Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix 2015: Results, Times for Practice and Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton is on a roll coming into the Singapore Grand Prix, with the Mercedes man in possession of a 53-point lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg in the race for the Formula One world championship.  

The Brit continued his stellar form with a wonderful win in Italy two weeks ago, while Rosberg retired from the race. It means the German needs to go all out for a victory in Singapore, a venue where he has never finished higher than fourth; Hamilton has won here twice, including a masterful performance in 2014.

The complex corners of the Marina Bay Street Circuit are a far cry from the searing straights of Monza, giving the drivers an entirely new challenge to cope with. It’s the kind of race, with narrow roads and suffocating barriers, where grid position is so very important, and qualifying, as such, should be intriguing.

Practice sessions are important, too, especially for someone like Rosberg, who will need to make his intentions clear from the off. The unique conditions can also be difficult to acclimatise to, meaning minutes out on the track are vital if everything’s to come together on race day.

Read on for all of the latest updates from Singapore, as the drivers bid to position themselves as best as possible for what should be a gripping race on Sunday.

QF: Sebastian Vettel Takes Pole, Mercedes Start from Third Row

Mark Baker/Associated Press

Mercedes' struggles continued into the qualifying sessions on Saturday, as Red Bull and Ferrari spent most of the day battling for the top spots. Sebastian Vettel grabbed pole position with an impressive time of 1:43:885, with Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniil Kvyat completing the first two rows.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will start from the third row, and given Singapore's narrow circuit and few sectors that allow for overtaking, a good start on Sunday will be pivotal.

The result also means Hamilton's bid to match Ayrton Senna's record for consecutive pole positions has come to an end.

Both Sauber cars were surprisingly eliminated in the first session, with Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson finishing in 16th and 17th place, respectively. Lotus' Pastor Maldonado did even worse, and the Venezuelan is unlikely to play a big role in Sunday's race.

Kvyat dominated the first session, going almost half a second faster than Hamilton, but the second session belonged to Ferrari, with Vettel and Raikkonen finishing first and third. The session had to be stopped for several minutes so debris could be cleared from the track, as Carlos Sainz took a wide exit from a turn and smashed into the wall, via F1's official Twitter account.

Ricciardo and Kvyat started the shootout on fire, while Mercedes continued to run into issues. Hamilton had to abort his first lap, and Rosberg's first flying lap was almost 1.5 seconds slower than Vettel's, who had surged into the lead.

Things didn't change during the final flying laps, with Vettel comfortably holding onto the top spot. And with Raikkonen finishing third, it means Ferrari have had both their drivers in the top three in qualifying in back-to-back races.

But the top talking point after Saturday's qualifying session is undoubtedly the lack of pace the Mercedes cars suddenly seem to have. Even Ricciardo couldn't help himself from talking about it after the session, per Sky Sports:

"

It's nice to be back up here. And the front-row as well, it's been a while. It's a bit of a coincidence, Seb and I, and hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow. It's a surprise to not see a Mercedes up here. I thought they were playing a few card games yesterday, but they seem to be struggling here.

"

Vettel appears to be the man to beat in Singapore, although it would be foolish to rule Mercedes out completely. Hamilton has been in spectacular form of late, and a good start on Sunday could all but wipe away Saturday's poor performance.

Here are the results from qualifying, courtesy of Crash.net:

#	Driver	Team	Time
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:43.885
2	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:44.428
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:44.667
4	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:44.745
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:45.300
6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:45.415
7	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:45.676
8	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:45.798
9	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:46.077
10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:46.413
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:46.305
12	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:46.328
13	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:46.385
14	Carlos Sainz Jr	Toro Rosso	1:46.894
15	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:47.019
16	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:46.965
17	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:47.088
18	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:47.323
19	Will Stevens	Manor	1:51.021
20	Alexander Rossi	Manor	1:51.523

FP3: Sebastian Vettel Goes Fastest on Another Session to Forget for Mercedes

Joseph Nair/Associated Press

Ferrari dominated the final practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel topped the standings ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, with the Mercedes team nowhere to be seen.

The Singapore heat put the majority of the drivers on supersoft tyres, but it was Vettel who tamed the tricky Marina Bay Street Circuit best, as a 1:45.682 was enough to put him top of the tree.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat continued their impressive form with third and fourth-place finishes, while Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg propped the top four up in fifth and sixth, as we see below:

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Split	Laps
1	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	1:45.682		12
2	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FERRARI	1:46.132	+0.450s	12
3	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	1:46.167	+0.485s	19
4	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:46.359	+0.677s	14
5	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:46.802	+1.120s	15
6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:47.223	+1.541s	16
7	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:47.237	+1.555s	14
8	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	1:47.301	+1.619s	18
9	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:47.464	+1.782s	17
10	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	1:47.568	+1.886s	20
11	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:47.587	+1.905s	20
12	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:47.640	+1.958s	16
13	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	1:47.715	+2.033s	14
14	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	1:47.733	+2.051s	21
15	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	1:47.817	+2.135s	16
16	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:48.002	+2.320s	15
17	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	1:48.116	+2.434s	15
18	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	1:48.932	+3.250s	20
19	ALEXANDER ROSSI	MARUSSIA	1:52.588	+6.906s	26
20	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	1:55.293	+9.611s	22

Mercedes simply haven’t been at the races in Singapore so far, and Saturday’s session rather summed it all up.

Neither Hamilton nor Rosberg looked their usual selves, negotiating the track far too slowly to threaten the top of the leaderboard.

They may well be hiding their true pace ahead of qualifying, but the signs are nothing but negative.

They were particularly sluggish through the opening sector and had endless problems with the difficult seventh corner. In fact, they were lucky to even sit fifth and sixth.

Still, take nothing away from Vettel, who continued his rich vein of form in Singapore with an excellent run.

BBC Sport’s James Allen reflected on as much, saying the cars are playing less of a part than ever on such a treacherous track:

"

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?

"

Conditions will cool for Saturday night’s qualifying, and that may well play into Mercedes' hands, but it’s Hamilton and Rosberg who really need to up their game.

Mercedes have needed a challenge to keep them on their toes in this season’s Formula One, and with Ferrari and Red Bull on top form in Singapore, that’s undoubtedly what they’ve got.

FP2: Red Bull Fastest, Mercedes Disappoint

Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

Red Bull topped a session for the first time all year, as Daniil Kvyat clocked in the fastest time during the second practice session on Friday. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo took third place, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen splitting the two, giving a strong indication the Red Bulls could finally be in for a solid result on Sunday.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton spent little time on the supersofts and mainly focused on the longer runs, where Hamilton averaged almost a full second better than his team-mate.

Manor's struggles continued in Friday's second practice session, as Will Stevens smashed into the barriers early. With Alexander Rossi crashing his car during the first session, the team really couldn't have asked for a worse start to the race weekend.

Stevens' early spin forced most of the drivers to stay in the pit lane longer than they would have wanted, and when the drivers did venture out on to the track, the increased traffic caused plenty of confusion. Raikkonen had to brake hard and swerve to avoid making contact with Max Verstappen, who had been released straight into his path, per Crash.net F1.

That didn't stop the Finn from putting together the first quick lap of the session, a 1:47.659 that easily beat Rosberg's best time during the first practice session.

While Raikkonen was putting together solid times, team-mate Sebastian Vettel struggled with the amount of traffic on the course. As shared by Autosport Live, he didn't hide his feelings speaking over the radio, saying: "There's a lot of traffic, I have to say, cars everywhere.”

Red Bull put together a solid session, quickly taking up second and third place behind Raikkonen, and Kvyat and Ricciardo kept closing in on the leader until the supersofts came out. The Ferraris immediately went well over a full second faster, and with Rosberg and Hamilton also finally leaving the pits, the top 10 looked ready for some major changes.

Hamilton immediately locked up in Turn 1, however, and Rosberg's first efforts were over half a second slower than Raikkonen's top time of 1:46:181. Hamilton eventually managed to overtake Vettel for second place, but Raikkonen's time seemed almost untouchable.

Meanwhile, Grosjean drew the ire of Kvyat by blocking the Russian's first run on the supersofts, and as shared by ST Sports Desk, the Frenchman was treated to some choice words from the latter for his efforts.

The incident seemed to fire up Kvyat, however, and while the other drivers were back in the pits for fuel to simulate the race, the two Red Bulls powered their way into the top three, with Kvyat taking first place. 

During the longer runs, Red Bull again stole the show, with Ricciardo ducking under the 1:51:000 mark on several occasions, while Rosberg failed to build a rhythm, routinely putting up slower times than Hamilton.

The German overshot Turn 18 quite badly when he did try to push the tempo, but luckily for Mercedes, no harm came to the car.

Here's a look at the full results from FP2, courtesy of Formula 1's official website:

Pos	Driver	Team	Fastest Lap
1	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:46.142
2	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:46.181
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:46.256
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:46.479
5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:46.487
6	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:46.659
7	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:46.781
8	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:46.959
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:47.294
10	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:47.427
11	Felipe Masa	Williams	1:47.684
12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:47.755
13	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:47.795
14	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:47.888
15	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:48.012
16	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:48.096
17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:48.118
18	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:50.094
19	Alexander Rossi	Manor	1:56.739
20	Will Stevens	Manor	1:59.932

FP1: Rosberg Impresses in Opening Session

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg set the pace in the first practice session, as the Silver Arrows looked serene in the punishing Singapore conditions.

Rosberg’s team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, was the second quickest in the opening 90 minutes of the weekend, while Red Bulls’ Daniel Ricciardo was the closest challenger to the reigning constructors' champions.

It was Rosberg who seized the early advantage between the top two drivers, as he posted an impressive one minute, 49.184 seconds during his opening five-lap run. It was a mark that Hamilton didn’t come close to matching—his best was 1:49.677—but as the session rumbled on, the two Mercedes men would get closer.

Hamilton wasn’t looking himself, though, and he misjudged his run into Turn 1 in those early exchanges, taking subsequent evasive action.

As the the session moved past the halfway point, the lights came on around the circuit. There were plenty of drivers lighting up the track with some committed early efforts, too, as we can see here courtesy of the Formula 1 Twitter feed.

Ricciardo is a man who hasn’t quite delivered on his potential this season, but he showed some promising early pace to initially split the two Mercedes. It was a consistency that he preserved throughout the session, suggesting they may be the team best placed to put pressure on the Silver Arrows this weekend. 

Early indications suggest Mercedes will be tough to beat, though, with Rosberg beset on cutting the deficit to Hamilton at the summit of the standings. The German became the first man to go under the 1:48 mark after an hour with a lap of 1:47.995, while Hamilton was still three-tenths of a second back.

The Ferrari pair of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished the session in fourth and fifth, respectively. But the former had something of a scare when trying to up the ante in the latter stages, overshooting his entry into Turn 4 and narrowly missing the barriers.

Those drivers hoping to put in some sharp late times were curtailed in their efforts, as Formula One debutant Alexander Rossi hit a barrier in the final sector, prompting the waving of red flags from the marshals with around three minutes remaining.

It means an encouraging early start for Rosberg, who has typically struggled on this circuit in years past. His advantage to Hamilton was a substantial one and something he’ll be keen to preserve throughout the rest of the race weekend.

Here are the session results, courtesy of Sky Sports' F1 broadcast:

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:47.995
2.	Lewis Hamilton	Merdeces	+0.319
3.	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	+0.336
4.	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.499
5.	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	+0.790
6.	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.385
7.	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.471
8.	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.859
9.	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.024
10.	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	+2.073
11.	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.128
12.	Sergio Perez	Force Indie	+2.130
13.	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.163
14.	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	+2.346
15.	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.460
16.	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.888
17.	Felipe Massa	Williams	+3.040
18.	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	+3.193
19.	Will Stevens	Marussia	+5.908
20.	Alexander Rossi	Marussia	+5.923