BRACE yourselves Formula One fans as the huge race at the Singapore Grand Prix is less than 24 HOURS away - and things are heating up
Lewis Hamilton topped FP1 for the first time this season before Ferrari racer Carlos Sainz clocked the fastest time in the second practice session.
But it was Charles Leclerc who pipped Max Verstappen to victory in FP3 and followed that up by finishing on pole position in Qualifying.
- Race: Sunday, October 2 - 1pm
- Live stream: Sky Go
- TV channel: Sky Sports F1
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Follow ALL the action with our live blog below...
Leclerc takes pole, Hamilton starts third
End of Q3
Leclerc takes pole position!
Perez will start second on the grid.
Meanwhile, Hamilton has earned his first top three finish of the season!
Verstappen dropped down to SEVENTH late in the session after being told to ABANDON his final lap by Red Bull staff.
The Dutchman is furious!
Five minutes to go in Q3
Hamilton is running QUICKEST with just a few minutes remaining!
Could this be his first pole position of 2022?
Q3 begins
Here we go!
The third and final round of today's qualifying session has begun.
Hamilton is looking to secure his first pole position of the season, but he faces stiff competition from Leclerc and Verstappen.
End of Q2
Leclerc goes quickest in Q2 with Hamilton still running in second.
Verstappen has dropped down to third.
Russell is OUT.
Stroll, Vettel, Zhou and Schumacher have also been eliminated.
Five minutes to go in Q2
Leclerc leads with Verstappen trailing.
Hamilton has dropped to sixth fastest.
Schumacher, Magnussen, Zhou, Russell and Tsunoda are currently in the elimination zone with Vettel, Gasly and Stroll at risk.
Q2 begins
Hamilton will look to battle Verstappen for pole once again, with Leclerc and Perez still in the mix.
End of Q1
Verstappen goes quickest in Q1 with Hamilton one tenth of a second behind.
Leclerc is third with Perez trailing.
Bottas, Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon and Latifi are all eliminated.
Five minutes to go in Q1
Leclerc leads with both Red Bulls hot on his heels.
Bottas, Vettel, Tsunoda, Albon and Latifi are all in the elimination zone with Gasly, Ricciardo, Zhou and Norris all at risk.
Qualifying is underway
Q1 is underway as Max Verstappen looks to take pole position in a bid to boost his chances of winning the Drivers Championship this weekend!
BREAKING: Hamilton expected to be fined
Lewis Hamilton is expected to be hit with a fine for breaking F1's bling ban.
The Mercedes ace has been called to the stewards at the Singapore Grand Prix relating to a breach of Appendix L, Chapter III of the FIA International Sporting Code.
That relates to a driver's helmet, clothing and jewellery - an item that new FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has promised to get strict on.
His ban on jewellery threatened to overshadow the Miami, Monaco and British GPs earlier this year, as Hamilton refused to remove his nose stud.
However, the Brit eventually backed down and removed the offending piercing in Silverstone and in the subsequent races.
Yet in Singapore, he was wearing the stud in a morning PR event and while it is currently unknown if he was still wearing it for third practice, it could be the item has triggered the call from the stewards' office.
However, the stud appeared to still be in his nose as he wore his helmet while sat in his car in the garage.
If he is found to be guilty, he will be fined and warned about removing the nose stud in future.
Christian Horner responds to cost-cap claims
"The submission between the team and the FIA is one that is confidential.
"I have no idea what the outcome of our rivals' submissions are, or their accounting treatment or so on, so I would be intrigued to know where their source of information for these fictitious claims have come from."
"One can only assume it's uncoincidental that this is at a point where Max has his first strike at the world championship.
"How on earth do they have this information? Where do they have this knowledge? The FIA have even stated that they haven't even completed their process.
"So unless there is a clear withdrawal of those statements, we will be taking it incredibly seriously and looking at what the options available to us are, because it is absolutely unacceptable to be making comments of the type that were made yesterday, that are totally defamatory to the team, the brands and even to Formula 1."
Leclerc fastest in FP3
Charles Leclerc pipped title challenger Max Verstappen and teammate Carlos Sainz to secure the fastest time in FP3.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished 12th fastest and George Russell ninth.
Next up: Qualifying!
Practice three underway
The third and final practice session of the afternoon is underway BUT the drivers are not allowed to leave the pit lane just yet.
The track is currently deemed unsafe due to heavy rain and expected thunderstorms.
Mick Taker
Mick Schumacher has a 50/50 chance of retaining his seat with Haas next season, according to reports in Germany.
According to Bild, his relationship with the team is "tense" and he currently faces a major battle to remain in F1.
Nico Hulkenberg is the only other option for the team to partner Kevin Magnussen, who is on a long-term contract.
Lew title hopes
Lewis Hamilton could be sensationally handed LAST year’s world title after rival Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team were engulfed in a cheat storm.
Red Bull, bidding to celebrate Verstappen’s second title win at the Singapore race tomorrow, have been accused of breaking F1’s cost-cap rules.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff claimed it would be a “massively heavyweight” issue if Red Bull broke last year’s budget, which was set at £114million.
If they are found guilty, potential penalties include points deductions or even “exclusion from the championship”.
That could see Verstappen stripped of the title he won last year in Abu Dhabi and Hamilton installed as winner for a record eighth time.
'No secret that Red Bull broke rules'
Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies claims it's an "open secret" two F1 teams broke spending limit last year.
Red Bull and Aston Martin face possible punishment if, as expected, the FIA confirm they bust the cap.
Mekies said: "It's now no secret that two teams broke the 2021 budget cap regulations, one by a significant amount, the other less so."
Wolff points to 'cascade of events' in budget cap probe
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff believes possible breaches of budget cap by Red Bull and Aston Martin would be serious matter.
He said: "We have made more than 40 people redundant so that are dearly missed in our organisations.
"It was a huge, mammoth project to make the cap. I don't know how many tens of millions we had to restructure processes in order to be below the cap.
"If someone has been not doing that or pushing the boundaries, every million [over the cap spent] is a massive disadvantage.
"I find it funny that Christian [Horner] says [Red Bull are below the cap] because it's been weeks and months they are being investigated, so maybe he doesn't speak to his CFO.
"As far as we understand there's a team in minor breach, which is more procedural, and another team that is fundamentally massively over.
"If it's true that they [Red Bull] formulated a lightweight chassis this year, they may use it the next year. So it's a really a cascade of events that can be influential in all of the three championships."
Red Bull could face Max penalty
Max Verstappen's Red Bull team are at the centre of a cheat storm that threatens to overshadow his championship win, writes BEN HUNT.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff lobbed a grenade in Red Bull's direction amid accusations of them breaking F1's cost-cap rules ahead of the Singapore GP.
Wolff made bombastic claims saying it was a "massively heavyweight" issue if Red Bull broke the rules relating to last year's budget, which was set at $145m (£114m).
The sport's financial regulations with a wide range of penalties for breaking them with sanctions include a fine, a "deduction of constructors' championship points", and a "deduction of drivers' championship points".
More importantly, is the possibility that the penalties also include an "exclusion from the championship", which could see Verstappen STRIPPED of the controversial title he won last year in Abu Dhabi and Lewis Hamilton installed as the winner for a record eighth time.
Wolff says budget breaches is 'heavyweight' issue
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says breaching the annual F1 budget cap would affect THREE SEASONS' worth of developments.
The FIA is tipped to reveal Red Bull and Aston Martin breached the 2021 limit.
And although it's thought both breaches could be labelled "minor" - under 5% of the cut - Wolff says it would be still be a "heavyweight issue.
Ahead of Sunday's Singapore GP, he told Sky Sports F1 that Mercedes made 40 "dearly missed" staff members redundant to make the cap.
Wolff added: “We’re using used parts, we are not running what you would want to run, we are not developing what we could be developing.
“It was a huge, mammoth project to make the car.
"I don’t know how many tens of millions we had to restructure, reprocess in order to be below the cap, and if someone has been not doing that or pushing the boundaries, every million is a big disadvantage.”
Birthday and title cake-walk for Max?
Max Verstappen was presented with two budget-friendly cakes in the Red Bull garage to mark his 25th birthday in what could be a weekend of celebrations, writes BEN HUNT.
For the first time this season, the Dutchman has the chance to wrap up the title - providing results go his way.
But what should have been a comfortable weekend has seen him and his Red Bull team dragged into controversy over a row over money.
It relates to F1's convoluted rules and their budget cap to limit the big team's spending, with some suggesting his team have blown the budget.
Red Bull maintain they operated within the rules but ultimately that will be up for the governing body to decide when they announce their findings on Wednesday.
Verstappen has simply been unstoppable this season. He's had 11 wins in the 16 races and taken 13 podiums - and had two DNFs.
As he turned 25, he has a total of 31 victories in F1. Sebastian Vettel, who is next on the list of wins by age, had 22 GP victories when he turned 25.
Verstappen is breaking records and should he seal the title in Singapore, it would be the second-quickest a driver has been able to do so, with five races still to go.
Practice session recap
Carlos Sainz led Charles Leclerc to a Ferrari one-two in an unusual second practice session for the Singapore GP
Leclerc and Max Verstappen's Red Bull - who did only three good laps - were delayed by technical issues.
Verstappen eventually finished up fourth, sandwiched by the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull failed to explain the problems over Verstappen's car.
The world champ had to wait half an hour to get going and later spent another long time in the pits.
Title race could be all but over...
BRACE yourselves Formula One fans as the Singapore Grand Prix is making its long-awaited return – and the title race could be all but over.
Covid restrictions forced F1 chiefs to make a logistical decision in cancelling both the 2020 and 2021 races at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
But there’s no stopping the racers this time, especially Max Verstappen who is closing in on a second consecutive championship triumph.
Charles Leclerc still has an outside chance of snatching the title despite trailing Verstappen by 116 points.
However, Mercedes are having a nightmare of a season as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are still chasing their first win of 2022.
FIA 'still assessing' alleged breaches
Amid claims Red Bull and Aston Martin may have broken last year's budget cap, an FIA spokesperson said: "The FIA is currently finalising the assessment of the 2021 financial data submitted by all F1 teams.
"Alleged breaches of the financial regulations, if any, will be dealt with according to the formal process set out in the regulations."
Red Bull say talk of breaking budget cap is 'speculation'
Red Bull say claims they broke F1's budget cap last season are "speculation".
It's thought F1 chiefs could soon announce that Red Bull and Aston Martin surpassed the £114million limit in 2021.
But Red Bull principal Christian Horner told BBC Sport it was "purely speculation".
And Mercedes chief Toto Wolff told the BBC: "The cost cap is probably the most important evolution of regulations to keep a level playing field to allow teams that haven't got the full budget to catch up and to put a ceiling on the spending of the top teams.
"The FIA, particularly Mohammed [bin Sulayem, the president], has shown a pretty robust stance on enforcing all kinds of regulations. So if we are talking now about something big, he will show the same integrity and leadership that he has done before."
