F1 Singapore Grand Prix: Hamilton pips Rosberg in a close fight for pole

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took his sixth pole position of the F1 season in Singapore in a qualifying session that saw the top nine drivers set times within six tenths of a second.

After their first run in Q3, both the Mercedes drivers sat outside the top five with Hamilton making a mistake in middle part of his flying lap and Rosberg handicapped by a scrub set of tyres.

Daniel Ricciardo took the initiative and took provisional pole with a lap time of 1:45.854. However, the Mercedes duo had other plans and were back up to pace on their final run. Rosberg went two tenths quicker than the Australian but it was Lewis Hamilton who emerged on top, beating his German teammate by just 0.007 seconds to take his second successive F1 pole position.

GRID POSITION CRUCIAL
With overtaking difficult around the tight and twisty streets of Singapore, qualifying might well dictate the outcome of the championship rivals in tomorrow’s race.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel qualified his Red Bull alongside teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the second row of the grid, having clocked the Marina Bay Circuit in 1:45.907. The German spent majority of FP2 in the pits while the defending four-time F1 constructors champions changed the engine on his RB10.

Fernando Alonso who set the pace earlier this evening was only fifth fastest with a laptime of 1:45.907. Fans were devoid of a close fight between the Spaniard and a resurgent Kimi Raikkonen after the latter was informed about a suspected mechanical problem via team radio. The Finn qualified in seventh place.

WILLIAMS MAKE PROGRESS
Williams made major strides since Friday, as has been the case all season and Massa was leading the timesheets after everyone completed their first run in Q3. But in the final standings, the Brazilian was only sixth fastest. Valtteri Bottas will start right behind him in eighth place.

Rookies Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat out qualified their experienced teammates to book a spot in the final leg of qualifying but couldn’t qualify any higher than ninth and tenth on the grid respectively.

Jenson Button narrowly missed out on Q3 to the disappointment of McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier and Group CEO Ron Dennis who are cautiously weighing in their driver options for next season.

Neither of the Force Indias made it into Q3 as the Silverstone based squad continues to slip to the back of the grid. Hulkenberg was 13th quickest while Sergio Perez locked his VJM07 in 15th place.

Romain Grosjean was equally disappointed - not only with lack of performance of his car - but also because of a suspected problem with his engine that left him only 16th on the grid.

Earlier in Q1, Sauber’s Adrian Sutil and Pastor Maldonado(Lotus) joined backmarkers Marussia and Caterham. While latter is set to stay in F1 next year thanks to his deep pocketed sponsors, the former faces a bleak future with cash trapped Sauber.

F1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING RESULTS (TOP 10)

1) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:45.681

2) Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:45.688

3) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull 1:45.854

4) Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:45.902

5) Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:45.907

6) Felipe Massa Williams 1:46.000

7) Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:46.170

8) Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:46.187

9) Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:46.250

10) Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:47.362