Singapore GP: Lewis Hamilton buoyed by McLaren handling in practice

"I am quite comfortable with the car and the guys have done a great job," said Hamilton after posting the fifth fastest time in the second session, having being second quickest in the opening one.

"It feels a lot different to the last race where we had a lot less downforce. It is great to be able to throw the car round a bit more."

However, the Briton, the winner of the previous race at Monza, admitted he did not feel his car was particularly strong in race trim.

"It felt pretty poor for me but I heard it was worse for others, so that is promising," he said.

When asked about his prospects for qualifying, Hamilton said: "I think we will be in the top five."

Team-mate Jenson Button, second in the second session behind Sebastian Vettel, conceded there was still much to do before he feels comfortable with his car.

"There is still a lot of work to do," he said. "I am not entirely happy with the balance. On the softer of the two tyres the balance wasn't great with a lot of front locking so we have been messing around trying to find a balance all day but we are not there yet."