Sebastian Vettel takes Pole Position at the Singapore GP

In qualifying for the Singapore GP at the Marina Bay circuit, Sebastian Vettel claimed Pole Position ahead of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in a session that saw Lewis Hamilton finish in fifth place.

We saw during the session many drivers making minor errors that affected their finishing positions. Williams driver Felipe Massa had a very difficult session and didn’t set a serious lap time on his first run because he clipped the wall at the exit of the Turn 20/21 right-left and suffered a right-rear puncture.

Massa then had a big moment in the fast left-hander at the end of his final flying lap, which ensured any faint hope he had of making Q2 was lost. Meanwhile both the Sauber drivers struggled in the session with Pascal Wehrlein, having a minor brush with the wall at the penultimate complex of corners as Marcus Ericsson was last in the second Sauber, and was given a five-place grid penalty thanks to a gearbox change triggered by damage suffered when he hit the wall during free practice three.

Renault's Jolyon Palmer failed to improve on his second set of tyres in Q2 thanks to a moment at the final corner, which the team suggested over the radio cost him 10th place.
As Force India's 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. But Romain Grosjean, who paid two visits to the Turn 7 escape road at the end of the back straight in Q1, didn’t post a time on his first run in Q2 and was unable to do better than fifteenth place when he made his second attempt.

But it wasn't all plain sailing for Vettel, he had to survive a light brush of the wall at the right-hander coming out from under the grandstand on his second run to improve and to take pole from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in Q3.

But it was Sebastian Vettel who was claimed Pole Position with an astonishing lap time of 1:39.491.Vettel finished ahead of Max Verstappen in second place who was 0.323 seconds behind him and ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in third place who was 0.349 seconds behind Vettel.

Kimi Raikkonen qualified in fourth place ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fifth place, Valtteri Bottas in sixth place, Nico Hulkenberg in a brilliant seventh place, Fernando Alonso in an brilliant eighth place, Stoffel Vandoorne in ninth place and Carlos Sainz Jr who rounded off the top ten finishers.

Jolyon Palmer qualified in eleventh place ahead of Sergio Perez in twelfth place, Daniil Kvyat in thirteenth place, Esteban Ocon in fourteenth place and Romain Grosjean in fifteenth place.

As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Kevin Magnussen ended the session in sixteenth place ahead of Felipe Massa in seventeenth place, Lance Stroll in eighteenth place, Pascal Wehrlein in nineteenth place and Marcus Ericsson in twentieth place.

The classification of Qualifying for the Singapore GP is as follows:-

1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1.39.491
2. Max Verstappen, Red-Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.323s
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.349s
4. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 0.578s
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 0.635s
6. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1.319s
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 1.522s
8. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 1.688s
9. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren-Honda, 1.907s
10. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 2.565s
11. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1.42.207
12. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 1.42.246
13. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1.42.338
14. Esteban Ocon, Force India-Mercedes, 1.42.760
15. Romain Grosjean, Haas Ferrari, 1.43.883
16. Kevin Magnussen, Haas Ferrari, 1.43.756
17. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 1.44.014
18. Lance Stroll, Williams-Mercedes, 1.44.728
19. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.45.059
20. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.45.570

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa