Tom Clarkson got up close and personal with Sergio Perez recently and the Force India talks about how he gets mistaken for Tom Cruise ALL of the time. 

I know just how he feels...

Everyone has completed at least one timed lap as we approach that time of the session when the drivers crack on with some qualifying runs.

Daniel Ricciardo is the fastest man on circuit... too fast it seems as he clips the wall and then spins into the barrier at Turn 11. 

Like Fernando Alonso a little earlier, he escapes with minimum damage and is able to get back on his way.

Image source, Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo is down on Lewis Hamilton through the final two sectors and in the end he is three tenths off Lewis Hamilton's benchmark time, crossing the line with a 1:45.620.

Nineteen times on board, with Hamilton leading from Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg, Max Verstappen, Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz.

Lewis Hamilton is coming round now on his first run on the supersofts in this session and he goes quickest with 1:45.275.

However, here comes Daniel Ricciardo and he is fastest through the first sector...

A moment for Fernando Alonso as he tags the barrier at Turn 9. Holds it together though and is away with nothing more than a bit of a cosmetic damage.

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live: "I can’t really say (how it’s going) because last season we got ourselves in trouble in P2 when the grip ramped up, we started to see we were losing performance so this is the crucial session.”

Lots of moustache talk on BBC Radio 5 live, with Toto Wolff lamenting his inability to grow one. I feel your pain, Toto.

On the track, seven drivers have got times up on the board with Kimi Raikkonen leading the way with 1:46.167 set on supersofts.

Image source, EPA

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live: “It was only free practice one but great to start to of the timesheets, Mercedes didn’t run the ultra-soft later in the session and you never know what engine modes the cars are in."

Renault has introduced an upgraded Formula 1 power unit for Singapore, and Horner added: “At this circuit it is not going to be hugely evident - we are expecting 0.1secs. Japan, Mexico those sort of circuits expect to play a bigger role, but that with a new fuel is a positive step.

“Max had the slight changes to his engine in that session and Daniel gets it for tomorrow.”

Second practice is under way! 

First car out is the Manor of Pascal Wehlrein. 

Two minutes until second practice gets under way. You can listen to live audio commentary right now on this page and via the BBC Sport App.

Image source, Getty Images

I tell you what Chase Carey definitely brings to the table - the best moustache in Formula 1.

Image source, Getty Images

So what advice would you give F1's new owners to improve the sport? 

Sergio Perez and Jolyon Palmer called for closer competition between teams yesterday, while Jenson Button thinks lessons can be learned from Pokemon Go - the augmented reality game - to get youngsters interested in the sport. Would you like to see the sport become more 'Americanised'?

Let us know via #bbcf1,, external text in on 81111 (UK only) or post a comment on the BBC Sport Facebook page. 

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

This is the first race since it was announced that Formula 1 is to have new owners and inevitably the drivers have been asked for their opinions. 

Several expressed a wish for closer competition - but added that this would not happen unless the prize money was made more equitable. But Nico Rosberg, perhaps unsurprisingly, gave a particularly well rounded answer. “I think it’s good,” he said. “Bernie and his partners for these last years have done a great job. But the world is changing a lot and it’s good to get a breath of fresh air, a new group of people who might bring some fresh ideas, maybe especially coming from America, because the American are often one step ahead especially in technology and TV. I look forward to seeing what they come up with. 

"Hopefully it could make us stronger in America as well. That would be awesome because there are so many people there who could be passionate about our sport if we bring it to them in a good way. Even in Europe there are so many young people who won’t tune in at a specific hour. This is a new era now where people just live like that, so it could be a new era to reach out to people who don’t necessarily tune in when the race is on.”

There's been plenty of chat in the build up to this weekend about whether this could prove to be the most unpredictable race of the season, given Mercedes struggles in Singapore last year.

However, the other major talking point has been about the sport's incoming owners. US firm Liberty Media is set to complete a $4.4bn (£3.3bn) takeover in a move, external that ends years of speculation about the ownership of the company.

Bernie Ecclestone will remain as chief executive but Chase Carey, vice-chairman of 21st Century Fox, will become the new chairman.

Image source, EPA

The moon is out, the lights are on and the stage is set for a fascinating session of practice, which gets under way at 14:30 BST. 

As per usual, you can follow live text commentary of the 90 minute session here, while audio commentary from Jack Nicholls, Tom Clarkson et al will be available online only.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Red Bull's pace seemed to underline predictions they could challenge for victory around the Marina Bay street track, but they set their fastest times on quicker tyres than those used by Mercedes.

Hamilton and Rosberg set their quickest laps on the slowest 'soft' tyre, while Red Bull and Ferrari - for whom Sebastian Vettel was third fastest - were on the fastest 'ultra-soft'. Vettel was 0.464 seconds off the Red Bulls, who were separated by only 0.049secs

In theory, there is as much as 1.2 seconds between the two tyres, while Hamilton was only 0.603 seconds off the pace, with Rosberg 0.087secs further adrift.

However, Mercedes tend to struggle to gain as much time on the softest tyres as other teams, so the stage does appear set for a closer-than-usual fight this weekend.