Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel set a scorching pace on Friday as he dominated free practice at the Singapore Grand Prix in ominous style. The young German, chasing a fourth straight world title, won a duel with Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber in the second session, timing 1min 44.249sec around the spot-lit Marina Bay street circuit.
Vettel has won three of the last four races to take a firm grip on the world championship, which he leads by 53 points from Fernando Alonso. He also topped the podium on his last two visits to Singapore. The 26-year-old outdid Webber early in the session and stayed on top as teams moved on to the slower medium tyres and heavier fuel loads. Vettel’s time was 0.604 quicker than Webber, with the two Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton occupying third and fourth.
Lotus’s Romain Grosjean survived a lock-up to time fifth, ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, McLaren’s Jenson Button and the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was one of several racers to test the tight circuit’s barriers when he barged his nose into a wall late in the session. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Webber both clipped walls on their way round the 3.1-mile (5.1-kilometre) circuit skirting the night-lit skyscrapers and landmarks of Singapore.