Singapore Grand Prix polesitter Sebastian Vettel was left surprised by his qualifying pace, saying his car "came alive" in the final session.
After topping all three practice sessions in Singapore, Red Bull headed into qualifying looking like favourites to take pole position around the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Verstappen appeared to have translated Red Bull's practice pace into qualifying, until Vettel unleashed a pair of sensational laps in Q3 to seal his fourth pole at the circuit by a margin of 0.3s.
"I don't know [where I found that time] and I struggled also this afternoon," Vettel explained. "I shouted as loud as them [the crowd] -- it was unbelievable. I'm still full of adrenaline so maybe whatever I say doesn't make any sense but I love this track. The car was tricky but it came alive and it got better and better as the night progressed, so really happy we got it done."
When asked if he felt his 49th career Formula One pole was his best-ever qualifying lap, the German replied: "I don't know. I think I need to calm down first. I'm very, very happy. That was amazing. It's an amazing track if you feel the car is coming alive and you can do what you want to. I knew we had it in us, it was a bit of a struggle to get there but now I'm just happy."
Vettel came into the weekend trailing chief title rival Lewis Hamilton by a slender three points, though Singapore's twisty streets were expected to provide Ferrari with a chance to claw back some momentum in the championship fight.
As predicted, Mercedes struggled to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull, with Hamilton left to settle with fifth ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas. Vettel -- who is yet to be beaten to victory when starting from pole in Singapore -- is in prime position to capitalise, but is expecting a tough race.
"Tomorrow is a long race but these guys are very, very quick. We had a difficult night yesterday but a better night today and I'm sure the car will be like today tomorrow, so it will be better but for sure it will be a close race."