegging with Nico Rosberg. That's not something we've been able to say this season.

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Reuters

Boom! Sebastian Vettel storms to the top of the timesheet with 1:45.682, almost half a second quicker than his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Where are Mercedes? Fifth is the best placed one, Lewis Hamilton with a 1:46.802. Nico Rosberg is P6...

James Allen

BBC Radio 5 live F1 commentator

"For reference, the Mercedes are in nowheresville through the first sector. They are not at the party at the moment."

Daniel Ricciardo goes fastest of all with 1:46.259, but now Sebastian Vettel, on the supersoft is out on the circuit and he is fastest of all through sector one...

Not great through the first sector for Daniel Ricciardo but fastest of anybody in the middle sector...

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Daniel Ricciardo is back out, sporting the red walled supersoft tyres on his Red Bull and is starting his qualifying simulation run now...

Tom Clarkson

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

It is relevant that part of the engine upgrade Ferrari introduced a couple of weeks ago was the ability to turn the wick up a bit. A bit like Mercedes they can turn it up in Q3. The Renault is not able to do that, so I imagine Mercedes and Ferrari will keep their powder dry in that respect and I think it might be Red Bull one and two in this session."

As it is quiet on the circuit - just the two Manors out there at the moment - here's a reminder that you can watch the qualifying highlights on BBC One later today.

Mercedes worried?

As teams prepare for their qualifying simulation run, Mercedes certainly seem impressed with the pace of their rivals. 

The team has just tweeted: "There is no hiding the potential here... the pace of our rivals is genuine and very quick!"

It is getting busy in the pits with drivers heading in as approach the time for a switch to the faster supersoft tyres.

Jenson Button has been out on the circuit after some issues early in the session and he has the 17th fastest time with Fernando Alonso in P16. 

The Red Bulls now split the Ferraris with Daniil Kvyat improving to go second fastest, behind Sebastian Vettel, with 1:47.249. Daniel Ricciardo is P3, three tenths of a second slower than his team-mate. 

Nico Rosberg is P5, with Lewis Hamilton P6 as we head into the final 25 minutes of this session.

Reuters

Yellow flag

Daniil Kvyat is bumped off top spot as Sebastian Vettel goes fastest of all with 1:46.728, with his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen 0.8s slower in second.

A brief flutter of the yellow flags as both Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton go off at Turn 7 - a troublesome area for a few of the drivers today.

Jennie Gow

BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

There is a big magnetic field near the tube station and that is why sometimes they have this glitch in the matrix, so to speak."

Singapore's Twilight zone

Tom Clarkson

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

Here there can be an electrical interference near the Anderson Bridge. If a driver is making a gear change at that moment it can break the gearbox. The teams have to put in a few countermeasures when they come here."

Lewis Hamilton's first flying lap is a 1:47.969, putting him second fastest. Everyone - bar the Manor duo - are still on the softy tyre - the harder of the two compounds in Singapore.

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Daniil Kvyat continues to lead the way on the timesheet, with Nico Rosberg popping up in third with his first effort of the session - a 1:48.393, seventh tenths of a second down on Kvyat's time.

Jennie Gow

BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

"Jenson Button is not even in the car. The car is up on the stands and it looks like McLaren have a problem - a telemetry problem but it looks to me like there is a lot of working going on. Hopefully they will get Button out before the end of the session."

Mercedes are one of those preparing to head out as we see shots of Niki Lauda watching a video of himself on his phone. As you do...

Ten times are on the board with 15 minutes of the session gone, but there is movement in some of the other garages and we should see some more cars out on track soon.

Eddie Jordan

BBC F1 chief analyst on Inside F1 last night

"The drivers adore Singapore because there are a lot of good speed corners and reasonable straights. It seems much more of an equal test for everybody."

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A few more times on the board as Daniil Kvyat, pacesetter in second practice, puts down a competitive time with a 1:47.968, putting him ahead of Toro Rosso drivers Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, who had a little lock up at the same place his team-mate spun a little earlier.

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Tom Clarkson

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

One of the reasons they are not going out yet is that the track conditions will change hugely as the sun goes down so I think they are letting others do the donkey work for them.

Yellow flag

A spin for Max Verstappen as he loses it in the Toro Rosso at Turn 7. He doesn't hit anything though and recovers without any bother.

Meanwhile, no sign of either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg heading out of the Mercedes garage any time soon. 

A slightly hairy return to the circuit for Alexander Rossi as he has a massive slide at Turn One but manages to keep it together to keep himself away from the barriers.

He then goes on to clock the first time of the session, a 1:53.249 on the supersoft tyres.

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Go! Go! Go!

It is that time again. Pastor Maldonado waits patiently at the end of the pit lane for the green light to ping on, which it duly does, and one hour of final practice is under way.

Jennie Gow

BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

We have blue skies at the moment. A Couple of clouds around but nothing too ominous. Darkness will descend in the next hour or so.

Thoughts on Friday

Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer

“‘It’s only Friday,’ is the usual mantra from drivers and teams when confronted by media asking them about lap times in first and second practice, and of course they have a point. 

"That said, the times set in the race-simulation runs do quite often give a good indication of how the weekend is going - Ferrari technical director James Allison even admitted it after Sebastian Vettel’s first victory of the year in Malaysia back in March. And on Friday, those times were very interesting indeed - and they confirmed the impression that Mercedes have some work to do. 

"Engine turned down or not, for Lewis Hamilton to be an average of 0.445secs down on Vettel, 0.314secs off Daniil Kvyat and 0.159secs from Daniel Ricciardo did suggest something was wrong. Nico Rosberg was in even more trouble - 1.1secs slower than Hamilton on average.” 

Singapore is, of course, a night race, and as a result many people working at the race tend to keep their body clocks on European times. Breakfast at 3pm anyone? (Quite normal for students to be fair).

Good news at Manor

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Alexander Rossi is making his F1 debut this weekend

It was a tough old day for Manor on Friday, with debutant Alexander Rossi crashing in first practice and then his team-mate Will Stevens spun into the barrier early on FP2. Will they have better luck today?

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'We need to get our heads together'

Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer

“What was wrong with Mercedes on Friday? They certainly looked off the pace in second practice, Lewis Hamilton admitted he felt the threat from Red Bull and Mercedes was ‘genuine’ and team boss Toto Wolff said: ‘We are not with the performance today. We haven’t really made the tyre work in the way we should on the one-lap performance and on the long runs either. We have seen some spectacular laps from the Red Bulls. Yeah, just need to get our heads together and assess what’s happening.’”

I see what you did there...

Get involved #bbcf1

Thoughts on the Volkswagen-Red Bull news then? And do you think Red Bull will pose a serious challenge around Singapore's low-speed circuit? 

Let us know via #bbcf1, text in on 81111 (UK only) or have your say on the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer

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“So what was the off-track gossip about Red Bull? Well, early in the week, Renault boss Carlos Ghosn admitted the French company was ‘renegotiating’ its contract with Red Bull. That’s industry code for: ‘We’re done.’ The weekend started with team principal Christian Horner reiterating the threat that the team would quit the sport if they could not get a competitive engine. Then, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz said he’d be quite happy with Ferrari for the next two or three years. 

"Not long after that interview was published, we broke on this website, courtesy of BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan, that the Volkswagen Group are close to buying the team, with which Red Bull would stay involved as a sponsor. Red Bull are playing it down for now, but privately insiders admit it’s true, although the deal is not done yet. Phew.”

Red Bull back in business?

Eddie Jordan

BBC F1 chief analyst

"In second practice we saw Ferrari dominant up to a certain part of the session and then Red Bull took us all by surprise. They have actually promised all season long 'watch out for us in Singapore'. They are back in business but Mercedes are floundering to be honest."

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Coming up...

OK, we've got one hour of final practice from 11:00 BST before a short break ahead of qualifying at 14:00 BST .

You can listen to BBC Radio 5 live sports extra commentary on final practice, which will start just before the action gets under way, while qualifying will be on BBC Radio 5 live.

Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer

"One way and another, the talk is all about Red Bull this weekend. The former world champions are at the centre of off-track gossip and in Friday practice they were right up at the sharp end on the track as well. 

"Daniil Kvyat was fastest of all in second practice, and it would almost certainly have been a Red Bull one-two had team-mate Daniel Ricciardo not been held up in traffic. Even so, the Australian was third fastest, just a 10th of a second or so behind. Mercedes, meanwhile, looked, well, ‘slow’, as Sebastian Vettel put it. 

"Will it continue like that? Almost certainly not, but it’s certainly added a bit of spice.” 

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Hello! Welcome to our coverage of final practice and qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

It has been a glorious day in the city state as F1 drivers and personnel descended on the Marina Bay street circuit, but there might be more than a few tired faces at Mercedes.

The team's boss, Toto Wolff, said they were not with the performance on Friday and he will be hopeful normal business resumes today.

Raging Red Bull

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It is not often you see Mercedes floundering on a Friday but in Singapore, you could say that was the case.

There was no Mercedes car at the top of the timesheet in second practice, nor was one second fastest. Or even third. Instead, Lewis Hamilton was down in fourth, Nico Rosberg back in seventh.

Yesterday, it was the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat who led the way, with his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo third fastest. Could Mercedes' seemingly immovable grip on Formula 1 be set to slip in Singapore?