By Jonathan McEvoy
Lewis Hamilton took pole position for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix by a margin so small it was practically beyond comprehension.
After 3.147 miles, the slender figure of 0.007sec was all that split the Briton and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in their latest, thrilling skirmish for the Formula One World Championship.
The qualifying session was just as electrifying as the Marina Bay setting. Cars bumped along tight city streets illuminated by 1600 lamps, supported by 65 miles of electric cabling and 24 pairs of generators. The old colonial buildings stood out like white dinosaurs next to the skyscrapers that reached high into the black sky of this humid night.
VIDEO Hamilton pips Rosberg to pole
The usual fallers fell away but left a larger group than usual to fight for pole, with the Red Bulls and Ferraris right on Mercedes' pace.
Daniel Ricciardo was momentarily fastest as time ran out. Could Hamilton or Rosberg, still on their final laps, knock Red Bull's Australian off top spot?
Rosberg, clean and serene, did so by two-tenths of a second. Then we saw Hamilton lock up his front left wheel at the first corner of his last lap. Surely his challenge was over?
But no, he found glorious pace through the remaining 22 corners to win the day.
SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX: QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:45.681
2. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:45.688
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:45.854
4. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault 1:45.902
5. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1:45.907
6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 1:46.000
7. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:46.170
8. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 1:46.187
9. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren 1:46.250
10. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Renault 1:47.362
11. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1:46.943
12. Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - Renault 1:46.989
13. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1:47.308
14. Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber - Ferrari 1:47.333
15. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1:47.575
16. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Renault 1:47.812
17. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari 1:48.324
18. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Renault 1:49.063
19. Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - Ferrari 1:49.440
20. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham - Renault 1:50.405
21. Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari 1:50.473
22. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham - Renault 1:52.287
Hamilton's father Anthony punched the air, smiled widely and high-fived in the Mercedes garage.
Hamilton Jnr, who needs to retain the momentum he gained by winning the last race at Monza if he is to reduce his 22-point deficit to Rosberg, said: '007 - James Bond - that's cool! It was the most exciting qualifying session I have had for a long time. I guess no one was expecting to see how close everyone was. There were a lot of people really in the mix and that is when you have to be so on it.
'You have to be spot on and I was almost there. I locked up at the apex of Turn One. I was down two-tenths by the time I got to Turn Five. I thought it would be impossible to regain it but the previous lap there were a couple of corners where I lost out, so I sorted them out.'
Rosberg was told what Hamilton had done to him and yelled down the radio: 'Damn it!' For once, though, there was little sign of animosity between them as they shook hands.
'Seven-thousandths, when I think back to the lap, is nothing,' said Rosberg. 'A bit more here or there and I could have done it. Lewis did a good job to get pole, so fair play. There is a long race ahead and second is fine.'
DID YOU KNOW?
Lewis Hamilton's 0.007 second qualifying victory over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg is also how much younger an astronaut is after 6 months in space than if they had stayed on earth.
Hamilton's second successive pole and sixth of the season gives him a significant advantage in today's race on the slow, narrow circuit - the East's answer to Monaco, both in its racing characteristics and its glitzy appeal.
However, a safety car has been deployed at all six previous stagings of this grand prix and the likelihood of a similar interuption today offers unpredictability and hope to Hamilton's pursuers, who are led by Rosberg, Ricciardo and his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel, and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
Ricciardo, who is third in the championship 72 points behind Rosberg, is at least in the best position to take advantage of any Mercedes slip-ups. With three wins to his name this season, Ricciardo said: 'To end up being closer than we thought, it has been a good day. It was good fun. Hopefully I can keep it up tomorrow and get a better view from the podium.
'It's encouraging. Coming into the weekend I thought that if we could be within two or three-tenths, it should give us a more optimistic chance in the race to stay with them, so, yeah, I think we ended up a bit closer than we thought we would.
'The track was really improving so you had to adapt a lot during the session. Street circuits normally tend to be like that, so it keeps you on your toes. Street circuits are fun.
'I think all us drivers enjoy them. You jump across kerbs, you brush near the wall; the closer you get the more you want to risk and I guess that's why we race, we love that rush, that adrenaline.'
Doubts over how the tyres will last the gruelling corners and heat offer another potentially important factor in a remorseless race that tests every caliper, disc and pad of the brakes to near destruction point.Another unknown is the new, part-ban on pit-to-car radio transmissions but both Rosberg and Hamilton dismissed that as a critical factor in their likely fortunes today.
While Hamilton was celebrating, his fellow Brit Jenson Button was 11th, losing out in qualifying for the third successive time to his rookie McLaren team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who was ninth.
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