Hamilton grabs pole in Singapore

McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix on pole position after title contender Rubens Barrichello crashed in the dying seconds of Saturday's qualifying.

The Briton lapped the floodlit 5.067km Marina Bay street circuit in one minute 47.891 seconds to top the timesheets, with the final session red-flagged with just 26 seconds remaining on the clock.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Williams' Nico Rosberg will start second and third respectively after Barrichello's crash prevented them from trying to beat Hamilton's time.

Brawn's championship leader Jenson Button, 14 points ahead of Barrichello with four races remaining, qualified 12th. Barrichello, who hit the wall heavily at Turn Five, will start two places ahead of him.

The Brazilian qualified fifth but incurred a five place penalty for changing his gearbox after the final free practice session.