Motor racing-Red Bulls find reason to smile in Singapore

By John O'Brien SINGAPORE, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Red Bull were able to put a troubled season and uncertainty over their Formula One future to one side as Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat secured second and fourth on the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday. For an outfit that dominated the sport for four years from 2010, this campaign has been a nightmare with team principal Christian Horner and engine suppliers Renault at loggerheads over the underperforming power unit as the wins dried up. On Saturday, however, championship leaders Mercedes were unable to harness the full power of their superior engine around the 23-turn Marina Bay Street Circuit and Red Bull were back near the top of the timesheets in a dogfight with Ferrari. "It's nice to be back up here and the front row as well, it's been a while," the ever-smiling Australian Ricciardo told reporters after lapping slightly slower than former team mate Sebastian Vettel, who switched to Ferrari this season. "It's a bit of a coincidence, Seb and I, and hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow," he added, before admitting that the lack of performance by Mercedes had been unexpected. "It's a surprise to not see a Mercedes up here. I thought they were playing a few card games yesterday but they seem to be struggling here." The second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen will start the race in third place, just ahead of Kvyat with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg filling out the third row for Mercedes after a topsy-turvy qualifying session. The 21-year-old Russian finished second behind Vettel at Hungary, his only podium in Formula One, but he issued a warning to the cars alongside the Red Bulls as he targets a fast start on Sunday. "As the lights go off we will try and overtake the Ferraris," he said. The fractious relationship between Red Bull and Renault reached a conclusion on Friday with the engine suppliers opting to part company with the team, who are likely to be powered by Ferrari units from next season. None of that will worry Ricciardo for now as he targets a fourth Formula One victory of his career and first of a season that has only garnered one third place finish at Hungary as its high point. "It's definitely our best chance to get a win this season," he added. "Coming into the weekend we thought we had a great chance of getting back on the podium and today's results back up the confidence I had in the car. "Tomorrow, however, is where the points are and the champagne is but we put ourselves in the best position today, obviously Seb was out of reach, so now we are second best but we will try and move up a position tomorrow." (Editing by Toby Davis)