Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton will start in pole position for Sunday’s Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
The British driver, the reigning world champion, produced a flying lap in qualifying to secure pole. He will be joined on the front row by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Hamilton’s nearest rival in the 2018 title race is Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari driver, who is 30 points behind Hamilton in the championship, will start in third in the Singapore night race.
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Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas starts in fourth, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen is in fifth and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo will be in sixth.
Hamilton’s 1:36.015 time was described as “magical”, “epic” and one that “could be a championship-winning lap”.
After securing pole Hamilton said: “Wow, wow. That was a hard qualifying session. That lap felt like magic. I don’t know where it came from but it all came together.
“Huge thank you to all the team. Everyone is working so hard to pull out extra bits. For that one lap I managed to get it right.
“Honestly I’m super overwhelmed. My heart is racing. I don’t think there was a moment in the lap that was wide or any problems. It was just perfectly to the limit. It felt like one of the best laps I remember feeling.”
F1 Singapore GP qualifying result
- 1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:36.015
- 2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) +0.319
- 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +0.613
- 4 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.687
- 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +0.779
- 6 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing) +0.981
- 7 Sergio Perez (Racing Point) +1.970
- 8 Romain Grosjean (Haas F1 Team) +2.305
- 9 Esteban Ocon (Racing Point) +2.350
- 10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) +2.573
- 11 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
- 12 Carlos Sainz (Renault)
- 13 Charles Leclerc Sauber
- 14 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
- 15 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
- 16 Kevin Magnussen (Haas F1 Team)
- 17 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
- 18 Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
- 19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
- 20 Lance Stroll (Williams)
2018 F1 Singapore Grand Prix
Marina Bay Street Circuit
- First GP: 2008
- Number of laps: 61
- Circuit length: 5.065km
- Race distance: 308.706km
- Lap record: 1:45.008 by Lewis Hamilton in 2017
What is the Singapore GP race start time?
It’s at 1.10pm on Sunday 16 September.
Singapore GP betting odds
Latest prices according to Sky Bet (as of 15 September).
To win the Singapore GP:
- Lewis Hamilton: 5/6
- Sebastian Vettel: 9/4
- Max Verstappen: 3/1
- Valtteri Bottas: 18/1
- Daniel Ricciardo: 25/1
- Kimi Raikkonen: 28/1
How to watch the Singapore GP on TV
Sky Sports and Channel 4 will broadcast live from Singapore.
Sky Sports F1’s Singapore GP schedule
Sunday 16 September
- 11.30am: Pit Lane live
- 12.30pm: On the Grid live
- 1.10pm: F1 Singapore GP live
- 3.30pm: Paddock live
Channel 4’s Singapore GP schedule
Sunday 16 September
- 12pm: F1 build-up
- 12.40pm: F1 Singapore GP live
