Singapore GP: Pastor Maldonado eager to end points drought

The Williams driver, who won the Spanish Grand Prix in May from pole position, but has not scored a point since, stunned the field with a surprising lap in Q3 that put him on the front row, alongside pole-man Lewis Hamilton - a driver with whom he has clashed on three previous occasions in F1.

Maldonado admitted when asked about where he found the speed for his second GP front row start that it hadn't been an easy weekend so far, and that it was the result of extremely hard work on set-up.

"I think we were working very hard because at the beginning of the weekend and during the practice we were a bit lost with the set-up," he said.

"We were improving, especially in qualifying, and just trying to adapt the car to my style and we find naturally a very well balanced [car], especially in Q2 and then Q3.

"I'm really looking forward to the race because yesterday we showed very good pace, very consistent. So I think is going to be a good one for us this time!"

Maldonado added that while this is best starting position since his career high in Spain, it was difficult to draw comparisons in race potential between the two venues.

"It is completely different to Barcelona because of lack of grip," he said. "We were struggling to put the car together but during qualifying we managed to find a good balance and really looking forward to tomorrow, yesterday we did a couple of long runs and it is looking good for us with tyre degradation.

"I think it is possible to overtake here especially because of tyre deg, I think everybody will be struggling with the tyres.

"But the strategy must be really good for everyone, you have to try to be consistent."