Hamilton grabs pole for Singapore Grand Prix finals

Singapore: Lewis Hamilton thanked his mechanics for working through the night to transform his ill-handling McLaren into a potential Singapore Grand Prix race winner.

The Formula One world champion took pole position for Sunday`s race, edging out Red Bull`s Sebastian Vettel and Williams` Nico Rosberg in a qualifying session cut short by Rubens Barrichello`s crash in the final seconds. The 24-year-old Briton had complained about the state of the floodlit Marina Bay street circuit but he had no argument afterwards. "It`s absolutely fantastic and I am very happy for the team," Hamilton told reporters following his one minute 47.891 second final qualifying lap. "I wasn`t particularly happy with the balance of the car. It wasn`t driving so well. As always, I tried to remain optimistic and we did some work overnight," he added. "The guys did a good job and we made the right steps with the set up this morning and through practice. Bit-by-bit, it slowly came together and we improved at the right time. I`m really happy with that."Wrong Route "There`s never a doubt in my mind that I can get into the car and be the quickest," continued Hamilton. "It`s whether you can balance the car as good as possible and don`t go down the wrong route. You are then stuck with a car that you are not comfortable with," he said. "But with great help from the team, we managed to get it right. We didn`t expect to be on pole today so to be first is a bonus." Hamilton had shown gradual improvement over the race weekend and had led the way in the final free practice session. Despite Barrichello`s crash stopping any chance his rivals had of bettering his time, he was delighted with his final lap. "The lap was good, I was very relaxed," Hamilton added. "The circuit has evolved and got a little bit grippier and the steering was more comfortable in the car.”"I was able to go faster so we will see what happens with the strategies but we are in the best position possible." Hamilton backtracked slightly from his earlier criticism of the circuit and said he was looking forward to Sunday`s race. "The organisers have done a great job and have made a lot of improvements. It`s not as bad as last year but it is still bumpy. I don`t see that as such a bad thing. I think it adds character to the race," he said. "It will be a nice Sunday night drive. It`s hot, intense and you sweat a lot. Concentration as vital as it`s very easy to hit the wall." Bureau Report