Singapore Grand Prix – Race LIVE: Carlos Sainz leads with Lando Norris second, while Max Verstappen finally pits with 20 laps remaining and drops to ninth

Lawson cannot defend himself against the world champion in his third Grand Prix ever and lets him pass.

Russell goes for the win and has reduced the gap to third place Leclerc to 2.3 seconds.

If he wants to fight for the win today, he will have to pass him in the next few laps.

Norris has benefited from Mercedes’ pit stops and moved up to second place.

He is still two seconds behind Sainz, while Leclerc is three seconds behind him.

The two Mercedes are not yet aiming for the podium, but could do so soon on these new tires.

Alonso has had a torrid afternoon and is in 17th place after what appeared to be a power problem.

Mercedes decides it’s worth another pit stop and provides excellent stops for both cars.

They finish fourth and fifth for a final push on Sainz’s lead.

Alonso has a bad pit stop as they struggle to get the rear of the car up.

Ocon stops at the side of the track and we have a second yellow flag.

It looked like he completely lost control, a real shame after a good race from here.

It will be a virtually safer car, and it comes just after Verstappen finally pitted with twenty laps to go.

Piastri has had a quiet, excellent race and is in eighth place.

Ocon passes Perez again and moves up to seventh place.

Alonso then follows suit and overtakes the Red Bull to eighth place.

Leclerc now has a lead of more than 10 seconds over Verstappen, who enters the pit lane on the next lap.

Russell wants to make his move against Sainz.

Exciting battle for seventh place as Perez takes on Ocona and Alonso in turn seven.

The Red Bull gets through after brilliant driving and slides behind his teammate.

Russell remains 0.6 seconds behind leader Sainz.

Sainz remains in front, although Russell has moved within 0.7 seconds of the Ferrari.

The Red Bulls still have to go to the pit lane. Everyone else had stopped, except Bottas.

Leclerc passes Verstappen to fifth place, leaving the two Red Bulls in sixth and seventh place.

Sainz still leads Russell comfortably with Norris in third, while Hamilton maintains a two-second buffer to Leclerc in fifth.

Russell is closing in on leader Sainz.

Hamilton passed Norris and is now well past Verstappen, who is unlikely to challenge this race unless he pits soon.

Perez has dropped to seventh, while Leclerc struggles to get back on the podium from sixth.

Sainz remains in the lead while the two Mercedes are now behind him.

Verstappen was briefly second, but had difficulty on the old tires and is now fourth.

Leclerc will be dissatisfied with that pit stop and is now seventh.

Sainz did brilliantly by still leading after a pit stop, but Leclerc had to wait in the pits and is now sixth.

Verstappen stayed out and has climbed to second place, but will have to stop at some point.

The safety car remains in place with Perez now fourth and Hamilton seventh after the pit stop.

Logan Sargeant picked up some debris under his car and ended up in the pit lane, but not without causing a yellow flag.

We should see a lot of pit stops now, with both Ferraris going straight in.

Leclerc takes the extra point for the time being, but remains more than two seconds behind his teammate.

Verstappen is told not to push Ocon for the time being and falls back.

The grid seems to be arranged as follows for the time being with the top 10:

The Ferrari driver has extended his lead on the medium tires to 1.5 seconds.

Oconn retains seventh place and maintains a buffer for Verstappen in eighth place.

Perez has struggled this weekend and remains 13th.

Sainz remains one second ahead of his teammate, who is still 1.8 seconds ahead of Russell.

Verstappen has not yet completely broken through the peloton, but has now finished eighth and seems to be keeping up with the race pace.

Norris remains fourth with Hamilton behind him in fifth place.

Hamilton left the track when he passed Norris and has given the place back.

Verstappen has already moved up to ninth place, while Perez remains thirteenth.

The Ferraris remain in front with a two-second gap between Leclerc and Russell in third.

It appears that Tsunoda’s withdrawal was due to a flat tire.

Tsunoda is already out of the race after an incident in turn five. We only have 18 cars left.

Hamilton gives Russell his place back on the second lap.

Sianz still leads with Leclerc second.

We are on our way in Singapore!

Ferrari got off to an excellent start and took the first two places.

Russell and Hamilton battle it out in the opening laps with the senior driver just ahead.

Russell asks on the radio if Hamilton will let him pass again.

A rare challenge for Verstappen today, as he starts in the middle of the grid.

It is very possible that we will see the Dutchman on stage this afternoon.

We are approaching the lights out in what should be a fascinating Grand Prix in Singapore.

It is known as one of the most demanding circuits on the circuit.

We expect to see one-stop strategies from most teams.

The Ferrari drivers arrived in style as they waved from vintage cars in Singapore.

Red Bull currently leads Mercedes in the constructors’ championship with 310 points.

If Verstappen and Perez can get through the pack and secure a one-two today, they can win the championship as long as Mercedes doesn’t score any points.

If one of the Red Bull drivers sets the fastest lap, they can afford for their rivals to score one point.

Aston Martin has confirmed that Lance Stroll will not race today after a 180km/h crash in qualifying.

Stroll walked away from the incident, but it was decided to rest him anyway.

His teammate Fernando Alonso starts in seventh place.

Red Bull can win the constructors’ championship today if Mercedes takes less than two points, but after qualifying things don’t look good.

Verstappen starts in eleventh place, while Perez is two places further in thirteenth.

Sainz starts on pole, with Russell next to him on the front line. Hamilton is fifth on the grid.

And welcome to Mail Sport’s coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix.

We’ve got the latest news and updates as Max Verstappen eyes an 11th consecutive win from 11th on the grid.