Hamilton delighted as Mercedes 'came alive' in qualifying

Mercedes is resembling the proverbial box of chocolates in Singapore with no one quite sure what the W15 is going to deliver from session to session, least of all drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

The pair had been outside the top ten in FP1 and Hamilton was still only 11th in FP2, but Russel wrung the neck of the car in final practice and popped it into the top two heading into qualifying.

When it came to qualifying it was Hamilton's time to shine, finishing the first two rounds in the top four on his way to clinching third place on the grid in Q3 And he'll be joined on the second row by an equally impressive Russell.

"I've been working really hard to improve my qualifying performances and to get myself back up at the front on a Saturday," Hamilton said after the end of the session at Marina Bay.

"The car came alive today and we had one of our strongest Saturdays in a while," he added. "That was a great feeling."

• Read also: Norris on Singapore pole from Verstappen as Sainz crashes

The final round of the qualifying was interrupted by a red flag for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz crashing out, leaving only enough time for drivers to complete one flying lap before the chequered flag.

"Having just one effort in Q3 after the red flag was tricky, and there was perhaps a little bit more left in the car, but overall I'm really grateful for what we achieved today."

Hamilton's time of 1:29.841s was just over three tenths slower than Lando Norris in the McLaren, and was greeted with a huge roar from the fans in the grandstands.

Speaking in parc ferme, Hamilton praised the efforts of the Mercedes mechanics working in sweltering conditions which had helped wrestle the car into shape in time for qualifying.

"We've been moving around on balance all weekend and they've put in a big shift to get the car into a good place," he said. "It really felt like we had improved since Friday.

"We're now starting from a solid place to fight for the podium tomorrow," he said. "We don't know exactly where our race pace will be compared to others, but with the changes we made overnight we'll be giving it everything on Sunday."

Russell was just as surprised that Mercedes had been in such good form today after struggling throughout practice. Normally this season it's been the other way around, but Russell was delighted by the switch around.

"If you had told us yesterday that we would qualify on the second row of the grid, we would have absolutely taken that," he said. "We were on course to be mired in the midfield, and yet here we are with a second-row lock-out.

"With the improvements we made overnight though, and how the car felt in FP3, I would have reconsidered. I was feeling super confident in the car," he said. "Everything was coming easily.

"That feeling deserted us in Q1 though," he admitted. We were suffering from a lack of grip and were only just able to progress through each segment to Q3.

"Once we were there I was able to put in a decent lap though, and overall we can't be disappointed with where we have ended the day," he added. "Hopefully we can go on the attack tomorrow and fight for the podium."

"It is not a bad place to be starting the race from," commented team principal Toto Wolff who echoed Russell's thoughts that the second row was almost a disappointment after the overnight improvement and FP3 pace.

"The fluctuations in performance across Friday and Saturday that has affected many teams has been strange," he noted, pointing out Red Bull's turnaround and the sudden setback for Ferrari.

"I suspect we will see more of those fluctuations tomorrow," he said. "Hopefully the work we've done to improve the car from Friday will translate into our race pace and we can have a competitive Sunday fighting for the podium."

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