Reuters
Singapore, Sept 19: Sebastian Vettel was beaming from ear to ear after ending Ferrari’s three-year wait for a Formula One (F1) pole position by blitzing the all-conquering Mercedes duo at his favoured Singapore Grand Prix here Saturday.
The quadruple World Champion became the first Ferrari driver to claim a pole position since Fernando Alonso at the 2012 German Grand Prix with an impressive time of one minute 43.885 seconds under the floodlights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Vettel, winner in Malaysia and Hungary this year, was almost 1.5 seconds quicker than championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton had claimed 11 of 12 poles this year in his Mercedes and leads the drivers’ standings by 53 points but could only manage fifth on Saturday.
Hamilton’s team mate Nico Rosberg, who is second in the standings with seven races left, will be alongside the Briton on the third row after also struggling, Saturday.
“Unbelievable. I know it is only Saturday and the main job is tomorrow (Sunday) but I had to enjoy the moment,” Vettel told reporters after whooping and hollering in delight when his team told him of his position over the radio. “The car was fantastic to drive and got better through qualifying. Surprised by the margin, but it just came together.”
Vettel’s former teammate Daniel Ricciardo was second quickest for Red Bull with his current colleague Kimi Raikkonen third.
