Hamilton didn't expect Ferrari to be so strong in Singapore F1 qualifying

Lewis Hamilton was left surprised by Ferrari's pace during Formula 1 qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix after seeing title rival Sebastian Vettel storm to his second pole position of the year.

After a quiet Friday, Ferrari appeared to trail Red Bull for pace in Singapore, only for Vettel to come roaring back in the final stage of qualifying and eventually finish three-tenths of a second clear of the field.

Hamilton had a difficult qualifying, finishing down in fifth behind both Ferrari and Red Bull drivers for Mercedes, but always expected to struggle in Singapore.

"Well we knew that we would come here and it would be difficult. I think every year we’ve come here it’s been relatively difficult for us generally, but we knew today would be tough," Hamilton said.

"We definitely didn’t anticipate Ferrari would be as strong as they were, I thought Red Bull would be as quick as they were but we remained hopeful.

"I got everything I could out of the car. I got everything and more, I literally threw the sink at it. I squeezed every bit out of it."
 
Heading into Sunday's race, Hamilton was uneasy about his chances of fighting back and protecting his three-point lead at the top of the drivers' championship, with the lack of overtaking opportunities concerning him.

"This is a crap track for overtaking so it’s usually just a long, long train. So it’s going to be difficult," Hamilton said.

"The start is an opportunity, strategy, Safety Car, who knows, but tomorrow we’re just going to have to play the long game.

"It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we’ll try and take that method into tomorrow."