1) Vettel 2) Ricciardo 3) Raikkonen 4) Kvyat 5) Hamilton 6) Rosberg 7) Bottas 8) Verstappen 9) Massa 10) Grosjean  

11) Hulkenberg 12) Alonso 13) Perez 14) Sainz 15) Button 16) Nasr 17) Ericsson 18) Maldonado 19) Stevens 20) Rossi 

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

“McLaren did not deliver on their ambition of making the top 10 in qualifying. But while Jenson Button understandably sounded a bit fed up - down in 15th, struggling with balance and 0.7 seconds and three places behind team-mate Fernando Alonso, who has looked on a separate level all weekend - Alonso was anything but. 

“The Spaniard was eighth fastest in final practice and had his last qualifying lap ruined by the yellow flags for Carlos Sainz’s crash, but ‘practice is practice,’ he said, ‘and when in qualifying everyone puts the magic button and puts extra power, we don’t have that yet. We are happy - 11th, 12th without the yellow flag is realistic. Half a second from the top 10, which is impossible even without the yellow flag. I felt comfortable and competitive all weekend. In qually the difference with Jenson is the biggest all year so I have nothing to complain about.’

“To be fair, Alonso has said from the beginning of the weekend that he thought top 10 on the grid was optimistic - but he is firm in his desire to be in the points in the race.

“‘I will be in the points first corner, I tell you,’ he said to BBC pit-lane reporter Lee McKenzie, smiling, but clearly not joking. It was a reference to his almost supernatural ability to make up places on the first lap, at which he is without doubt the best in the business. ‘And then I will keep the position - my car will be four metres wide!’”

McLaren's Fernando Alonso (12th on the grid):

"It's going to be interesting for us. We have the possibility to get some points at this type of circuit and we want to take this opportunity.

"It's very tough here, mechanically and physically"

McLaren's Jenson Button (15th on the grid):

"I am looking forward to seeing what happens at the front and we have the action in the middle of the pack.

"It's unforgiving here and it makes racing and overtaking difficult. There is normally some action - bumping and bits falling off cars."

Image source, .

Speaking of Lewis Hamilton's lead, here's a look at the standings. 

Hamilton heads into the race with a healthy 53 point lead over Nico Rosberg, who will be starting to look over his shoulder. Sebastian Vettel is just 21 points and is in prime position to close the gap from the front row today.

The Sunday Mirror warn that 'only the misguided would totally write off a driver of Hamilton's calibre beating the odds as he has done so often in the past', adding: 'Ultimately what is most important is extending his massive 53-point lead in the title race over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg'.

Image source, Sunday Mirror

The Observer describes Vettel's pole as 'one of the greatest party poops in Formula 1 history' and claim 'the most alarming fact was the size of the gap between Mercedes and the leaders'.

Image source, Observer

The Sunday Telegraph is not afraid of hyperbole, claiming Vetel's pole was 'the most astonishing upset these parts have witnessed since Japanese soldiers overwhelmed the British occupation of Singapore in 1942'. 

They report Mercedes' boss Toto Wolff's denials that their lack of pace is due to previously 'running illegal tyre pressures' until Hamilton was nearly disqualified after the Italian Grand Prix 'for such an infringement'.

The Sunday Times says that Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has 'spoilt the planned record-equalling celebrations of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton' by preventing him from matching Ayrton Senna's tally of eight consecutive pole positions. They add that a Mercedes pole would have made it 24 in succession for the team - 'which would have equalled the record of Williams from 1992 to 1993'.

Image source, Sunday Times

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

“Half a second up the road Sebastian Vettel may be in qualifying, but that does not necessarily mean he will walk away with the race. 

"The Red Bulls, which share the first and second rows with the two Ferrari drivers, were actually slightly the quicker cars on the race-simulation runs on Friday and Daniel Ricciardo will undoubtedly be in full ‘honey badger’ - his nickname - mode as he seeks to end his victory drought this year, against a man who, let’s be honest, he flat beat last year when they were team-mates at Red Bull.”

David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator on Inside F1

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

“Sebastian Vettel has taken a lot of pole positions in his remarkably successful grand prix career so far but the 46th surely has to be one of the best. 

"He has looked on fire throughout the weekend and his pole lap was a stunner, all the more so because he did not actually need to do it. His first flying lap was good enough for him to have had pole in his pocket by 0.123 seconds by the time everyone else had finished their runs. At that stage, Vettel still had half his final lap to go, but he kept his foot in for the sheer joy of it, and the result was pole by more than half a second. 

"Team boss Maurizo Arrivabene said: ‘We were having a heart attack and hoping he was not having a love affair with that wall and kiss it. He did a great, great lap.’ Arrivabene was quietly optimistic for the race, saying Kimi Raikkonen, who starts third, ‘will also have good pace’, although he did urge the Finn to make a good start for the first time in three races.”

Image source, Getty Images

No-one is more successful in Singapore than Sebastian Vettel.

The German has won more races than any other driver, winning three in a row from 2011.

Not exactly something the rest of the field will want to read.

David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator on Inside F1

Image source, AP

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo (second on the grid):

"I should have a clear run into turn one so it should be fun.

"It's quite a bit cooler tonight which might be physically a bit easier for the other drivers.

"Everyone is going to try to make it a two-stop work."

Image source, Getty Images

There was plenty of talk in the build up to this race about Lewis Hamilton and the chance he has to equal Ayrton Senna's record of 41 wins from 161 starts.

That task got a whole lot harder as a result of qualifying, but it would be some way to achieve it if he manages to win in Singapore today...

David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator on Inside F1