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If you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here. ‘We’ includes The Week and other Dennis Group brands as detailed here<doc-sep>Lewis Hamilton pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a moment of self-proclaimed "magic" to put his Mercedes on pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix. Less than a fortnight after he produced one of the best victories of his career in Italy, Hamilton delivered one of the laps of his life to stun the opposition at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The twisty slow-speed track is a venue which is supposed to suit Ferrari, with Hamilton's championship rival, Sebastian Vettel, having been the favourite to take the glory under the 1,500 floodlights that light up this 3.15-mile circuit. But the German, 30 points behind Hamilton in the championship, could finish only third. Hamilton will be joined on the front row by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. Hamilton headed into the shoot-out for pole without troubling the top of the order in any of the three practice sessions. He then only scraped through to the second phase of qualifying after finishing 14th in the opening running. Yet, the Englishman somehow ended it all on top - delivering the 'V' sign for victory - after finishing three tenths of a second clear of Verstappen, and a mighty six tenths ahead of Vettel.<doc-sep>Singapore Grand Prix: Facts & Stats & Tech Preview Since joining the Formula One calendar every Singapore Grand Prix has come to within four minutes of the series’ mandated two-hour time limit. Last year’s race was the longest, eclipsing the two-hour mark by three minutes and 23 seconds, beating the previous record from the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix, which ended 1 minute and 22 seconds past the two-hour limit. No one complains, however, as Singapore is a destination venue on the Formula One calendar. Its cutting-edge culture and incredible modernization have turned the tropical island located only one degree north of the equator into a global hub for business and tourism, with Formula One’s visit to the world’s only island city-state combining both in glorious fashion. Fans are treated to a sensory assault that can only be found at Marina Bay Street Circuit. A hallmark of the Singapore Grand Prix is the track’s lights shimmering off the cars’ sinewy shapes as they shoot down the straights at 300 kph (186 mph) while sparks fly from their underbodies. Augmenting the awesomeness of 20 Formula One cars screaming around this elaborate track is the prowess drivers must have to keep their cars in one piece. The walls surrounding Marina Bay Street Circuit are unforgiving, but in order for a driver to wring every ounce of speed from his racecar, he must dance with those walls while navigating the numerous bumps of the track’s surface. If that’s not enough, Singapore in September is hot. Really hot. And for added measure, really humid. As much as the Singapore Grand Prix is run at night for aesthetic purposes, nighttime is the coolest time for drivers and spectators alike. Nonetheless, temperatures inside the racecar can reach 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit). Despite the tough track and equally tough environs, the Singapore Grand Prix is embraced by drivers. The electric atmosphere of the city and the beauty of Formula One at night, where exhaust flames and glowing brake discs provide a technicolor display that goes unnoticed in daylight hours, are appreciated by the drivers. It’s a modern-day Monaco. The Essentials Focus points Slow-speed grip. Most of the corners are taken in either second or third gear, so getting the power down effectively at slow speeds is crucial to lap-time. This is particularly difficult at the start of the weekend, when the asphalt is very dirty and slippery. Unique difficulty The lights. The Singapore Grand Prix begins two hours after sunset and the track is lit up by 1,500 lamps, positioned six metres above the asphalt. The artificial light takes some getting used to by the drivers and, although the start of last year’s race was damp, the impact of a fully wet race on visibility has yet to be established. Biggest challenge Heat and humidity. The ambient temperature rarely drops below 30 degrees and with humidity levels of around 85 per cent, this race is now the most physically demanding in F1. It’s also the longest race of the year, regularly exceeding the FIA’s two-hour time limit, and drivers expect to lose up to three kilos in sweat during the race. Race Engineer’s Lowdown Braking Heavy. There are 15 braking events per lap, which is more than at any other circuit in F1. The drivers spend, on average, 22s per lap on the brakes and the peak deceleration is 4.7g into Turn Seven. Power The cars use 1.9kg of fuel per lap, which is high. Fuel consumption is a consideration for the teams at this race. Aero Maximum downforce. The circuit’s average speed is only 8mph (13km/h) higher than at Monaco, so the engineering emphasis is on slow-speed grip, good turn-in and traction. Statistics for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit: Lap distance: 5.065km. Total distance: 308.828km (61 laps) 2017 pole: Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari One minute 39.491 seconds. 2017 winner: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes Race lap record: Hamilton, Mercedes 2017: 1:45.008 Start time: 2010 local (1210 GMT) Singapore Grand Prix Sunday’s race is the 11th in Singapore, the first night-time grand prix upon its introduction in 2008. Only four drivers have won at the circuit — Fernando Alonso (2008, 2010), Vettel (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015), Hamilton (2009, 2014, 2017), Nico Rosberg (2016). Red Bull and Mercedes have won the race three times, Ferrari twice. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo has twice finished second and twice set the fastest lap. He is going for a fifth successive Singapore podium. Vettel has been on pole four times in Singapore, more than anyone else, but only in odd years. Hamilton has three poles. The race has been won from pole position on seven occasions. The lowest winning grid position was Alonso, who came from 15th in a now-notorious 2008 race where Brazilian teammate Nelson Piquet crashed his Renault deliberately on team orders. There has been at least one safety car intervention in every race in Singapore so far. Last year’s had three. The race is the longest on the calendar in terms of time taken to complete and runs close to the two-hour limit. The winner in Singapore has been champion at the end of the season in six of the last seven years. Vettel has been on the podium six times to Hamilton’s five. Race Victories Hamilton has six wins this season to Vettel’s five. Ricciardo has two and Max Verstappen one. Hamilton has 68 victories from 222 races and is second in the all-time list behind seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher (91). Vettel, now third on the all-time list, has 52, Ricciardo seven. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen has now gone 108 races since his last win, in Australia in 2013. Ferrari have won 234 races since 1950, McLaren 182, Williams 114, Mercedes 82 and Red Bull 58. Former champions McLaren and Williams have not won since 2012. Pole Position Hamilton has a record 78 career poles, Vettel 55. Verstappen, at 20-years-old, can still become the youngest ever pole sitter this season. The current youngest is Vettel, who did it aged 21 years and 72 days. Verstappen’s birthday is on Sept. 30. Podiums Hamilton has 128 career podiums and is second on the all-time list behind Schumacher (155). Vettel has 107, Raikkonen 100. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas has had five second-place finishes in 14 races. Milestones Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg will be making his 150th start on Sunday. The German holds the record for most races without finishing on the podium. Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen will be chalking up 75 starts each. Raikkonen took his 100th career podium finish at the previous race in Italy. Hamilton set the fastest lap at Monza, taking his career tally to 40. He is only the fourth driver to reach that mark. The others are Schumacher (77), Raikkonen (46) and Alain Prost (41). Vettel is on 34. Championship Points Hamilton leads Vettel by 30 points with seven races left Mercedes are 25 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. Sergey Sirotkin’s 10th place at Monza meant every driver on the starting grid has now scored this season.<doc-sep>
Jennie Gow and Craig Scarborough discuss what to expect at the Singapore street circuit. (1:49) The Singapore Grand Prix marks the start of the final run of flyaway races as Formula One approaches the climax of the 2018 season. Going into Singapore, Lewis Hamilton holds a 30-point lead over Sebastian Vettel having won three of the last four races. Mercedes has struggled for pace at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in recent seasons with its tight, twisty nature of the track typically suiting Ferrari and Red Bull. With only seven rounds remaining, Vettel needs to conjure up another magical weekend in Singapore -- winning under the lights on four previous occasions -- to get his title challenge back on track. What time does it start and how can I watch? This weekend's Singapore Grand Prix is set to get underway at 8:10 P.M. local time, 13:10 P.M. BST and 8:10 A.M. Eastern. For U.S. viewers, all of this weekend's sessions are live on ESPN (all times Eastern): Friday, September 14 Practice 1 - Friday, Sept. 14, 4:25 A.M. - ESPN2 Practice 2 - Friday, Sept. 14, 8:25 A.M. - ESPNU Saturday, September 15 Practice 3 - Saturday, Sept. 15, 5:55 A.M. - ESPN2 Qualifying - Saturday, Sept. 15, 8:55 A.M. - ESPN2 Sunday, September 16 On The Grid - Sunday, Sept. 16, 7:30 A.M. - ESPN2 Race - Sunday, Sept. 16, 8:05 A.M. - ESPN2 Encore - Sunday, Sept. 16, 6:00 P.M. - ESPNEWS Encore - Sunday, Sept. 16, 10:30 P.M. - ESPN2 UK viewers can watch every session live on Sky Sports F1. Check local listings for all other territories. What will a Vettel win mean? Vettel currently trails Hamilton by 30 points -- the largest gap between the pair all year and this is despite Ferrari currently having the edge over Mercedes in terms of outright performance. The four-time champion returns to the scene where his 2017 title chances ultimately started to fall apart after he collided with teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen on the opening lap of last year's race. Vettel needs to wrestle back the momentum from Hamilton and a win this weekend would certainly do that. What else to look out for? Raikkonen's surprise switch to Sauber for 2019 has dominated the headlines going into this weekend's race. The Finn will be replaced by Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc for 2019 and the 2007 world champion's approach this weekend will be one to keep an eye on. Raikkonen claimed a sensational pole position last time out at Monza and appeared to have been racing for himself rather than helping Vettel's title assault -- as seen by his aggressive defence against his teammate on the opening lap. The 38-year-old is in fine form and will surely be a factor in deciding the destination of this year's title.