Lewis Hamilton only third as Nico Rosberg on Singapore Grand Prix pole position

Lewis Hamilton

Rio de janeiro (Telephost) - Nico Rosberg took a stunning pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton was demoted to third by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

Hamilton was a massive 0.704 seconds slower than Rosberg after a difficult qualifying session, befitting what has been a troubled weekend throughout.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took fourth ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn's team-mate Sebastian Vettel will start last after a technical problem as Jenson Button starts 13th.

What happened to Hamilton?

Rosberg's was a remarkable performance - he has surely never been as superior to Hamilton when both have been gunning for pole.

For his part, Hamilton has looked out of sorts all weekend, missing half of the second practice session on Friday because of a technical problem and struggling to get a good lap in before that.

He failed again to do a qualifying simulation lap in Saturday's final practice session, locking his brakes heavily and going straight on at Turn Seven.

First qualifying went better for Hamilton - he was fourth quickest, 0.15secs quicker than Rosberg but the German was faster in the second session, again on the first runs in the top 10 shoot-out and then he made a mistake on the entry to Turn One on his final lap.

It was in some ways reminiscent of Hamilton's weekend at the European Grand Prix in Baku in June, when he crashed out of qualifying and lined up 10th.

However, it later emerged that his car may have had a problem - Mercedes' data was showing it was producing less aerodynamic downforce than Rosberg's, which would explain the lack of grip.

At least this time he starts close to the front, but unless Rosberg makes a poor start - a Mercedes weakness at times this season - Hamilton will find it difficult to beat his team-mate, whom he leads by two points in the championship.

"Definitely happy with that one," said Rosberg. "For sure one of my top three laps ever. At times it wasn't clear where we would stack up against Red Bull so I knew I had to pull one out of the bag."

Hamilton said: "It has not been my weekend so far. Not many good laps. Just not been able to string them together."

A threat from Red Bull

Ricciardo's superb performance - 0.531secs behind Rosberg and 0.213secs quicker than Verstappen - gives him a strong chance to fight for victory, after he pipped Hamilton with his last lap of the session.

Red Bull had better pace on the race simulation practice runs on Friday than Mercedes, and Ricciardo and Verstappen will start the race on the super-soft tyre rather than the ultra-soft Mercedes will use.

It remains to be seen which strategy is advantageous - Red Bull will be able to do a longer first stint, but Mercedes then have two sets of softs available for remainder of the race while Red Bull only have one.

Oh, Ferrari, not again

Hamilton at least did better than Vettel, who hit trouble almost as soon as he left the pits. He radioed the team to say he felt something wrong at the front of the car but was told to stay out and try to do a lap.

But he was not able to do a time quick enough to get him through into second qualifying and he said over the radio: "This is stupid, we are losing time."
The team said that the problem was a broken rear anti-roll bar. Vettel added: "There was no time to fix it. I wanted to come in but we decided to stay out."

Bad luck for Button

The top 10 was completed by the impressive Toro Rossos of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat, with McLaren's Fernando Alonso in ninth, splitting the Force Indias of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.

However, race stewards penalised Perez a total of eight grid positions for offences committed while yellow caution flags were out during second qualifying.

He was dropped three places for passing Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez and a further five for not slowing sufficiently for the flags, dropping him to 18th on the grid.

Perez was also given three penalty points on his licence.

The yellow flags were out after a crash by McLaren driver Jenson Button.

The 2009 world champion had looked stronger in qualifying after struggling throughout practice but qualified 13th after hitting the wall in Turn 14 and breaking a wheel on his final lap.

"I tapped the wall with the left rear," said Button, who may be taking part in Singapore for the last time after deciding not to drive in 2017, with no certainty about his future beyond that.

"I didn't think I hit it that hard but it broke the wheel and I got a puncture.

"It has been a tough weekend for me. I hadn't found the pace in the car and Fernando had. Then I got to qualifying and I found it but there you go."

Jolyon Palmer will line up 19th in his Renault, two places and 0.135secs behind team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

Rio Paralympics 2016: Iranian Para-cyclist dies following crash

Bahman Golbarnezhad - here competing on the track in 2012 - crashed during the C4-5 road race on Saturday

Rio de Janeiro (Telephost) - An Iranian Para-cyclist has died after a crash during the men's C4-5 road race at the Rio Paralympics.

The International Paralympic Committee said Bahman Golbarnezhad, 48, suffered cardiac arrest after the incident on a "mountainous stretch" of circuit.

"The ambulance then diverted to the nearby Unimed Rio Hospital in Barra where he passed away soon after arrival," a statement added.

Golbarnezhad also competed at the London Paralympics in 2012.

An investigation into the circumstances of the accident has been launched.

"We're looking to gather as much information as we can and as quickly as possible - it should take a matter of days," said Piers Jones, sports director of cycling's governing body UCI.

The Iranian flag has been lowered to half-mast in the Paralympic Village and a period of silence will be observed during Sunday's closing ceremony.

Masoud Ashrafi, the secretary general of Iran's National Paralympic Committee, said they have requested the body of Golbarnezhad is flown back to Iran on Sunday. The Committee also asked for a full report of the incident from the IPC.

He added: "He had been cycling for 12 years and he was our best cyclist. He was married and has a wife and one son.

"He was the kind of man who was a family man. He loved his family."

Golbarnezhad's death is the first in-competition fatality at a summer/winter Olympics or Paralympics since Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen in the 100km team time trial at the 1960 Rome Games.

What details are known about the accident?

Saturday's race began at Pontal and included the Grumari circuit used in the Rio Olympics road races.

The Vista Chinesa circuit - which included a treacherous descent where Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands crashed and sustained concussion during the Olympics - was not part of the Paralympic course.

According to the IPC, Golbarnezhad was involved in a crash at around 10:35 local time on the first section of the Grumari loop, a mountainous stretch of the course, on a curved descent.

He received treatment at the scene and was in the process of being taken to the athlete hospital when he suffered cardiac arrest.

IPC president Sir Philip Carven said: "This is truly heartbreaking news and the thoughts and condolences of the whole Paralympic movement are with Bahman's family, friends, and team-mates as well as the whole of the National Paralympic Committee of Iran.

"The Paralympic family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy, which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games here in Rio."

This was Golbarnezhad's second race at the Rio Paralympics, after finishing 14th in the C4 time-trial race on Wednesday.

Golbarnezhad, from the city of Shiraz in southern Iran, also participated in the London 2012 Paralympic Games, having taken up the sport in 2002.

He competed in events for athletes with lower limb impairments or amputations.

Tributes paid to 'exemplary sportsman'

Iranian Paralympic Committee: "He was an exemplary Paralympic sportsman who, with love and energy, tried his best to promote the name of Iran and to make all of us proud and at the end he gave his life for this.

"All members of the Iranian cultural and sports camp here express condolences to his family and the Iranian nation. The name of Bahman Golbarnezhad will be inscribed in the proud history of Iranian Paralympics."

Carlos Nuzman, president of Rio 2016: "This is very sad news for sport and for the Paralympic movement. Our hearts and prayers are with Bahman's family, his team-mates and all the people of Iran."

Brian Cookson, UCI (cycling's governing body) president: "I am devastated to hear about the death of Iranian rider Bahman Golbarnezhad. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and the NPC of Iran to whom we offer our most sincere condolences."

ParalympicsGB (via Twitter): "We are devastated by the news of Bahman Golbarnezhad's passing. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues from NPC Iran."

United States Olympic Team (via Twitter): "Our thoughts are with the friends, family and team-mates of Team Iran's inspirational cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad."

'I was sat opposite him in the pits this morning'

Dame Sarah Storey, Britain's most decorated female Paralympian, also paid tribute to Golbarnezhad in an interview with BBC Sport.

"I'm absolutely devastated to hear of a colleague who hasn't made it home from the Games," said Storey, who had earlier won Britain's 60th gold medal at the Rio Paralympics.

"Everyone expects to come home from a Games and it's no real condolence that he died doing something he loved.

"It's just an horrendous thing. It couldn't be any worse. There are no words that can make it feel better.

"When you lose someone you don't even know but they are in the same world… I was sat opposite him in the pits this morning. I know who he is but I've never spoken to him. It still hits you really, really hard."