Sizzling Hamilton grabs pole - Oman Daily Observer

SINGAPORE — McLaren's Lewis Hamilton yesterday produced a scorching fastest lap to capture pole position in qualifying for today's Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. Hamilton clocked one minute and 46.382 seconds, more than half a second faster than world champion Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull, who was third behind surprise package Pastor Maldonado in a Williams.

Vettel had been fastest in all three practice sessions but could not cope with Hamilton and will line up on the second row next to Hamilton's team-mate Jenson Button. Championship leader Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari was fifth, with Force India's Paul di Resta sixth. "The guys have done a fantastic job all week," Hamilton said. "Sebastian (Vettel) was incredibly fast through most of the sessions so I'm very happy that I managed to pull that time out at the end.

"Trying to find a gap in qualifying is hard and making sure everything is up to temperature is hard too so I feel very fortunate that I got the time I needed." Hamilton, who has won two of the last three grands prix, was 0.442 seconds up on Maldonado for his fifth pole position of the season and third in four races. McLaren have won the last three races, with Button victorious in Belgium in between wins in Hungary and Italy for Hamilton.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "Sebastian has looked very strong all weekend but Lewis timed it well to come good. It's a great place to start for Jenson too, he may be a bit disappointed, but he kept it cool and he's on the second row." Vettel admitted he was 'a little disappointed' with third and especially with the third qualifying stint. "Nevertheless it's a good place to start from on the grid. The pace is there within the car but we didn't do the last step in qualifying and it's a shame it didn't come together at the end," he said.

Maldonado, who has not scored a point since winning the Spanish GP in May, was the surprise of the last session, with only Hamilton faster. "At the beginning of the weekend, we were a little bit lost with set up. We were improving as qualifying went on, trying to adapt the car to my style," the Williams driver said.

"We found a well-balanced car in Q2 and Q3. I'm really looking forward to the race. Yesterday we showed a good pace so I think the race is going to be a good one for us this time." The leading 10 was completed by Mark Webber (Red Bull), Romain Grosjean (Lotus) and Mercedes duo Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Force India's Nico Huelkenberg had to make do with 11th, while Kimi Raikkonen in a Lotus was a disappointing 12th.

Meanwhile Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, who started on the front row in the Belgian Grand Prix three weeks ago, failed to progress beyond the first qualifying and will start 18th. Alonso heads the drivers' standings on 179 points, followed by Hamilton (142), Raikkonen (141) and Vettel (140). — DPA