Lewis Hamilton is working on improving his single-mindedness as he bids to improve his chances of winning this year's Formula One world title.

Hamilton, who topped the timesheet following Friday practice ahead of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, has shown himself to be a more resilient character throughout this season.

The technical problems with Hamilton's Mercedes, which have put him on the back foot for the majority of this campaign, may have impacted more significantly on him in previous years.

However, older, wiser and more experienced, he has responded by taking the necessary steps to ensure his sole focus is on beating team-mate Nico Rosberg to the championship.

When it was suggested to Hamilton that he is allowing nothing to get in his way this season, he replied: "I am working on that because that has been my Achilles heel in the past.

"It is something you cannot force. It comes with time, but it is something I've been working on for a long time. I am nearly 30, so bit by bit with those experiences I have had, they have helped massively.

"This year, with all the difficult scenarios I have had, what really encourages me is how I have come through them. Take the last race in Italy. Although I won from pole, I dropped to fourth at the start.

"To come back and fight through such a difficulty is so much more satisfying and more powerful. Whilst people enjoyed watching it, I get so much more from it, so those experiences have really helped me a lot."

Hamilton, who has previously allowed off-track woes to affect him, is benefiting from a more settled personal life.

The 29-year-old's romance with on-off girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger is going through a solid phase, as is his relationship with father Anthony, who cheered on his son again at the Marina Bay Street Circuit with Hamilton's step-mother Linda.

After watching him win in Italy to close Rosberg's lead to 22 points, it is the first time Hamilton senior has attended races back to back for some time. "Being settled personally is always a huge part of it," remarked Hamilton junior. "I am getting older and managing things better, and although things can always be better and you can always try to improve, at the moment things are quite calm."

Much will depend on the reliability of his car, which has so far cost him countless points - and almost certainly the championship lead.

However, the title-chaser pointed out: "When I have made mistakes I've always recovered. Even when the car has had a problem, which has been the majority of the time, I have generally recovered from it.

"I feel like I have come back and maximised every race given the scenarios I've had to handle. I've no idea what lies ahead of me, but I am better prepared than ever in terms of having the experiences, and where I am, to handle what is to come."

On track, under the bright Singapore lights, Hamilton produced a solid start by leading the way in practice, finishing 0.133 seconds clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Rosberg, meanwhile, was down in 13th as his low-fuel qualifying run on the fast supersoft tyres was thwarted by Pastor Maldonado hitting a wall in his Lotus, bringing out the red flags.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was third, three tenths of a second down on Hamilton, followed by Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel, four-times champion and winner of this event for the last three years, was a remarkable fifth - 0.551secs behind Hamilton in his Red Bull.

At the end of FP1 Vettel's car suffered an engine issue which resulted in his mechanics spending all their lunch break and the majority of FP2 working to replace the system.

With 10 minutes remaining Vettel made it out on track on a set of supersoft tyres to push himself up the order.

Jenson Button was seventh in his McLaren, with Marussia's Max Chilton 20th and four seconds down.