Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull can dominate F1 Singapore GP

At the conclusion of the running, Ricciardo, who topped both sessions with team-mate Max Verstappen second in FP2, insisted he was not surprised by Red Bull's early-weekend form.

"I expected this, to be honest," Ricciardo said. "I knew we'd come here with a good car, I feel prepared, so I'm not surprised with our performance today.

"It's important that we keep that tomorrow but I have a lot of faith we can stay there all weekend.

"A dominant weekend is what I'm after. I know the challenge tomorrow will potentially be stronger from Ferrari and Mercedes, but I'm confident we can stay there."

Ricciardo's confidence is so high for the weekend that he felt his advantage in the first session did not do justice to what Red Bull is capable of in Singapore.

"FP1, even though we were quickest I was still expecting more - so FP2 was more like it," he said, having gone seven tenths faster than the best non-Red Bull in the afternoon.

"We improved it from the morning. Even though I was quickest, I knew we could go better with the set-up.

"We got it, another step, I think we can get another half a step out of it, that's what I'm looking for."

Verstappen added: "The car was working pretty well - of course, it can always be better in terms of balance, but if we compare it to our competitors, we looked very strong.

"We didn't expect to be this competitive, but it all looks very good.

"We know in Q3 that Mercedes and also Ferrari, they have a little bit more to come [from engine modes], so we have to be cautious."

Explaining his deficit to Ricciardo, the Dutchman said: "We all know that Daniel is always very quick here.

"But my fast lap, I had to abort because [Romain] Grosjean spun, so yellow flag, couldn't use the DRS so makes no sense to continue.

"So there's still some laptime to come, also fine-tuning the engine because in terms of top speed today, compared to the other car, we were not looking great."