Nico Rosberg's outburst just minutes after the conclusion of a pulsating qualifying session said it all.

"Damn it!" the German exclaimed when informed over the pit radio that team-mate Lewis Hamilton had pipped him for pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix by just 0.007 seconds.

Mercedes later tweeted such a fraction of time equates to just 33.7 centimetres, or 13.2 inches. These are the finest of margins upon which the destiny of this year's Formula One title could rest, with just 22 points separating the pair going into the final six races, starting in Singapore today.

"Seven thousandths of a second," an exasperated Rosberg said post-qualifying. "When I think back to the lap it's nothing, just a little bit here or there that could have done it, but that's the way it is. Lewis did a good job to get pole, so fair play and second place is OK. There's a long race ahead and it's fine."

Hamilton undoubtedly has an edge on the short run down to the first of 23 turns that make up the Marina Bay Street Circuit, but that is no guarantee, not for a race that more often than not lasts virtually all of the allowed two hours. If qualifying is anything to go by, despite what appears on the face of it to be a predictable outcome, the race itself should be equally as entertaining.

At the end of Q1, Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso led the way. Although Rosberg topped Q2, he was forced to use an extra set of the supersoft tyres to guarantee his passage into Q3, unlike Hamilton, the Ferrari pair and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

After the first of the hot laps in Q3 there was another surprise with Williams' Felipe Massa quickest and Hamilton and Rosberg sixth and seventh.

In a matter of moments on the second run Ricciardo deposed Massa, with the Australian then ousted by Rosberg, who was swiftly dumped himself by Hamilton. That was despite a lock-up into turn one that Hamilton believed had cost him top spot on the grid. "You plan to have the last lap as your fastest lap," said Hamilton, on pole for the 37th time in his F1 career. "It's when the track is at its best, when you have the configurations as close to perfect as possible, so that's really the lap you want to do it on.

"But I didn't really have a clean lap through all of qualifying. The last one was the cleanest, but even then I locked up. I knew I was down 0.18ecs or 0.2secs by the time I had reached turn five. At that point I was thinking it would be almost impossible to regain that. In the end it was quite an exciting qualifying session. I guess no-one was expecting to see how close everyone was."

It means, though, that while Mercedes have the front row locked up, they should face pressure from behind, with Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel third and fourth, Alonso fifth, Raikkonen seventh, and Williams pair Massa and Valtteri Bottas sixth and eighth.

Hamilton added: "I'm sure the team are as surprised as I am to see Ferrari really competing over a lap. And Williams and Red Bull, too. That's probably the most exciting qualifying session I've had for a long time. There were a lot of people really in the mix, and that is when you have to be so on it. Thankfully I was at the right time."

Ricciardo, third in the standings and 72 points behind Rosberg, is in the best position to capitalise on any Mercedes slip-ups.

The Australian, who has three wins to his name already this season, said: "To end up being closer than we thought [to Mercedes], it's been a good day. It was good fun. Hopefully I can keep it up in the race and get a better view from the podium."