2012 Singapore Grand Prix

Championship standings

Alonso leads the championship on 179 points after Italy. Hamilton is second on 142, Räikkönen third on 141, Vettel fourth on 140, and Webber fifth on 132 — Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Vettel are separated by just two points.

Previous race

Hamilton won at Monza from Pérez and Alonso. The result broke McLaren’s run of winless races and moved Hamilton back into contention; Pérez’s second place was Sauber’s best result of the season.

Entrants

Grosjean returns for Lotus after his one-race ban. Ma Qinghua drives for HRT in the first practice session, repeating his Monza appearance.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the yellow-banded soft compound as the prime and red-banded super-soft as the option — the same specification as the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix.

Practice

FP1 ran on a damp track under floodlights. Vettel was fastest, five hundredths ahead of Hamilton. Several drivers ran wide but all rejoined without damage.

FP2 ran in dry conditions. Vettel was again fastest, three tenths ahead of Button. Senna struck a barrier at Turn 19, spinning to a stop at the adjacent corner.

FP3: Vettel completed a clean sweep of all three sessions, three tenths quicker than Hamilton. The session ended early after Petrov struck the Turn 21 wall and damaged his suspension, blocking the pit-lane entrance.

Weather

Hot and humid — 29°C air temperature, 31°C track.