Sebastian Vettel dominates practice in Singapore

Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull have hardly been on the charge much of late but Sebastian Vettel was back on the pace on the opening day of practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.

A year ago the double world champion arrived at the Marina Bay circuit with one hand on his second title. This time he had not won a race since Bahrain in April and the team’s fabled reliability no longer a given.

But there was no hint of recent travails as the German topped the timesheet, 0.311seconds ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button, with Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari not far behind. Vettel clocked 1minute 48.340second, with Button getting closest with 1:48.651 to Alonso's 1:48.896, with Mark Webber next in the second Red Bull on 1:48.964.

Lewis Hamilton, Button’s teammate, appeared to be one of the early pacesetters but his 1: 49.086 left him fifth just ahead of Paul di Resta in the Force India.

The force may have been with Vettel but said: “This is a tough circuit for drivers and cars. Overall we can be happy with today, but let’s see what we do tomorrow, it’s still Friday and today’s results are not so conclusive as some drivers got stuck in traffic etc. Most important is that the car seemed to work on either tyre, so we go from there.

“The kerbs have been changed this year, which is an improvement.”

The provisional calendar for 2013 was announced but no certainty that all 20 races scheduled will actually take place.

The Grand Prix of America, a race that is planned to take place in New Jersey, has been allocated a date of June 16th but there are still doubts over to whether that race will go ahead while the German Grand Prix scheduled for July 21st at the Nürburgring is under threat because the circuit is already beset by financial difficulties and the race may be switched to Hockenheim.

Those behind the Singapore race are expected to confirm this weekend whether a new contract has been signed, with this weekend's race the last of its initial five-year deal, and the Korean Grand Prix is another race where contractual issues are still a source of concern.

Provisional 2013 season

2012 Formula One page

Paul Wheeler

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