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

After a quiet Friday, Ferra꧅ri 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-ten﷽ths of a second clear of the field.

Hamilton had a difficult 🌸qualifying, finiꦿshing 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 her𝄹e and it would be difficult. I think every year we’ve come here it’s been relatively difficꦦult for us generally, but we knew today would be tough," Hamilton said.

"We definitely did𓆏n’t anticipate Ferrari would be as strong as they were, I thought Red Bull would be as quick as they were 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 b🎃ack and protecting his three-point lead at the top of the drivers' champ꧒ionship, 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 difficult," Hamilton said.

"The start is an opportunity, strategy, Safety Car, who knows, but tomorrow we’re just going to ha꧙ve to play the long game.

"It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we’ll try a♚nd take that method into tomorrow."