Hamilton On Top As Alonso Impresses in practice

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were the starts of the day as the pair topped the time sheets in both the evening and night time sessions ahead of this weekend Singapore Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were the starts of the day as the pair topped the time sheets in both the evening and night time sessions ahead of this weekend Singapore Grand Prix.

The Spaniard caused an upset in the opening session on Friday by going fastest overall at a circuit that the Ferrari driver has won at the Marina Bay Street Circuit twice over the years set a time of 1:40.056 which could not be beaten.

Nico Rosberg in the morning trailed teammate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton by the slenderest of margins around the 23 corner circuit. Rosberg had a nagging issue in the early goings as his right mirror came loose; the German opted to throw the mirror out the car.

Sebastian Vettel had a productive opening session and completed the most laps out of anyone with 27 to his name. Whilst the four-time world champion went quicker than teammate Daniel Ricciardo Vettel’s luck did not last long.

 Vettel set a time that was good enough for fourth fastest however his engine failed after the end of a longer run at the end of the session. The team lost the majority of the second session meaning Vettel only managed to complete just five laps and putting him on the back foot.

The top ten from the opening session were as follows:

A struggle ahead

As the second session under the lights got underway the normal order was resumed as Hamilton topped a session for the forty-first time this season. Whilst it was Hamilton out in front he did not have it all his own way as he struggled with the setup of his Mercedes.

The championship leader Nico Rosberg was on a good lap on his first run on the super-soft tyres however Pastor Maldaondo’s crash at Turn 10 stopped the German’s charge. Rosberg went on set a time good enough for thirteenth place after his second run was hampered by traffic.

Williams had a tough day at the office with the car not coping well with the tight and twisty nature of the circuit. The Williams pair looked off the pace on their race simulation and only managed to finish seventeenth and eighteenth in the second session.

Whilst Sebastian Vettel also had a tough day, teammate Daniel Ricciardo went third and just .300 off pacesetter Hamilton. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen confirmed the pace of the Ferrari after an encouraging day for the Scuderria.

The Force India and McLaren battle has gone up a notch with both teams almost matching one another in the timesheets in a battle that looks to be going all the way to Abu Dhabi in November.

A threat from Ferrari

Max Chilton had a difficult day which resulted in his second session coming to an early climax, to make matters worse for the Brit teammate as Jules Bianchi lapped over a second faster in the Ferrari powered Marussia.

Looking ahead to qualifying it looks as if Ferrari and particularity Fernando Alonso could spoil the Mercedes party. Whilst Lewis Hamilton looks to have the edge over Nico Rosberg thus far we did not see what pace Rosberg really has over one lap.

The fight for pole could go either way with the Red Bull looking to get into the action. Whilst Mercedes are the favourites once again, it has been clear since the summer break that Ferrari have made a clear step forward despite a poor showing at their home race at Monza.

Will it be Mercedes locking out the front row once again this weekend? Or could either Ferrari or Red Bull take their first pole position of the season? Leave your comments below.