Di Resta clocks up superb sixth

Published on 23/09/2012 02:07

Paul di Resta conjured up a superb sixth place on the grid for today’s Singapore Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton took pole position with Williams’ Pastor Maldonado also on the front row.

Hamilton grabbed his third pole in four races in his McLaren to fire up his world championship chances. He is primed for his fourth win this year as he aims to close the 37-point gap to championship leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. Alonso will start fifth, with Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull and McLaren’s Jenson Button also ahead of him. None of them had any answer to Hamilton’s lap of one minute 46.362 seconds.

Force India’s Di Resta is sixth with Red Bull’s Mark Webber seventh but under investigation and facing a five-place penalty for impeding Marussia’s Timo Glock in Q1, whilst Lotus’ Romain Grosjean starts eighth.

On the fifth row will be Mercedes’ duo Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, neither driver setting a time after using up all three sets of their supersoft tyres in the first two sessions.

Nico Hulkenberg found himself ousted from Q2 at the death by the last man on track in Schumacher, leaving the younger German to start 11th in his Force India.