Vettel on pole in Singapore

Singapore - Sebastian Vettel stormed to his fifth pole position of the seas on Saturday as he strengthened his bid to leap closer to a fourth straight world title at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The young German timed a scorching 1min 42.841sec around the spot-lit Marina Bay street circuit to take first place on the grid ahead of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg.

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean will start third, ahead of Vettel's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, second in the overall standings behind Vettel, could only manage sixth fastest ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Gutierrez.

But the evening belonged, once again, to Vettel, who set the two fastest times and will now be favourite to claim his third win in a row in Singapore and his fourth out of the last five races.

Hamilton topped the standings in a swiftly shifting first qualifying period, ahead of Button, Alonso, Sergio Perez and Rosberg.

Red Bull's Webber and Vettel, one of only the few using the slower medium tyres in the opening stansa, were sixth and seventh.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa escaped the drop with a late lap which pushed him from 18th to 13th. Paul Di Resta and Pastor Maldonado, and both Caterhams and both Marussias, missed out.

Rosberg was leading Q2 from his team-mate Hamilton with a super-fast 1:43.892 - until Vettel started his flying lap.

The young German, bouncing over kerbs and speeding just inches (centimetres) from the track walls, obliterated Rosberg's time by nearly a second as he screamed round in 1:42.905.

Vettel, Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton led the cars into the Q3 shoot-out, with Nico Hulkenberg, Ferrari-bound Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren's Perez outside the top 10.

It was no surprise that Vettel stayed fastest, but he did it in impressive style, lowering his previous time and earning enough breathing space to garage early.

However, there were some nervy moments when Webber threatened his time - and a relieved Vettel punched the air as he watched his Australian team-mate finish in a slower time.

The 26-year-old has a 53-point lead in the standings and victory on Sunday will put him closer to matching Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio by winning four championships in a row.

Q3

1. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:42.841

2. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1:42.932

3. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault) 1:43.058

4. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault) 1:43.152

5. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:43.254

6. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1:43.890

7. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:43.938

8. Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:44.282

9. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:44.439

10. Esteban Gutierrez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari) no time in Q3

Q2

1. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:42.905 (Q)

2. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault) 1:43.727 (Q)

3. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1:43.892 (Q)

4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:43.920 (Q)

5. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault) 1:43.957 (Q)

6. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:44.153 (Q)

7. Esteban Gutierrez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:44.245 (Q)

8. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1:44.376 (Q)

9. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:44.407 (Q)

10. Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:44.497 (Q)

11. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:44.555

12. Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:44.588

13. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus-Renault) 1:44.658

14. Sergio Perez (MEX/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:44.752

15. Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:45.185

16. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Williams-Renault) 1:45.388

Q1

1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:44.196 (Q)

2. Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:45.009 (Q)

3. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:45.115 (Q)

4. Sergio Perez (MEX/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:45.164 (Q)

5. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1:45.208 (Q)

6. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault) 1:45.271 (Q)

7. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:45.376 (Q)

8. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:45.379 (Q)

9. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:45.381 (Q)

10. Esteban Gutierrez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:45.483 (Q)

11. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus-Renault) 1:45.522 (Q)

12. Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:45.657 (Q)

13. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1:45.658 (Q)

14. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault) 1:45.851 (Q)

15. Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:45.960 (Q)

16. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Williams-Renault) 1:45.982 (Q)

17. Paul di Resta (GBR/Force India-Mercedes) 1:46.121

18. Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams-Renault) 1:46.619

19. Charles Pic (FRA/Caterham-Renault) 1:48.111

20. Giedo van der Garde (NED/Caterham-Renault) 1:48.320

21. Jules Bianchi (FRA/Marussia-Cosworth) 1:48.830

22. Max Chilton (GBR/Marussia-Cosworth) 1:48.930