Nico Rosberg was the fastest driver out on track for the first session in Singapore, leading his teammate by a few tenths of a second. Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest, with two Ferrari drivers behind him. Red Bull teammate Daniil Kvyat was towards the rear of the timesheets after spending a lot of time in the garage as the mechanics took a good look at the fuel system.

Alexander Rossi was making his F1 debut for Manor, participating in his first full weekend as an F1 driver, However, he got off to a tricky start by crashing towards the end of the session which brought out the red flags, and damaged his car.