Hamilton pips Rosberg to Singapore pole

Hamilton, who saved an extra set of Super Soft tyres during Q2, delivered a 1:45.681 in the final shootout, just 0.007s faster than Rosberg.

Ricciardo briefly moved into the top spot after the chequered flag had dropped, but had to settle for third after the Silver Arrows pair improved.

Like Hamilton, Ricciardo had more fresh rubber available, helping him fend off reigning World Champion and three-time Singapore winner Vettel.

After a rapid start to qualifying, Ferrari gradually faded away; Fernando Alonso was unable to live with the pace of Red Bull and Mercedes in fifth, while Kimi Räikkönen fell to seventh after a car problem on his final Q3 run.

Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas salvaged sixth and eighth for Williams as they attempt to limit the damage of a less favourable circuit for the FW36, while rookies Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat completed the top 10.

Jenson Button and Jean-Éric Vergne failed to join their respective McLaren and Toro Rosso team-mates in Q3, with Button making a costly mistake at the hairpin and Vergne unable to build on his encouraging practice form.

Force India suffered a double Q2 elimination, Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez separated by Sauber's Esteban Gutiérrez, while Romain Grosjean also dropped out, the Lotus driver voicing his frustration over the radio.

Sauber's Adrian Sutil and Lotus man Pastor Maldonado, running with a new chassis after his heavy FP2 crash, were the biggest names to fall in the first phase, ahead of the usual Marussia and Caterham suspects.

Marussia's Jules Bianchi beat Caterham rival Kamui Kobayashi for back-of-the-grid honours, with Max Chilton and Marcus Ericsson – limited to one run after a post-FP3 ERS issue – bringing up the rear.