Hamilton starts Singaporean GP weekend ahead

F1 Grand Prix, GP Singapore, Marina Bay Street Circuit

Hamilton fastest as the Singaporean Grand Prix weekend kicks off. During FP1 that was only the medium compound tyre in action, the Mercedes driver was 4 tenths ahead of Webber and another 5 tenths quicker than Vettel.

FP1 at Singapore is identical to the only time when driver can enjoy the track with natural light as the skies darken while the session progresses. It didn't seem to bother anyone though, as after the usual installation laps, it took until 27 minutes into the session before a time was set.

Sergio Perez was the first to record a time, followed by both Caterhams. His subsequent times also immediately indicated that the laptimes would be considerably quicker this year than last year, no doubt partly thanks to the removal of the Singapore Sling chicane, now replaced by a left hand turn that is about 40km/h faster.

At the halfway mark, lots of times have already been recorded, and both Red Bull cars unsurprisingly ran a stint with their rear wings covered in flow viz. Just like at Monza, Webber has the left hand side of his rear wing and inside of the endplate painted while Vettel has it the other way around.

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After 60 minutes, Lewis Hamilton tops the times with a 1:47.055, 4 tenths ahead of Webber. Vettel is another 5 tenths behind, followed by Rosberg, Raikkonen, Alonso, Vergne, Maldonado, Bottas and Massa.

The final half hour saw little improvements, but some drivers still managed to draw some attention. Mark Webber and Giedo van der Garde for instance shrugged the wall with their right rear wheel while Raikkonen went off at turn 18 and managed to spin his car back on track.