When night falls in Formula 1, the drama begins.
Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, the mother of all night races, sets standards for the 16th World Championship round.
Shortly before the end Lewis Hamilton was surprisingly ahead with the silver arrow, in the meantime even Fernando Alonso looked like he had a chance.
But at the very end of a session that started in the wet after a monsoon shower, continued in mixed conditions and finally culminated in a duel on slicks, Monegasque Charles Leclerc pushed ahead - for the ninth time this season the World Championship Second on pole.
Next to him will be Sergio Perez in the Red Bull Honda, followed by Hamilton and Carlos Sainz jr.
in the second Ferrari.
For the two German pilots Mick Schumacher in the Haas-Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin, it was prematurely over after the second qualifying session in ranks 13 and 14.
And where, if you please, did the man end up who could defend his title early this Sunday (2 p.m. CEST in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky)?
Max Verstappen was waved off in eighth place, although the Dutchman was clearly on course for pole twice in the end.
In the penultimate lap, the 25-year-old broke himself off, he had gotten too close to Pierre Gasly, and in the all-important lap it was the race engineer who, with a panicked radio message, forced him to break off and return to the pit lane.
Verstappen no longer understood the world, but the maneuver was pure self-protection – the Red Bull strategists had miscalculated by one lap when refueling.
Without the minimum amount of fuel he would have been disqualified.
The World Cup decision, which would be the earliest in two decades, could be postponed again.
Verstappen is currently 116 points ahead of Charles Leclerc, but in order to get the necessary 138 points ahead of Charles Leclerc, the Dutchman would have to win in any case, and the competition would have to mess up a lot.
Violation of the budget limit
The narrow and angular Marina Bay Street Circuit, although unfriendly to overtaking, is always good for surprises of all kinds. Since 2008, not a race has passed without at least one safety car deployment.
Added to this are the extreme external conditions with 80 percent humidity and a good 50 degree heat in the cockpit, the pilots in fireproof packaging lose a good three kilos of fluid during the almost two-hour hunt through the city.
At least as exciting as the sporting projections are the discussions about the report by the independent auditors who monitored compliance with the budget limits last season.
On Wednesday they want to present whether the ten racing teams have moved within the spending limit of 148.6 million.
On Thursday evening, however, information was leaked into the paddock, according to which there were two sinners.
One a small one, the other a big one.
The name labels were also whispered, so it should be Aston Martin and Red Bull.
Louder, however, the indignation was announced.
A team boss said such violations would undermine reform of Formula 1 and would be tantamount to doping in other sports.
Even exceeding just five percent of the sum, which is only considered a minor violation of the rules, results in an enormous technical advantage.
Abuse in the past season weighed particularly heavily, because the freezing of the regulations guaranteed an advantage for three years.
The world automotive association FIA has so far only spoken of having noticed "unfounded speculation and assumptions" in Singapore. However, these would not affect the defined process. However, similar to the many gray areas within the budget cap, the catalog of penalties is not explicitly defined either. Depending on the severity The misconduct can result in high fines, but points can also be deducted or even blocked after a review by a financial court.The whole thing could also apply retrospectively, which could result in a new World Cup table for the already scandalous previous season.
Even though no one had publicly mentioned the name Red Bull Racing, team manager Christian Horner saw himself as a dock at the official talk round on Saturday.
But the Brit is known for not avoiding confrontation.
He finds the allegations "defamatory" and is confident that the corporate racing team has complied with all limits. The fact that the competitors from Ferrari and Mercedes demanded equally harsh penalties for sinners really outraged him: "We want these statements to be retracted. "
He sees a targeted campaign behind everything: "It's no coincidence that this is happening here, of all places, where Max has his first chance at the World Cup."