![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/73\/590x\/secondary\/4963081.jpg?r=1694869802922\")
<\/p>\n
Russell goes quickest<\/h3>\n
George Russell jumps to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:32.478.<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton goes slightly slower than his Mercedes team-mate and currently finds himself down in fifth.<\/p>\n
The top four drivers are separated by less than one-tenth as things stand.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere on the track, Lance Stroll fumes over his team radio after being impeded by Kevin Magnussen.<\/p>\n
Leclerc setting early pace<\/h3>\n
Charles Leclerc goes quickest with his first lap time of 1:32.523.<\/p>\n
He leads Lando Norris by just 0.033 seconds, with Sergio Perez third and Max Verstappen fourth.<\/p>\n
Only 11 drivers have clocked meaningful lap times as of yet.<\/p>\n
Here we go!<\/h3>\n
Qualifying is now underway in Singapore and the drivers are beginning to emerge from the pit lane for the start of Q1.<\/p>\n
The likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be hoping to avoid any slip-ups to progress safely through into Q2.<\/p>\n
Russell backing Ferrari<\/h3>\n
“Ferrari are the favourites,” says George Russell on Sky Sports F1<\/em> when asked to predict today’s qualifying session.<\/p>\n “I think they probably had a couple of tenths in the engine [on Friday] left to come, but I think Lando is on a par with us.”<\/p>\n Carlos Sainz is fully expecting Red Bull to come good in Singapore this weekend despite Ferrari having led the Austrian team in practice.<\/p>\n “I don’t believe that for a moment,” said the Spaniard when asked if he feels that Red Bull are experiencing a mini-crisis.<\/p>\n “People should look at their long runs, they were the fastest. Yes, we have started well, yes, we are a little surprised ourselves.<\/p>\n “We know that a dominant car doesn’t mean you always dominate in Singapore, which we also saw with Mercedes when they were dominating, but to automatically conclude that we will be in pole position would be presumptuous.”<\/p>\n “It’s all reliant on the software and the electrical settings, so it’s all about tuning those,” says Christian Horner when asked by Sky Sports F1<\/em> about Red Bull’s upshift issues during FP3.<\/p>\n “Hopefully we can give him an upshift and downshift in quali. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to sort it out.<\/p>\n “We need every bit of performance, you can see it is very competitive here, it’s what we expected. We are going to need to have every ounce of performance to be on the front row.”<\/p>\n Max Verstappen was furious with his Red Bull team during FP3 earlier today as he slumped to a fourth-placed finish behind Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Lando Norris.<\/p>\n He was simply unable to mix it with the fastest drivers of the session and fumed over the radio, saying: “I’m sorry, but I cannot drive with these upshifts. What the f**k is this? Unacceptable.”<\/p>\n After the session had ended, the Dutchman said: “It\u2019s not only upshifts [but] also downshifts. I\u2019m just struggling for rear grip. You see that last sector?<\/p>\n “I\u2019m just drifting. I think if I\u2019m going to compete in drifting I might win the race.”<\/p>\nSainz plays down Ferrari hopes<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/73\/590x\/secondary\/4963231.jpg?1694868537711\")
<\/p>\nRed Bull working to fix problems<\/h3>\n
Verstappen unhappy in practice<\/h3>\n
Good afternoon<\/h3>\n