No surprises about who’s first as Vettel races towards pole position record

The 24-year-old German was in a class of his own in claiming the top spot for the 11th time from 14 races this year, to move within three of equalling Nigel Mansell’s 1992 record for of poles in a season.

Vettel’s lap of one minute 44.381 seconds on the Marina Bay Street Circuit was a third of a second quicker than team-mate Mark Webber. The pole also extends the team’s run to 15 in a row, with Red Bull closing in on Williams’ astonishing run of 24.

Describing his satisfaction of driving around the Singapore circuit, Vettel said: “It’s an exceptional track.

“Either you like it or hate it, with a lot of thinking going on and, if you operate on the limit, then it’s difficult to get it right every single corner.

“It’s so easy to lose time, not just a couple of hundredths, but a couple of tenths. It’s a great challenge.”

Vettel, though, is not yet looking at Mansell’s mark as he said: “That was pretty exceptional. Nigel had an incredible year, and although we’re not doing too bad, it’s wrong to start thinking about those things.

“The focus is on the race. We focus on the moment to get everything right every single time, which sounds easy, but not every weekend.”

Webber said: “This is one of my best Saturday sessions, which has put me in a good place for the race.”