Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was fastest in practice on Friday in the Singapore GPReuters

Lewis Hamilton, who notched the best timing in the practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix, will be looking to close the 22-point gap at the top of the F1 Driver's Championship table between him and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton timed his session at 01m 47.490s, with Fernando Alonso of Ferrari timing his fastest lap just 0.133s more than the Briton. Meanwhile, driver's championship leader Rosberg lappedbest clocked a time of 1m 49.075s, which was 1.585s slower than his Mercedes teammate and fellow title challenger Hamilton.

Hamilton, who was fourth fastest in the early stages of the practice session, started off with the slower soft-compound Pirelli tyres. However, he soon changed to the super-soft tyres and raced to the lead after a brief interval, when the red flag was being shown.

Nico Hulkenberg
Force India's Nico Hulkenberg's will look to help his team past McLaren and into fifth place in the contructor's standingsReuters

Meanwhile, Force India pair of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished 8th and 9th, timing their best laps at 1m 48.653s and 1m 48.751s, respectively.

Force India, who are in a close fight for fifth spot with McLaren, will be looking to Hulkenberg and Perez to take them to their best finish ever. Till now, their highest finish has been 6th, which came in in 2011 and 2013. Force India stand on 109 points, while McLaren are one spot ahead of them on 110 points. With just six races to go this year, it will indeed be a very close fight for the 5th spot.

"We will do everything possible to achieve that by the end of the season. I'm sure they are developing their car and so are we," said Force India team Principal Vijay Mallya at a press conference in Singapore.

"Unlike previous years, I think all developments done this year will, in fact, carry over to next year's car. But we enjoy tough racing - I'm sure McLaren do too - and we'll have some fun and let's see in Abu Dhabi who's ahead of whom."

Where to Watch Live

The Qualifying session is scheduled for a 9 pm local time (6.30 pm IST, 2 pm BST, 9 am ET) start with Live coverage in India on Star Sports. Viewers in India and Asia can also watch the qualifying session via live streaming online HERE or HERE.

UK viewers can catch the Singapore GP on Sky Sports F1 or via a live stream. US viewers watch the race live online or on NBC Sports. Bein Sports will provide live coverage in the Middle East and North Africa while viewers can also catch the race action via live streaming.