Fans rock with Linkin Park at F1 finale concert

They may have started slightly late and ended half an hour early, but Linkin Park delivered a thunderous performance on Sunday night, ending the third and final day of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix with an explosive bang.

The rap and nu metal band returned to Singapore for a third time, drawing some 50,000 fans to the Padang, according to police estimates.

The band made good of its one and a half hours spent on stage, dishing out a 20-song set list and two interludes from their latest album, A Thousand Suns, the majority of which were from their three older albums Hybrid Theory, Meteora and Minutes to Midnight.

The audience were on their feet from start to finish, jumping in unison to hits like One Step Closer, In The End and Faint, mellowing out and singing along to slower songs like Iridescent and Shadow Of The Day, accompanied by stunning visualisations and roving floodlights from the stage.

Lead vocalist Chester Bennington was the embodiment of passion as always, spinning and bounding across the stage when belting out The Catalyst, while rapper and founding member Mike Shinoda climbed off stage and ran a short way down the centre aisle, reaching out to screaming fans and pointing his microphone to them during In The End.

Throughout the performance, the band revealed their maturity and fondness for the audience, with Bennington repeatedly thanking fans for their enthusiasm. Though lacking an encore set, the band spent a good 10 minutes bowing to the audience and throwing out items including drum sticks, towels and drink bottles.

Fans were not fazed by the band's seemingly-premature end to the concert, saying they enjoyed themselves so much that it did not matter.

19-year-old polytechnic student Jordan Lee was the last person to secure one of the 2,000 wristbands that gave fans access to the fan zone area surrounding the Padang stage.

"I was elated," he said, on being able to stand to the band. "I'm as happy as I can be right now... I was having so much fun, I didn't keep track of time," he added.

Linkin Park's return was a memorable one for some fans, who recall the band taking to the stage for the first time in Singapore at the same venue in 2004, as well as their second performance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2007.

University graduate Lyndsey Long, 22, has followed the band faithfully over the past decade, and was also at their 2004 concert.

"It was this exact same place, and I was standing at the exact same distance from the stage... It felt so nostalgic," she told Yahoo! Singapore.

Musician Shaun Khiu, 27, praised the polished quality of the band's set, although acknowledging that certain parts of their backing music was pre-recorded.

"Quite a lot of the backing parts are sampled, because their songs are so complex now that it's impossible to play all the different layers together," he said.

"I would still like to see more playing though... it feels to me like they've gotten a bit lazier," he added.

Rick Astley blasts fans to the past in live set

Singer Rick Astley also made an appearance at the Grand Prix earlier in the day, with an hour-long set at the Village stage near the Paddock Club.

Performing classic hits like Together Forever and Hold Me In Your Arms, the 45-year-old scored points in audience engagement with his British humour, re-emerging in an encore with his signature single, Never Gonna Give You Up.

Telling the audience he was there to enjoy himself as well as entertain them, he slipped lines into the final song he sang -- adding "Since 1987!" to the line "We've known each other for so long" in Never Gonna Give You Up -- and sparred jovially with the approximately 300 fans gathered there.

Sebastian Vettel secures victory at F1 race

Out on the tracks, Renault Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel slid into a seamless victory after a nail-biting 61 laps.

First runner-up Jensen Button, driving for McLaren Mercedes, put up a very keen fight in a bid to catch up with Vettel, but was slowed down by a line of "traffic" toward the end, unsuccessfully trying to weave through a five-car line. He finished the race 1.7 seconds behind Vettel.

Finishing third was Vettel's fellow Renault driver Mark Webber while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso drove in at fourth.

Racing legend Michael Schumacher suffered a devastating headfirst crash into a barrier during his 29th lap after colliding with Sergio Perez's Sauber. The 42-year-old German was unhurt.