Singapore – Qualifications: Hamilton, a Thrill in the Night!

28°C in the air, 30°C on the track, and still over 70% humidity, the Singaporean night will deliver the verdict on speed and performance over a lap! It is worth noting that a driver will be penalized on the starting grid: Pedro de la Rosa will move back five places following a gearbox change.

Q1: The first driver to hit the track is Sergio Pérez, quickly followed by a part of the field on soft tires (yellow). The Mexican sets the first benchmark time at 1:52.725, soon overtaken by Romain Grosjean and then Pastor Maldonado. Kimi Räikkönen goes straight on just before the Stadium. Fernando Alonso takes the lead with 1:49.511. Nico Rosberg makes a mistake at the Singapore Sling, the highly elevated curbs chicane that sometimes surprises drivers. The Force India cars and Michael Schumacher rank in the top 5 midway through the session, while Rosberg takes the lead at 1:49.463. Alonso does better by 72 thousandths.

Ten minutes from the end, Lewis Hamilton still doesn’t have a proper time: the McLaren driver made a mistake in each of his laps and must therefore try again. The Brit manages the best time in his third lap at 1:48.285, one second ahead of his teammate, who locked up his wheels. Sebastian Vettel sets his first time, falling 2 thousandths short of Hamilton. The battle between McLaren and Red Bull is already shaping up.

The Lotus cars are already on the super soft (red) tires: Grosjean takes the lead in this Q1, with a time of 1:47.688, ahead of Di Resta and Räikkönen, while Vettel improves his time on soft tires and is 45 thousandths ahead of Hamilton. As the checkered flag is lowered, it’s Kamui Kobayashi who is eliminated; the surprising Sauber driver, 18th, fails in Q1 by a tenth. At Caterham, Petrov is ahead of Kovalainen, and at HRT, Karthikeyan is ahead of De la Rosa. Everyone is under the 107% mark.

Eliminated in Q1: Kobayashi, Petrov, Kovalainen, Glock, Pic, Karthikeyan, and De la Rosa.

Q2: Kimi Räikkönen is the first to hit the track. The Finn clocks a 1:48.261 on super soft tires. Romain Grosjean, meanwhile, makes a mistake and crashes into the wall quite violently. The Franco-Swiss driver gets back on track and heads to the pits: a stroke of luck for the Lotus driver as his car doesn’t seem too damaged. Alonso takes the lead with 1:48.058 but Vettel obliterates this time with 1:46.791. Hamilton does better by a tenth. The two men are far ahead. Bruno Senna also makes a mistake and hits the wall; it’s over for the Brazilian, who tore off the right rear wheel.

At mid-Q2, all the drivers are in the pits. All except Grosjean, who, after the usual checks, takes off alone. He sets the third provisional time, less than nine-tenths behind Hamilton. Webber is just ahead of the Lotus by a whisker. Maldonado and Alonso easily secure their qualification, but the surprise comes from Kimi Räikkönen, who does not make it past Q2 and only takes 12th place. Massa and Pérez are the other notable eliminations.

Eliminated in Q2: Hülkenberg, Räikkönen, Massa, Pérez, Ricciardo, Vergne, and Senna.

Q3: Nico Rosberg opens the ball on soft tires, just like his teammate. The Mercedes team might be attempting a “Sauber-like” gamble by starting on harder tires than their competitors. The McLaren drivers, on the other hand, are looking for performance: Button sets the first significant time at 1:47.238, before his teammate shatters that time with 1:46.362. Vettel, the other driver on the track, falls 1.3 seconds short with already used tires. No other driver has set a time.

Grosjean sets off as the three drivers enter or have entered. The Lotus driver is attacking and makes several mistakes, which leave him 1.4 seconds off the best time. Maldonado takes the second time, four-tenths behind Hamilton. Vettel fails to reach the front row and will start third!

This is McLaren’s fourth consecutive pole position, the 24th pole position of Lewis Hamilton’s career, and the 153rd pole for the McLaren team.

Singapore Grand Prix 2012 Qualifying Standings: