2015 Singapore Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hamilton leads with 252 points, 53 ahead of Rosberg. Vettel is a further 21 points behind Rosberg in third.

Previous race

Hamilton won in Italy, completing a grand slam — pole position, fastest lap, every lap led, and victory — to finish 25 seconds ahead of Vettel. Rosberg retired three laps from the end with an engine failure, extending Hamilton’s lead to 53 points — the largest gap of the season.

Entrants

American GP2 driver Alexander Rossi makes his Formula One début at Singapore, replacing Roberto Merhi at Manor Marussia for five of the final seven rounds of the season under a signed agreement. Merhi will race the remaining two rounds.

Between-race developments

Rosberg is forced to fit his fourth power unit of the season following the engine failure in Italy — one change away from a potential grid penalty.

Sauber bring a heavily updated car to Singapore, featuring a shorter nose, revised front and rear wings, a new engine cover, and updated brake ducts. Toro Rosso bring a revised front wing. Red Bull introduce new turning vanes on Kvyat’s car to improve airflow under the floor and create more downforce. Force India bring changes to the diffuser, rear wing, brake ducts, and bodywork of their VJM08B. Ferrari modify the floor ahead of the rear wheels of the SF15-T.

Track changes

Minor modifications are made to the Marina Bay Street Circuit between turns eleven and thirteen. The hairpin at turn thirteen is widened by one metre to increase overtaking opportunities.

Weather

Forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia have produced heavy smog that forced the cancellation of several other events in Singapore in the days before the Grand Prix. The smog has since lifted and organisers confirm the race can proceed without restrictions.

Tyres

Pirelli supplies the soft compound as the prime tyre and the super-soft as the option, as in the previous two years at this venue.

Practice

Practice sessions run at a later local time than other events to match the night-race schedule. Rosberg leads the first evening session at 1:47.995, with Hamilton 0.319 seconds behind. Ricciardo is third. Kvyat completes only eight laps due to a fuel system problem. Rossi makes his practice début and crashes at turn eighteen, ending the final timed runs of other drivers still on track.

In the second session, Stevens damages his car in a barrier strike early on. Rossi, whose Manor team spend most of the session repairing the FP1 damage, manages only three laps. Kvyat tops the session; Hamilton is the fastest Mercedes driver in fourth, while Rosberg is seventh. Maldonado and Sainz both make minor wall contact; Sainz suffers a left-rear puncture after hitting the wall at turn five.

In the third session on Saturday evening, Vettel leads the Ferraris in one-two ahead of the Red Bulls, with both Mercedes more than one second off Vettel’s pace. Hamilton has multiple problems — he leaves the track on an early run and is later told to drive through the pit lane to cool his overheating car.