Singapore Grand Prix 2012: Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel a threat to Fernando Alonso If practice times yesterday are to be believed it could be tighter still by the end of the weekend. Sebastian Vettel set the pace in both sessions - the first on a drying track after a typically ferocious afternoon downpour - suggesting Red Bull may have found their qualifying wings again after a few races in which they have struggled to achieve lift-off on a Saturday. The double world champion pipped McLaren's Jenson Button to the fastest time of the day, Fernando Alonso third quickest in his heavily updated Ferrari. Given the fact that Hamilton botched the final corner on his fastest hot lap, it looks as if it might be a fight between McLaren and Red Bull for pole on Saturday. And given the fact that the driver qualifying on pole has won here every year apart from 2008 - when Nelson Piquet Jnr's tactical collision with a wall ensured a win for his then Renault team mate Alonso - there is a good chance the Spaniard's 37-point lead in the title race could be reduced still further. As is customary, the leading drivers played down the significance of Friday practice times. "Especially around here it is not very conclusive because people might be in traffic and get stuck," claimed Vettel whose lights-to-flag win here last year made his second consecutive title a formality at the next race in Japan. It looked pretty conclusive for Lotus, whose lack of pace around the bumpy, twisting Marina Bay Street Circuit had Kimi Raikkonen suggesting his team was not developing as fast as the others after going 12th fastest in both sessions. "We don't have enough grip for some reason, I guess we are lacking downforce," said the Finn. I think we can improve for tomorrow, but we are not going to find two seconds, unfortunately. It looks to be another weekend of damage limitation for Raikkonen, who remains, incredibly, just one point behind Hamilton in the championship despite not having won a race this season. Barring incident or accident, Hamilton will move away from him this weekend. But it is the 2008 world champion's possible move away from McLaren which has added a fascinating sub-text to this most fascinating of run-ins. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh did his best to remain calm in the face of a barrage of questions yesterday as to why he has not yet pinned down his star driver to a new contract, claiming the delay did not overly concern him. "It seems a long time because of all the speculation but when you sit down and seriously put your mind to entering into a new contract it doesn't take too long," he said. I think it is a question of priorities and other things we have been doing. Whitmarsh did, though, all but admit that McLaren have offered Hamilton reduced terms to stay with the team he has been at since the age of 13. I am sure he will want more money and I am sure we will want to pay less. That is how business normally works. The man himself once again refused to engage on the issue, limiting his pronouncements to on-track issues. "It's very going to be very close," he offered. He might as well have been talking about his future.