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Telly Talk Supreme
Singapore GP: Lewis Hamilton & Max Verstappen dominate practice
Final practice and qualifying is live on the BBC Sport website from 10:55 BST on Saturday
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen were in a league of their own in second practice at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Hamilton set the pace, 0.184 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third, 0.818secs off.
Valtteri Bottas in fourth was 1.121secs off team-mate Hamilton.
Red Bull's Alexander Albon was fifth, 0.986secs slower than Verstappen, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in sixth.
The Ferrari drivers both had compromised runs when they were simulating qualifying on the 'soft' tyres, but the Italian cars look a long way off the form they showed when Leclerc won the last two races in Belgium and Italy.
The Ferrari's lack of grip in the corners is proving a major handicap around the twists and turns of the Marina Bay circuit.
Four-time world champion Vettel made the latest in a series of mistakes in the last race in Italy, and faced questions about his performance on his arrival in Singapore.
He admitted it was "not great but not a disaster" but there is a perception that he could do with a good weekend to get his season back on track, especially as he has been in Leclerc's shadow for most of the past seven races.
On the evidence of Friday, the race looks to be a fight between Mercedes and Red Bull, and Hamilton and Verstappen left their team-mates for dust.
Both men were in excellent form, and they did their lap times in very different fashion - Verstappen was 0.2secs quicker in the first sector, while Hamilton made back all that and more in the final sector, a quick-fire succession of 90-degree corners.
Bottas, who crashed in first practice at one of those final-sector corners - Turn 19 - was struggling.
And so was Albon, as he found his feet on his first experience of Marina Bay and in just his third race with Red Bull.
The Anglo-Thai made two errors - running wide at Turn Seven early on, and then breaking a front wing after locking up and going straight on at Turn 10.
The car was otherwise undamaged, but he has a lot of work to do overnight to study Verstappen's data and try to get closer to the Dutchman.
On race pace, the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen looked far less close - the Mercedes was nearly a second a lap quicker on average over the race-simulation runs on the soft tyre later in the session.
Behind the big three teams, McLaren's Carlos Sainz was best of the rest in seventh place, ahead of Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and the second McLaren of Lando Norris, and the Toro Rossos of Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat.
When night falls, 1,600 custom-made floodlights illuminating the Marina Bay street circuit
'It's like a sauna in the car'
"It's been a good day. It's so hot out there," said Hamilton. "It's always a shock to the system when you get in the car here because it's so bumpy, it's a long, long lap. It's like a sauna in the car but it's been a solid day.
"We got through our run plan and continued to improve the car so I was really happy with it. I felt much better in the car than I have for a while. I hope that says over the weekend. If you can get into a groove, it's such a beautiful lap. I've really been enjoying it."
Verstappen said: "We seem to be competitive in short and long runs. It was a good start to the weekend."
Vettel: "I don't think it has been a clean Friday but Mercedes look very fast and faster than us. They left with the strongest impression today. The car is not yet doing what I want and we can improve the balance.
"All the bits we brought seem to work so that's good news but let's see how close we can get tomorrow."
Sparks fly from Hulkenberg's Renault
Swami
Final practice and qualifying is live on the BBC Sport website from 10:55 BST on Saturday
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen were in a league of their own in second practice at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Hamilton set the pace, 0.184 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third, 0.818secs off.
Valtteri Bottas in fourth was 1.121secs off team-mate Hamilton.
Red Bull's Alexander Albon was fifth, 0.986secs slower than Verstappen, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in sixth.
The Ferrari drivers both had compromised runs when they were simulating qualifying on the 'soft' tyres, but the Italian cars look a long way off the form they showed when Leclerc won the last two races in Belgium and Italy.
The Ferrari's lack of grip in the corners is proving a major handicap around the twists and turns of the Marina Bay circuit.
Four-time world champion Vettel made the latest in a series of mistakes in the last race in Italy, and faced questions about his performance on his arrival in Singapore.
He admitted it was "not great but not a disaster" but there is a perception that he could do with a good weekend to get his season back on track, especially as he has been in Leclerc's shadow for most of the past seven races.
- How close is Vettel to joining F1's hall of shame?
- Singapore GP first & second practice results
- Chequered Flag podcast: Singapore preview
- Vettel: 'It's not great but season not a disaster'
On the evidence of Friday, the race looks to be a fight between Mercedes and Red Bull, and Hamilton and Verstappen left their team-mates for dust.
Both men were in excellent form, and they did their lap times in very different fashion - Verstappen was 0.2secs quicker in the first sector, while Hamilton made back all that and more in the final sector, a quick-fire succession of 90-degree corners.
Bottas, who crashed in first practice at one of those final-sector corners - Turn 19 - was struggling.
And so was Albon, as he found his feet on his first experience of Marina Bay and in just his third race with Red Bull.
The Anglo-Thai made two errors - running wide at Turn Seven early on, and then breaking a front wing after locking up and going straight on at Turn 10.
The car was otherwise undamaged, but he has a lot of work to do overnight to study Verstappen's data and try to get closer to the Dutchman.
On race pace, the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen looked far less close - the Mercedes was nearly a second a lap quicker on average over the race-simulation runs on the soft tyre later in the session.
Behind the big three teams, McLaren's Carlos Sainz was best of the rest in seventh place, ahead of Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and the second McLaren of Lando Norris, and the Toro Rossos of Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat.
When night falls, 1,600 custom-made floodlights illuminating the Marina Bay street circuit
'It's like a sauna in the car'
"It's been a good day. It's so hot out there," said Hamilton. "It's always a shock to the system when you get in the car here because it's so bumpy, it's a long, long lap. It's like a sauna in the car but it's been a solid day.
"We got through our run plan and continued to improve the car so I was really happy with it. I felt much better in the car than I have for a while. I hope that says over the weekend. If you can get into a groove, it's such a beautiful lap. I've really been enjoying it."
Verstappen said: "We seem to be competitive in short and long runs. It was a good start to the weekend."
Vettel: "I don't think it has been a clean Friday but Mercedes look very fast and faster than us. They left with the strongest impression today. The car is not yet doing what I want and we can improve the balance.
"All the bits we brought seem to work so that's good news but let's see how close we can get tomorrow."
Sparks fly from Hulkenberg's Renault
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Singapore GP: Sebastian Vettel beats team-mate Charles Leclerc
Sebastian Vettel ended his 13-month win drought with a controversial victory in the Singapore Grand Prix.
The German benefited from unusual Ferrari strategy to leapfrog team-mate Charles Leclerc into the lead.
Leclerc told the team over the radio that it was "unfair" and it will do little to reduce tension within the team.
But it was a much-needed victory for the four-time world champion who has had a difficult, error-strewn season and faced questions about his status and future.
But Leclerc was very unhappy and made his feelings clear.
Ferrari's strategy, however, did secure them their first one-two since the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix and Vettel's first win since the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August 2018.
And it pushed Lewis Hamilton, who started second in the Mercedes, down to fourth, behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Singapore was the first time since 2008 Ferrari had won three consecutive races
How did Vettel get ahead?
Vettel started third and his victory depended on a decision by Ferrari to stop him early, made to ensure he did not pit and come out behind Nico Hulkenberg's Renault, which had stopped for fresh tyres after a first-lap incident and was charging through the field.
It arose because the leaders were managing their pace to ensure they could make their one pit stop at the optimum time.
Seeing the risk from Hulkenberg to Vettel, the team pitted him on lap 19 and he rejoined in front of the Renault.
Ferrari pitted Leclerc, who had led the race from the start from pole position, next time around but Vettel's pace advantage on his first lap out of the pits on fresh tyres ensured he was ahead of Leclerc when the 21-year-old emerged from the pits.
"What the hell?" Leclerc said over the radio, almost certainly wondering why he was not pitted first.
The Singapore night race is always spectacular to watch
His engineer told him: "It was the best we could do."
Leclerc said: "I just wanted to let you know my feelings. To be completely honest, I don't understand the undercut at all. But we discuss it later."
The double early stop for the Ferraris meant both drivers had to work their way past slower cars that had not yet made a pit stop, and Vettel did this to better effect than Leclerc, building a six-second lead by the time they were running one-two on lap 33, just after half distance.
The risk for Ferrari now was the threat from Hamilton, who had delayed his pit stop by six laps in an attempt to benefit from fresher tyres at the end of the race.
But three safety-car periods for a series of incidents between back markers gave Ferrari the slow laps they needed to be sure their tyres would make it.
At the final one, Leclerc asked for "everything" from the car to attack Vettel, but he was told he needed to manage the engine and bring the car home - code for him to hold position behind his team-mate.
The safety car maintained its 100% record at the 12th Singapore Grand Prix - required three times
How Hamilton's race unravelled
Hamilton was running a close second behind Leclerc in the early laps, as the leaders lapped 13 seconds off their qualifying times to ensure their tyres went as long as necessary.
But he was undone by Ferrari's strategy gamble.
When Vettel pitted, Hamilton said to his team they should try to "undercut" Leclerc in the same fashion but that opportunity was removed when Leclerc stopped on the very next lap.
That gave Mercedes no option but to run Hamilton long and attempt to attack on fresh tyres later in the race.
But the strategy also dropped him behind Verstappen's Red Bull, and his tyre advantage - only a handful of laps - was not enough to enable him to try to pass cars on a track where a car is said to need a 2.4-second pace advantage to overtake.
Hamilton even needed help from team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who pitted earlier and was told to back off to slow Red Bull's Alexander Albon, whom Hamilton would otherwise have come out behind.
Russell collided with Grosjean at Turn 8, prompting the Williams driver to say it was "hardly surprising"
But his championship lead over Bottas, who finished behind him in fifth, was extended to 65 points, and it remains only a matter of time before he wins a sixth world title.
Behind Bottas, Albon drove a strong race in the Red Bull, albeit his real pace was not that clear because of the tyre-management aspect of the race.
And Lando Norris drove well to take seventh and best of the rest for McLaren, ahead of Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, Hulkenberg and the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi at the end of a race that was soporific at the front but contained some harum-scarum racing in the midfield from time to time.
The incidents that brought out the safety car were a crash between Haas' Romain Grosjean and Williams' George Russell on the exit of Turn Eight on lap 35; a retirement that stranded Sergio Perez's Racing Point on track on lap 39; and a collision between Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso and Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo when the Russian dived for a pass at Turn One on lap 50.
What they said
Vettel, Leclerc and Verstappen share a podium together for the first time this season
Vettel: "First of all, big congratulations to the team - the start of the season has been difficult for us then we started to come alive and I'm really proud of everyone's work back home. I really want to thank the fans over the last couple of weeks. We haven't been the best and it's happy to get so many letters and nice messages, and it gives me lots of strength and belief and I put it all into the car today."
Leclerc: "Obviously it is always difficult to lose a win like that but at the end it's a one-two for the team so I'm happy for that, our first of the season. I'm disappointed for me but I will come back stronger. It looks a lot more positive than expected, they've [the mechanics] done an amazing job."
Verstappen: "The whole race went well. At the beginning it was really slow and everyone was close together then I started to struggle with the tyres and we boxed and it was a good call. We undercut Lewis and from there it was about managing the tyres."
When night falls, 1,600 custom-made floodlights illuminate the Marina Bay street circuit
Vettel was close to pole position after a rotten run of form, but was once again beaten by his less experienced team-mate
Muse's Matt Bellamy almost certainly asking Christian Horner if he has Spiceworld on vinyl
Swami
Sebastian Vettel ended his 13-month win drought with a controversial victory in the Singapore Grand Prix.
The German benefited from unusual Ferrari strategy to leapfrog team-mate Charles Leclerc into the lead.
Leclerc told the team over the radio that it was "unfair" and it will do little to reduce tension within the team.
But it was a much-needed victory for the four-time world champion who has had a difficult, error-strewn season and faced questions about his status and future.
- How close is Vettel to joining F1's hall of shame?
- Singapore GP full race results
- Listen: 'I don't totally understand the undercut' - Leclerc
But Leclerc was very unhappy and made his feelings clear.
Ferrari's strategy, however, did secure them their first one-two since the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix and Vettel's first win since the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August 2018.
And it pushed Lewis Hamilton, who started second in the Mercedes, down to fourth, behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Singapore was the first time since 2008 Ferrari had won three consecutive races
How did Vettel get ahead?
Vettel started third and his victory depended on a decision by Ferrari to stop him early, made to ensure he did not pit and come out behind Nico Hulkenberg's Renault, which had stopped for fresh tyres after a first-lap incident and was charging through the field.
It arose because the leaders were managing their pace to ensure they could make their one pit stop at the optimum time.
Seeing the risk from Hulkenberg to Vettel, the team pitted him on lap 19 and he rejoined in front of the Renault.
Ferrari pitted Leclerc, who had led the race from the start from pole position, next time around but Vettel's pace advantage on his first lap out of the pits on fresh tyres ensured he was ahead of Leclerc when the 21-year-old emerged from the pits.
"What the hell?" Leclerc said over the radio, almost certainly wondering why he was not pitted first.
The Singapore night race is always spectacular to watch
His engineer told him: "It was the best we could do."
Leclerc said: "I just wanted to let you know my feelings. To be completely honest, I don't understand the undercut at all. But we discuss it later."
The double early stop for the Ferraris meant both drivers had to work their way past slower cars that had not yet made a pit stop, and Vettel did this to better effect than Leclerc, building a six-second lead by the time they were running one-two on lap 33, just after half distance.
The risk for Ferrari now was the threat from Hamilton, who had delayed his pit stop by six laps in an attempt to benefit from fresher tyres at the end of the race.
But three safety-car periods for a series of incidents between back markers gave Ferrari the slow laps they needed to be sure their tyres would make it.
At the final one, Leclerc asked for "everything" from the car to attack Vettel, but he was told he needed to manage the engine and bring the car home - code for him to hold position behind his team-mate.
The safety car maintained its 100% record at the 12th Singapore Grand Prix - required three times
How Hamilton's race unravelled
Hamilton was running a close second behind Leclerc in the early laps, as the leaders lapped 13 seconds off their qualifying times to ensure their tyres went as long as necessary.
But he was undone by Ferrari's strategy gamble.
When Vettel pitted, Hamilton said to his team they should try to "undercut" Leclerc in the same fashion but that opportunity was removed when Leclerc stopped on the very next lap.
That gave Mercedes no option but to run Hamilton long and attempt to attack on fresh tyres later in the race.
But the strategy also dropped him behind Verstappen's Red Bull, and his tyre advantage - only a handful of laps - was not enough to enable him to try to pass cars on a track where a car is said to need a 2.4-second pace advantage to overtake.
Hamilton even needed help from team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who pitted earlier and was told to back off to slow Red Bull's Alexander Albon, whom Hamilton would otherwise have come out behind.
Russell collided with Grosjean at Turn 8, prompting the Williams driver to say it was "hardly surprising"
But his championship lead over Bottas, who finished behind him in fifth, was extended to 65 points, and it remains only a matter of time before he wins a sixth world title.
Behind Bottas, Albon drove a strong race in the Red Bull, albeit his real pace was not that clear because of the tyre-management aspect of the race.
And Lando Norris drove well to take seventh and best of the rest for McLaren, ahead of Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, Hulkenberg and the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi at the end of a race that was soporific at the front but contained some harum-scarum racing in the midfield from time to time.
The incidents that brought out the safety car were a crash between Haas' Romain Grosjean and Williams' George Russell on the exit of Turn Eight on lap 35; a retirement that stranded Sergio Perez's Racing Point on track on lap 39; and a collision between Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso and Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo when the Russian dived for a pass at Turn One on lap 50.
What they said
Vettel, Leclerc and Verstappen share a podium together for the first time this season
Vettel: "First of all, big congratulations to the team - the start of the season has been difficult for us then we started to come alive and I'm really proud of everyone's work back home. I really want to thank the fans over the last couple of weeks. We haven't been the best and it's happy to get so many letters and nice messages, and it gives me lots of strength and belief and I put it all into the car today."
Leclerc: "Obviously it is always difficult to lose a win like that but at the end it's a one-two for the team so I'm happy for that, our first of the season. I'm disappointed for me but I will come back stronger. It looks a lot more positive than expected, they've [the mechanics] done an amazing job."
Verstappen: "The whole race went well. At the beginning it was really slow and everyone was close together then I started to struggle with the tyres and we boxed and it was a good call. We undercut Lewis and from there it was about managing the tyres."
When night falls, 1,600 custom-made floodlights illuminate the Marina Bay street circuit
Vettel was close to pole position after a rotten run of form, but was once again beaten by his less experienced team-mate
Muse's Matt Bellamy almost certainly asking Christian Horner if he has Spiceworld on vinyl
Swami