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Red Bull laid down an early marker for the Singapore GP when Sebastian Vettel stormed to the fastest time in second free practice on Friday, a few hours after team mate Mark Webber led the way in the first.
The German, armed with an upgraded package that includes a new rear wing, clocked 1min46.660 around the floodlit Marina Bay circuit, 0.627sec ahead of championship leader Webber and more than a second ahead of the rest.
Lapping in conditions similar to those expected for Sunday's night race, times in the second session were far quicker than those clocked on the damp track earlier, with the title challengers all likely to take encouragement from their performances.
Late season surge
McLaren expects its cars to run well this weekend and World champion Jenson Button improved from the first session to finish just behind Webber, with team mate Lewis Hamilton fifth on the time sheets.
Wedged between the Britons was the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who continues to show good form in his late season surge for a third World title and was unlucky to stall his engine while on a very quick lap late in the session.
With five races left, the top five drivers are separated by only 24 points in the standings and the season-long tussle for the title looks set to continue on a circuit that exaggerates the slightest of mistakes.
Force India's Adrian Sutil lost a front wheel after flipping over the kerbs of a chicane and Alonso was unable to restart his car after skidding into a run-off area when he lost control while challenging Vettel's fastest time.
'We'll try our best'
"This morning we wanted to do more mileage but the conditions could not make that possible," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali told reporters. "The situation improved in the afternoon but it's difficult to judge where we are after Fernando had a slight problem when he was running quickly.
"It's tough to know how fast we are compared to the others but we will try our best in qualifying."
Rubens Barrichello was best of the rest, taking an encouraging sixth for Williams ahead of Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.
Earlier, the first action of the weekend took place on a drying track following a mid-afternoon downpour with a majority of the teams waiting for conditions to improve before completing timed laps.
Sutil third-fastest
Webber clocked 1min54.589 to edge out Michael Schumacher by 0.119sec as the seven-times World champion headed a trio of Germans around the tight and demanding course.
Sutil recorded a third-fastest time of 1min54.827 while Vettel completed 12 laps in fourth place with a 1min55.137.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said in a TV interview: "Unlike others (Webber and Vettel) don't need to do a whole lot of laps around here to learn the track so we are just waiting for conditions to improve a bit.
“I think all the teams have brought something a bit new here this weekend, we have done likewise.
"It's going to be interesting to see how that pans out and the different challenges. This circuit is fairly unique... it's going to be fascinating to see whose cars and drivers suit this circuit."
Singapore GP second free practice times
1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 1min 46.660
2 Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull 1min47.287
3 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min47.690
4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min47.718
5 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1min47.818
6 Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams 1min48.302
7 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1min48.341
8 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min48.679
9 Robert Kubica (Poland) Renault 1min48.855
10 Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 1min48.889
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Williams 1min49.153
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) BMW Sauber 1min49.438
13 Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1min49.558
14 Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 1min49.608
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India 1min49.896
16 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 1min49.984
17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso 1min50.191
18 Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 1min50.896
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus 1min51.878
20 Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin 1min52.150
21 Lucas Di Grassi (Brazil) Virgin 1min53.431
22 Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus 1min53.526
23 Bruno Senna (Brazil) HRT 1min54.725
24 Christian Klien (Austria) HRT 1min55.542
The German, armed with an upgraded package that includes a new rear wing, clocked 1min46.660 around the floodlit Marina Bay circuit, 0.627sec ahead of championship leader Webber and more than a second ahead of the rest.
Lapping in conditions similar to those expected for Sunday's night race, times in the second session were far quicker than those clocked on the damp track earlier, with the title challengers all likely to take encouragement from their performances.
Late season surge
McLaren expects its cars to run well this weekend and World champion Jenson Button improved from the first session to finish just behind Webber, with team mate Lewis Hamilton fifth on the time sheets.
Wedged between the Britons was the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who continues to show good form in his late season surge for a third World title and was unlucky to stall his engine while on a very quick lap late in the session.
With five races left, the top five drivers are separated by only 24 points in the standings and the season-long tussle for the title looks set to continue on a circuit that exaggerates the slightest of mistakes.
Force India's Adrian Sutil lost a front wheel after flipping over the kerbs of a chicane and Alonso was unable to restart his car after skidding into a run-off area when he lost control while challenging Vettel's fastest time.
'We'll try our best'
"This morning we wanted to do more mileage but the conditions could not make that possible," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali told reporters. "The situation improved in the afternoon but it's difficult to judge where we are after Fernando had a slight problem when he was running quickly.
"It's tough to know how fast we are compared to the others but we will try our best in qualifying."
Rubens Barrichello was best of the rest, taking an encouraging sixth for Williams ahead of Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.
Earlier, the first action of the weekend took place on a drying track following a mid-afternoon downpour with a majority of the teams waiting for conditions to improve before completing timed laps.
Sutil third-fastest
Webber clocked 1min54.589 to edge out Michael Schumacher by 0.119sec as the seven-times World champion headed a trio of Germans around the tight and demanding course.
Sutil recorded a third-fastest time of 1min54.827 while Vettel completed 12 laps in fourth place with a 1min55.137.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said in a TV interview: "Unlike others (Webber and Vettel) don't need to do a whole lot of laps around here to learn the track so we are just waiting for conditions to improve a bit.
“I think all the teams have brought something a bit new here this weekend, we have done likewise.
"It's going to be interesting to see how that pans out and the different challenges. This circuit is fairly unique... it's going to be fascinating to see whose cars and drivers suit this circuit."
Singapore GP second free practice times
1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 1min 46.660
2 Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull 1min47.287
3 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min47.690
4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min47.718
5 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1min47.818
6 Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams 1min48.302
7 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1min48.341
8 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min48.679
9 Robert Kubica (Poland) Renault 1min48.855
10 Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 1min48.889
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Williams 1min49.153
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) BMW Sauber 1min49.438
13 Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1min49.558
14 Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 1min49.608
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India 1min49.896
16 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 1min49.984
17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso 1min50.191
18 Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 1min50.896
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus 1min51.878
20 Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin 1min52.150
21 Lucas Di Grassi (Brazil) Virgin 1min53.431
22 Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus 1min53.526
23 Bruno Senna (Brazil) HRT 1min54.725
24 Christian Klien (Austria) HRT 1min55.542