LEWIS HAMILTON IN SECOND

LEWIS HAMILTON - second

LEWIS HAMILTON survived a fright night to keep his title hopes alive after a floodlit frenzy in Singapore.

The British ace will start this afternoon’s historic grand prix in second place after being left in the shadows by title rival Felipe Massa.

Hamilton only made it into the top 10 shootout by just 0.106secs after a mistake on his first flying lap and then had a brush with the wall in the most thrilling qualifying battle of the season.

Now Hamilton, who leads Massa by one point with four races left, will be hoping the Brazilian was running light on fuel as he bids to win Formula One’s first night race.

The McLaren driver, 23, admitted: “It is crazy racing at night. It was very fortunate that I got through the second session.

Mind

“The car just didn’t take the corner and it is going to be tough in the race as you can’t overtake here.

“But I still feel I am in a good position to win.”

Hamilton, who is an ambassador for Reebok, admitted it has been a struggle staying on European time so he is at the peak of his powers for this afternoon’s battle.

He added: “The timetable messes with your mind. We are doing our debrief at midnight and I don’t eat until 3am. It is all kind of weird.

“I don’t think it is as easy as the normal day.

“Your body is going up and down the whole day, you feel energetic, then tired and then energetic.”

Perfect

Hamilton came within inches of crashing to move top of the timesheets before being outshone by 0.6secs as Massa bagged pole for Ferrari. Massa said: “My car was perfect.”

Hamilton has been training in a sauna at his home in Geneva to get used to the humid conditions he will put his 5ft 7in frame through in 61 strength-sapping laps around the Asian city today. And he has revealed he is so fit he has less bodyfat than the likes of Kate Moss.

Hamilton, who weighs 10st 6lb, added: “I have less bodyfat than a supermodel. That’s not something to be particularly proud of!

“But it’s so important at the end of the race that you get out and look strong. I lost 4kg last year in Malaysia in just 90 minutes. I got out and I remember I could barely stand.”

FULL GRID

1. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 1 minute, 44.801 seconds.

2. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren, 1:45.465.

3. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari, 1:45.617.

4. Robert Kubica, Poland, BMW, 1:45.779.

5. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, McLaren, 1:45.873.

6. Nick Heidfeld, Germany, BMW, 1:45.964.

7. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Toro Rosso, 1:46.244.

8. Timo Glock, Germany, Toyota, 1:46.328.

9. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Williams, 1:46.611.

10. Kazuki Nakajima, Japan, Williams, 1:47.547.

Eliminated after second session:

11. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Toyota, 1:45.038.

12. Jenson Button, Britain, Honda, 1:45.133.

13. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, 1:45.212.

14. David Coulthard, Britain, Red Bull, 1:45.298.

15. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault, no time set.

Eliminated after first session:

16. Nelson Piquet Jr., Brazil, Renault, 1:46.037.

17. Sebastien Bourdais, France, Toro Rosso, 1:46.389.

18. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Honda, 1:46.583.

19. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India, 1:47.940.

20. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Force India, no time.