McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton speaks to the press in the paddock ahead of Sunday's Singapore F1 Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit September 24, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix from pole position after Saturday's qualifying session was cut short after Rubens Barrichello crashed toward the end.

Hamilton at that stage had posted a time of 1:47.891, to beat the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, whose time was 1:48.204.

The third place on the grid belongs to German Williams driver Nico Rosberg, who will start alongside the second Red Bull of MarkWebber.

The third row on the grid is occupied by Fernando Alonso in a Renault and Toyota's Timo Glock, while BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica are on the fourth row.

The final two drivers in the top ten are McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and Brawn GP driver Barrichello, who posted the fifth-fastest time, but will start from tenth after incurring a five-place penalty for a gearbox change.

Championship leader Jenson Button was eliminated in the second round of the qualifying and will start in 12th place on the sixth row of the grid, two places behind his team-mate Barrichello.

Button leads the standings with four races to go with 80 points from Barrichello, who is on 66. The Red Bull duo of Vettel and Webber are third and fourth respectively with 54 and 51.5 points.