Singapore GP: Vettel beats Verstappen to pole, Hamilton fifth

The Ferrari driver set a time quick enough for pole position on his first run in Q3, during which all drivers used ultrasoft rubber, with a 1m39.669s.

He then survived a light brush of the wall on his second run to improve to a 1m39.491s to take pole from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen by 0.323s.

Verstappen had set the pace in Q2, but after recording the second fastest time on his first run in Q3 he was unable to improve on his second run.

Daniel Ricciardo was third in the second Red Bull, but could only improve by 0.022s on his second run.

That left Kimi Raikkonen in fourth place, with the Finn unable to carry his impressive first-sector pace into the second and third sectors of his final lap.

Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas both qualified on the fifth row, with the gap between the two Mercedes teammates almost seven tenths of a second.

Nico Hulkenberg was best-of-the rest in seventh for Renault, just ahead of McLaren's Fernando Alonso.

The second McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne was ninth, well ahead of 10th-placed Carlos Sainz.

Renault driver Jolyon Palmer missed out on Q3 after being relegated to 11th by Alonso on the second runs in the second segment of qualifying.

He failed to improve on his second set of tyres in Q2 thanks to a moment in the final corner, which the team suggested over the radio cost him 10th place.

Sergio Perez complained about having "no grip at all" on his second Q2 run and ended up 12th after being unable to improve on his first-run time.

Daniil Kvyat did improve on his second run for Toro Rosso, but only by enough to take 13th ahead of the second Force India of Esteban Ocon.

Romain Grosjean, who paid two visits to the Turn 7 escape road in Q1, didn't post a time on his first run in Q2 and was unable to do better than 15th when he made his second attempt.

Kevin Magnussen was the fastest of those eliminated in Q1 after being relegated to 16th by Hulkenberg's leap up the order.

Williams driver Felipe Massa was also knocked out in 17th after a difficult session, not posting a serious lap time on his first run after clipping the wall at the exit of Turn 21 and suffering a right-rear puncture

Massa then had a big moment in the fast left-hander final corner on his final flying lap, which ensured any faint hope he had of making Q2 was lost.

Lance Stroll was 18th ahead of Sauber driver Pascal Wehrlein, who also had a minor brush with the wall at Turn 21 on his final run.

Marcus Ericsson was last in the second Sauber, and will be given a five-place grid penalty thanks to a gearbox change triggered by damage suffered when he hit the wall during free practice 3.

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Ferrari	1'39.491
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	TAG	1'39.814	0.323
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	TAG	1'39.840	0.349
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari	1'40.069	0.578
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'40.126	0.635
6	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'40.810	1.319
7	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	Renault	1'41.013	1.522
8	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	Honda	1'41.179	1.688
9	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	Honda	1'41.398	1.907
10	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	Renault	1'42.056	2.565
11	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	Renault	1'42.107	2.616
12	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes	1'42.246	2.755
13	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	Renault	1'42.338	2.847
14	Esteban Ocon	Force India	Mercedes	1'42.760	3.269
15	Romain Grosjean	Haas	Ferrari	1'43.883	4.392
16	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	Ferrari	1'43.756	4.265
17	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes	1'44.014	4.523
18	Lance Stroll	Williams	Mercedes	1'44.728	5.237
19	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	Ferrari	1'45.059	5.568
20	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	Ferrari	1'45.570	6.079