From the moment qualifying finished, it was clear the Italian Grand Prix wasn't going to deliver a classic, and that's exactly how it played out. The only thing it did do for us for the 2016 season is close up the championship even further. Given the close fight at the top, and the fact all eyes are on Singapore to provide some entertainment to boost us at this late point in the season, the real question that matters this weekend is whether Mercedes have found some performance around the difficult Marina Bay circuit.

Event schedule

Just two points sit between Lewis Hamilton at the top of the driver standings and Nico Rosberg, chasing him firmly for another change in the lead. Singapore has proved a challenge for Mercedes in the past, so this weekend could offer up some opportunities for others to catch up and put up some competition for the dominant team.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo is holding firm in third place in the championship, but the fight between his team Red Bull and Scuderia Ferrari continues to rage - the pair are just 11 points apart, and with two drivers fighting for points in each race weekend, every single hour spent on track makes a difference to these two outfits.

After the announcements at the last race, we've got to make the most of Felipe Massa and Jenson Button at every Grand Prix there is left on the schedule. Neither Williams nor McLaren have any particular strengths suited to the Singapore race, but Button has already said that making the announcement and knowing he doesn't have to drive next season has given him a new lease of life that could see a totally different outlook on the track.

Support racing for this event includes Ferrari Challenge, TCR International Series and Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Expected conditions

Singapore is home of the first official F1 night race, and that means the return of our moon graphics! Unfortunately, there's also a high chance of rain, thunderstorms and scattered bad weather throughout the weekend, although drying up for the Sunday race. High temperatures are expected and forecast, with humidity way up in the 75% bracket.

Circuit history

The most recent three races in Formula One have been events of extremes - Belgium was the longest circuit on the calendar, Italy has the highest speeds, and now Singapore takes centre stage with a track notable for hosting lengthy and endurance-style events. Floodlights surround the track, drivers are operating out of kilter with the timezone, and the high humidity just adds to the pressure.

The track itself is elongated and stacked with corners, and as a street circuit the surface is bumpy and throws up plenty of sparks. Safety cars are often seen around the track, slowing the already quite spread out racing action. Unlike other tracks where kerbing has been raised and improved, the Marina Bay circuit has had no major changes since last year.

It's the ninth running of the Singapore Grand Prix, an event at which Sebastian Vettel has been the most successful, taking four wins. Pole position is supremely important around this track with victory coming from the front row of the grid on six of the eight occasions.

Tyre compounds

This weekend sees the return of the ultrasoft compound, the purple striped tyres that made their debut this season. The three softest compounds are on offer in Singapore, due to the street circuit nature of the track.

Drivers have leaned heavily towards the ultrasofts in their selections, with Vettel and Räikkönen plus the two Haas drivers all opting to bring nine purple stripes to proceedings. On the other end of the scale, Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez have opted for four sets of the soft tyres, the hardest available, sacrificing the mid-range supersofts in order not to compromise their selections too much. Many other drivers have opted for only one set of softs.

Selected tyre sets per driver

Lewis Hamilton	3	3	7
Nico Rosberg	4	2	7
Sebastian Vettel	2	2	9
Kimi Räikkönen	1	3	9
Valtteri Bottas	2	3	8
Felipe Massa	1	4	8
Daniel Ricciardo	2	4	7
Max Verstappen	2	4	7
Nico Hülkenberg	4	3	6
Sergio Pérez	4	3	6
Kevin Magnussen	1	5	7
Jolyon Palmer	1	5	7
Daniil Kvyat	1	4	8
Carlos Sainz	1	4	8
Marcus Ericsson	1	3	9
Felipe Nasr	1	4	8
Fernando Alonso	2	3	8
Jenson Button	2	3	8
Pascal Wehrlein	3	4	6
Esteban Ocon	3	4	6
Romain Grosjean	2	2	9
Esteban Gutiérrez	1	3	9

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race stewards

The FIA stewarding process includes a former F1 driver to offer added insight. These stewards are overseeing the weekend's action.