Championship leader Lewis Hamilton shone in the opening practice session for this weekend's historic night race by setting the fastest lap in Singapore on Friday.
The McLaren driver, clocked a time of one minute 45.518 seconds under the floodlights at the Marina Bay street circuit.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who trails Hamilton in the driver standings by a single point, finished 0.080secs behind the 23-year-old in second place.
Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen clocked a time of 1:45.961 to take third while McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen claimed fourth with a fastest lap of 1:46.463.
BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica completed the top five with a time of 1:46.618.
Williams driver Nico Rosberg recorded a time of 1:46.710 to take sixth place while two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who had briefly topped the timesheets, finished seventh in his Renault.
Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber, Renault's Nelson Piquet and Honda driver Jenson Button completed the top 10.
Red Bull's David Coulthard, eager to finish his Formula One career on a high, will be hoping for better after recording a time of 1:48.517 to finish 15th.
All eyes had been eagerly anticipating exactly how the circuit would look under floodlights and, as expected, it did not disappoint with all sections of the track brightly lit.
The rain and thunderstorms that had lashed Singapore in the morning failed to materialise in the evening meaning only a small section of standing water remained at Turn One as conditions were otherwise perfect.
Alonso, whose concerns regarding bumps at Turn 10 were allayed after the FIA rectified the issue, was quick from the start and set the initial pace but it did not take long for Hamilton to climb to the top of the standings.
Raikkonen briefly usurped Hamilton but the Englishman soon regained his lead, and he stayed there for the remainder of the session.
Mark Webber of Red Bull saw his practice ended early when he ploughed into the barrier at Turn 18 on only his fourth lap while Honda's Rubens Barrichello also crashed out when he spun off the track at the final corner.
Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:45.518 20 laps
02 F. Massa Ferrari 1:45.598 23 laps
03 K. Rдikkцnen Ferrari 1:45.961 24 laps
04 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:46.463 20 laps
05 R. Kubica BMW 1:46.618 23 laps
06 N. Rosberg Williams 1:46.710 25 laps
07 F. Alonso Renault 1:46.725 29 laps
08 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:46.964 24 laps
09 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:47.175 30 laps
10 J. Button Honda 1:47.277 30 laps
11 S. Vettel Toro Rosso 1:47.570 28 laps
12 K. Nakajima Williams 1:47.662 23 laps
13 T. Glock Toyota 1:47.706 27 laps
14 S. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:48.097 16 laps
15 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:48.517 23 laps
16 R. Barrichello Honda 1:48.725 19 laps
17 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:48.839 24 laps
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:48.906 25 laps
19 J. Trulli Toyota 1:49.064 29 laps
20 M. Webber Red Bull 1:53.703 4 laps
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