Singapore Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton leads Max Verstappen after Red Bull pass Sebastian Vettel

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton starts on pole position with Sebastian Vettel down in third and Max Verstappen neatly sandwiched between the two championship rivals.

With lights out due at 1.10pm, we'll begin our full build-up at midday for what could be a frantic night on the Marina Bay Circuit under the lights.

Let's take a look back at qualifying...

It was supposed to be a Ferrari-Red Bull affair at the front as the Mercedes often struggles here at Singapore, with Lewis Hamilton's victory last season coming largely thanks to Vettel, Raikkonen and Verstappen all crashing off the start line.

But Hamilton was in the mood, and as Vettel failed to get the most out of his Ferrari, his rival set a blistering lap time that Martin Brundle described as "the best lap of the season".

Here's how the drama unfolded:

Remember that crash?

It caused mass panic at the start of last year's grand prix, but it paved the way for Hamilton to win not just the race but also his charge towards a fourth world championship.

This week's news...

There's been plenty of talking points this week, not least the decision at Ferrari to axe Kimi Raikkonen and promote Academy driver Charles Leclerc alongside Sebastian Vettel next season.

It's a big call, but as David Tremayne writes, it's the right one:

**PITS OPEN**

The Singapore city air comes to life as the cars leave the garage and go through their practice starts and installation laps, meaning we're 35 minutes away from lights out.

Schumacher back?

We also had the unusual announcement from Red Bull that they have not made any contact yet with Michael Schumacher's son, Mick, who is currently lighting up the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, with six wins and three further podiums putting him second in the title battle.

Rumour has it the German is on the shortlist for a Toro Rosso seat next season, but Red Bull played this down mid-week and said that they are yet to hold any discussions with the 19-year-old.

So is that the end of Kimi? Not a chance.

The Finn announced that he will return to Sauber next season, the team that gave him his F1 bow 17 years ago, and after signing a two-year deal, he is not ready to leave the sport just yet.

Looks like somebody's having fun...

Comedian Jimmy Carr somehow talks his way inside of Lewis Hamilton's pole-starting Mercedes. 

Kevin Magnussen reports in that the track is "a little bit slippery" today with a lack of grip and the tyres not quite in the window they need yet. Mercedes meanwhile are blasting dry ice through Hamilton's car that is causing quite the sight as smoke rises high into the sky.

Drama...

Not what Max Verstappen will wanted to have seen. The safety car has had a bit of a malfunction down on the grid as the air conditioning condenser has dumped a load of fluid onto the track right in front of Verstappen's Red Bull. His mechanics are frantically trying to clean it up before the race gets underway, but they only have about 10 minutes remaining.