National anthem time in Singapore. It's quite a sweet sounding tune, like something from Lion King. Like it.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Toro Rosso had a spectacular day on Saturday, with Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat qualifying sixth and seventh. It was a particular surprise for the team, as they have begun to struggle this season as other teams have developed their engines but they are stuck with a fixed-spec 2015 Ferrari (which is still better than a 2016 Honda, but still). 

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso pointed out correctly that Toro Rosso have “a lot of downforce and a lot of drag which is good for street circuits but the rest of the season we should be in front of them”. But it was still a super effort - especially from Sainz, who later tweeted: “Wow, that lap felt damn good.” 

Kvyat’s position is a massive boost for the Russian, whose career is on the line, even if he was still 0.272secs adrift of his team-mate. This weekend, though, it’s not possible to make a direct comparison as Toro Rosso split their cars between two different aerodynamic packages this weekend after not getting a definitive answer on Friday as to whether the new one on Sainz’s car was actually better. 

Image source, EPA

There have only been three winners of the Singapore Grand Prix - Sebastian Vettel (four times), Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton (both two times).

Want more statistics brought to you by Tom Clarkson and Jack Nicholls over a 4am dinner? Then click on the above video.

As Nige says, every little detail matters in Singapore.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Why was Lewis Hamilton so far off the pace in qualifying? That was the big question afterwards. After all, 0.7secs is a lifetime in F1. 

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said: "Lewis's car was not where it should have been after free practice one. It's not easy to find the right compromise between the set-up of the car and getting the tyres in the right window and giving the driver a confident feeling. Here we failed. He didn't have a car today that was able to extract all the performance. The set-up was not right.” 

This was down to his lack of running time following the hydraulic problem he had in second practice, Wolff said. “Lewis was lacking possibility to run the car so he could not find out what was the right direction for him to go.  You cannot just guess. The approach he chose was probably right. He stayed where he was without deciding on a particular avenue because he didn’t know. 

"Then it was just down to the lack of running. You have to give the driver running time and if you can’t run the car here, you can’t find what set-up works for you, and you can’t really gain confidence in the car either. This was less of his particular problem, it was more that the car did not generate the amount of grip that Nico had.”

Image source, Getty Images

Six of the eight previous Singapore GPs have been won from pole position but there is hope for Lewis Hamilton. The last time he lined up third on the grid was at the Monaco Grand Prix in May. He went on to win the race.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

There has been a lot of chat about strategy before the race as a result of Red Bull’s starting-tyre choice but actually the choices are rather open and it may not make much difference. A three-stop is marginally quicker, but most will likely try a two-stop because it is hard to overtake and even minimal traffic negates the off-set between the choices. A two-stop is comfortably possible on tyre life and whether the choice is two ultra-softs and a soft, or one ultra-soft and two super-softs or two super-softs and a soft, it does not make that much difference in overall race time. The longish tyre life (19 laps on the ultra-soft, 25 on the super and 30 - or half the race - on the soft) also mean that timing of stops is not critical either. However, track position is - and that will likely determine team’s stop timing and the race itself.

The pitlane is open in Singapore. That means you've got half an hour to get your ironing done or Sunday dinner prepped before settling down for a bit of F1 action.

There has never been a wet Singapore Grand Prix and it is looking unlikely we will get one today. Hot and humid as darkness falls over the circuit.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Daniel Ricciardo deserves a victory this year. The Red Bull driver has been superb pretty much all season, he has faced down the challenge of the much-vaunted Max Verstappen and, you have to say, beaten him pretty comprehensively, and has missed out on at least one and probably two certain wins because of team decisions/errors. And unless it rains in one of the remaining races, then this is probably his best chance, starting from the front row and with apparently superior race pace to the man on pole. Can he do it? 

“I would love to get a win this year,” the Australian said. “We’ve come close but haven’t held the big trophy on Sunday. I’ve put myself in a good position. Obviously pole would have been ideal but second is the next best for today. We’ve split the Mercedes and I think we can put some pressure on them."

Image source, Rex Features

The Mail on Sunday also focused on Saturday's track invader. asking: 'So why did the lixard cross the road? To see Rosberg trounce Lewis'.

The story added: 'The biggest talking point had been a 3ft-long lizard crossing the track until Nico Rosberg put his right foot down on Lewis Hamilton's jugular.'

Image source, Mail on Sunday

Image source, Sun on Sunday

Under the headline 'Lewsing it', The Sun on Sunday say that championship leader Lewis Hamilton is having 'a shocker' in Singapore and 'fears he could surrender his lead in the F1 title race to bitter rival Nico Rosberg'.

There's also a picture of the monitor lizard that wandered onto the track during final practice on Saturday.

Image source, f1.com

Final practice was briefly interrupted by an unexpected visitor - a lizard or, as Max Verstappen calls it, 'baby Godzilla'.

Will he have a part to play today? Always expect the unexpected in Singapore.