Vettle on pole for Singapore Grand Prix

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Vettle on pole for Singapore Grand Prix

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World championship leader Sebastian Vettel took pole position for Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.

25 September,2011 03:15 am

Championship-chasing German Sebastian Vettel nabbed his 11th pole position of the season on Saturday as his powerful Red Bull team secured a front-row lockout for the Singapore Grand Prix.The 24-year-old dominated the floodlit night session as Red Bull extended their supremacy with a 14th successive pole, a 100 percent record that gives Vettel a good chance to retain his title in the 61-lap race on Sunday.His Red Bull team-mate Australian Mark Webber was second fastest thanks to a last-gasp lap of a competitive and tense session that featured a red flag interruption, accidents and punctures at the steamy Marina Bay circuit.Spaniard Alonso qualified fifth for Ferrari behind the two McLarens of Britons Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, the 2009 and 2008 champions respectively, who will line up in third and fourth places on the grid.Vettels pole was the 26th of his career as he seeks to become the youngest double champion in Formula One history -- a feat he can achieve if he wins in Singapore and nearest rival Fernando Alonso fails to finish on the podium along with his other challengers.Vettel was in such a strong qualifying position that he could afford to ease off and not deliver a second hot lap.I decided to abort my second run when I made a mistake because it is very easy to damage the car so I went wide, explained Vettel, whose hands could be seen shaking with adrenalin as he stepped gingerly out of his car afterwards.I was quite happy with my first lap. I think the circuit ramped up at the end and I think it was possible to go faster, but Im very happy.Its a very difficult track with such a long lap to get everything right. I think we learned from our mistakes that we made last year.Alonsos Ferrari team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa was sixth ahead of German Nico Rosberg and his Mercedes team-mate and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, 42.Another German, Adrian Sutil, was ninth for Force India, one place ahead of his team-mate Briton Paul di Resta.