Lewis ♛Hamilton was left surprised by Ferrari's pace during Formula 1 qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix after seeing title rival Sebastian Vettel storm to his second pole position of the year.

After a quiet Friday, Fer💞rari appeared to trail Red Bull for pace in Singapore, only for Vettel to come roaring back in the final stage of qualifying and eventually finish three-tenths of a s𝓰econd clear of the field.

Hamilton had a difficult qualifying, finishing down in fifth behind both Ferrari and Red Bull drivers ☂for Mercedes, but always expected to struggle in Singapore.

"Well we knew that we would come here and it would be difficult. I think every year we’veꦏ come here it’s been relatively difficult for us generally, but we kn🐲ew today would be tough," Hamilton said.

"We definitely didn’t anticipate Ferrari would be as strong as they were, I thought Red Bull would be as quick as they w𒆙ere but we remained hopeful.

"I got everything I could out of the car. I got everything and more, I literally threw the sink at it. I squeezed every bit out of it."
 
Heading into Sunday's race, Hamilton was uneasy about his chances of fighting back and protecting his three-point lead at the top of the drivers' championship, with the lack ๊of overtaking opportunities concerning him.

"This is a crap track for overtaking so it’s usually just a long, long train. So ꧟it’s going to be diff🍷icult," Hamilton said.

"The ꦿstart is an opportunity, strategy, Safety Car, who knows, but tomorrow we’re justꦬ going to have to play the long game.

"It’s a marathon, 🐎not a sprint, so we’llꦜ try and take that method into tomorrow."