Lewis Hamilton storms to pole under the lights at Singapore

Lewis Hamilton has stormed to his 24th pole of his Formula 1 career after a scintillating lap underneath the lights at Singapore, ahead of the Williams of Pastor Maldonado who will start alongside the Briton. Sebastian Vettel will start 3rd, in what should be a thrilling Singapore GP.

Sergio Perez was the first driver to take to the track as Q1 got underway, and also set the initial pace his Sauber with a 01:52.725. In traditional qualifying fashion, the times quickly began to tumble as the front runners took to the Marina Bay street circuit. Romain Grosjean immediately displaced the Mexican driver, as his team-mate of Kimi Raikkonen ran wide at turn 9.

Pastor Maldonado then shot to the top of the timing sheets, before Championship leader Fernando Alonso went fastest with a 01:49.976. Maldonado momentarily returned to the top spot, before Nico Rosberg then Fernando Alonso went fastest, the latter setting a 01:49.391. Lewis Hamilton struggled in the early stages of the session, out-braking himself through turn 1 and running straight through turn 2. The Briton then bounced precariously over the kerbs through turn 10, before finally storming to the top of the timing sheets with a 01:48.285.

As the opening qualifying session drew to a close, many drivers began opting for the super-soft Pirelli tyre compound. This saw the time at the top drop dramatically in the closing stages, with Kimi Raikkonen, Paul di Resta and finally Romain Grosjean flying at the sharp end of the timing sheets with a 01:47.688. The usual suspects of the HRTs, Caterhams and Marussias dropped out of qualifying as the opening 20 minutes came to a conclusion, and were joined by the ailing Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi.

The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen immediately took to the track as the second session got underway, the Finn eager for a more competitive result around the Marina Bay street circuit. As the ‘Iceman’ set the initial pace with a 01:48.261, the other Lotus of Romain Grosjean spun at turn 14 and tapped the barrier. Luckily for the Frenchman, he was able to continue circulating after initially returning to the pits.

Fernando Alonso wasted no time in flying to the top of the timing sheets with a 01:48.058, before the reigning World Champion of Sebastian Vettel set a blisteringly quick 01:46.791 to go fastest and into provisional pole-position. Bruno Senna’s qualifying session was brought to a premature end, as the Brazilian driver once again tapped the wall and ruined his right-rear tyre.

Whilst Senna struggled for Williams, Lewis Hamilton thwarted Sebastian Vettel with a stunning 01:46.665. The Briton would remain in provisional pole-position as the session drew to a conclusion, as the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg narrowly progressed to the top ten shootout. However, Championship contender Kimi Raikkonen failed to progress and was eliminated along with Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne and Bruno Senna.

The final top ten shootout awaited the teams and drivers lucky enough to have progressed from Q2, as the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg became the first driver to take to the track as Q3 began. Jenson Button set the initial pace for McLaren with a 01:47.238, before the 2008 World Champion of Lewis Hamilton smashed the opposition with a 01:46.362. This time would remain unbeaten as the qualifying session came to an end, however Pastor Maldonado was able to throw the cat amongst the pigeons as the Venezuelan driver stormed to 2nd position.

With two of the feistiest drivers on the grid starting alongside each other for tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix, it looks set to be an electrifying 61-lap race. With Championship leader Fernando Alonso set to start the race from 5th, a win would be exceedingly important for Hamilton’s Championship chances.

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