Singapore: Sebastian Vettel broke Mercedes' stranglehold on F1 qualifying by storming to his maiden pole for Ferrari in qualifying for today's Singapore GP. Vettel lapped the Marina Bay street circuit in one minute 43.885 seconds, ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and teammate Kimi Raikkonen.


Sebastian Vettel. Pic/AFP 

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were only fifth and sixth for Mercedes, the duo clearly struggling on a hot and humid evening under the floodlights. Their fastest effort was about a second-and-a-half slower than Vettel's benchmark. Saturday's pole was Vettel's first since the season-ending Brazilian GP in 2013.