F1: Hamilton Keeps Title Challenge On Track With Singapore Pole

Formula 1

F1: Hamilton Keeps Title Challenge On Track With Singapore Pole

Lewis Hamilton is second in Formula One driver points...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted September 22, 2012 Marina Bay (SGP)

Lewis Hamilton's McLaren paced Singapore GP qualifying. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton kept up the momentum he’s built up over recent races by securing another pole position in Singapore with a superb first run.

The McLaren driver scraped the wall on his second run, but he didn’t need to go any faster as pole was already in the bag.

“The guys have done a fantastic job all week, and to come here with some small things that have improved from the last race,” said Hamilton. “Obviously, we have high downforce here, so we weren’t sure where we would turn out against the others but, obviously, Sebastian (Vettel) was incredibly fast through most of the sessions. I’m not really sure what happened in the end. Nonetheless, I’m very happy that I was able to pull that time out. A great lap; I’m very happy with it.”

Hamilton admitted that it wasn’t easy to get it right.

“Just trying to find the gaps is quite difficult, particularly in Q1," the McLaren driver said. "And making sure your tires are up to temperature, making sure your brakes are up to temperature without using them before you start your lap.

“And yeah, the first few laps I did on the prime, it was quite poor, and I feel very fortunate that I was able to get at least one lap on them, so I didn’t have to go again.”

Hamilton agrees that tires will be the big story on Sunday: “It’s an incredibly tough circuit for tire degradation, as we have at pretty much every track, but especially as it’s hot and humid here. So I think everyone is going to struggle with that, and I think we just have to try and get away cleanly at the start and stick to the strategy that we have planned, and be prepared if it doesn’t work.

“Hopefully, we’ve done the work we need to do to hopefully put together a good package tomorrow. We’ve put ourselves in the best position, so I hope that we will be able to capitalize on that tomorrow.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.