Renault: Forward-facing exhausts have been our downfall 28 Sep 2011

Renault's early-season podium finishes were but a distant memory in Singapore at the weekend, with drivers Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov crossing the line a lowly 15th and 17th respectively, two laps down on the Renault-engined Red Bull of winner Sebastian Vettel.
But there is one glimmer of hope for the team. Rather than being stuck in limbo not knowing what has caused their form to dip, Renault believe the issues lie in their innovative forward-facing exhausts. Although initially envied up and down the pit lane, technical director James Allison believes that the concept is flawed - at least at low-speed tracks like Singapore.

"We entered the race knowing that our pace would be poor and our tyre degradation high - this is what we had seen on Friday and Saturday," Allison told the team's official website. "There is always a bit of you that hopes, irrationally, that it might be different in the race, but as events showed, free practice and qualifying were accurate portents of the grim two hours that unfolded on Sunday.

"Anybody can spot that we have suffered very poor performance at Monaco, Hungary and Singapore. The simplest explanation is that there is not enough downforce in low-speed corners. We know from our experiments with rear blowing exhausts earlier in the year that they do offer a lot more rear downforce - especially at high rear ride heights.

"We know that slow speed tracks allow the rear to be held up high in all the corners and we know that rear downforce is a prized asset for coping with the traction demand at these tracks. We also know that the forward exhaust, by contrast, performs more strongly once the rear ride height starts to compress - something that cannot be avoided in medium- and high-speed corners. It is probably reasonable to conclude that this is the basic mechanism behind the way that we shed so much competitiveness at slow-speed tracks."

Allison believes that the car's inherent sensitivity to set-up changes has also contributed to the recent slackening off of performance.

"Even at Spa and Monza, where our performance was acceptable, we still had to tweak the aerodynamic setup during the weekend," Allison explained. "Our car is very sensitive and extremely unforgiving of even the slightest geometric misalignment. This weekend, we were plagued by rear wing and floor issues that all seem to be even more sensitive at very low speeds than they are at the higher speeds where our car is more comfortable."

The Briton, however, is confident, given the nature of the tracks coming up on the calendar, that more points can be scored in 2011. He is also sure the team won't face the same issues next season.

"Of course (we can get rid of these problems with the 2012 car)," he concluded. "Each of these problems we can engineer out of the R32. However, at this stage of the season it is much harder to address these underlying problems for the R31.

"(But) several of the remaining races offer a range of medium- and high-speed corners where we ought to be able to get the car back into the points. We need to - Force India is starting to breathe down our neck and we need a few good results to stay ahead."

Renault are currently fifth in the constructors' standings on 70 points, with Force India just 22 adrift on 48. The team will be back on track in Japan at Suzuka from October 7-9.

Race - perfect Vettel made to wait for title

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel crushed his opposition to score an easy victory in Singapore on Sunday, despite major late-race pressure from McLaren's Jenson Button, whom he had outrun early on. And it was Button's presence in second place that prevented Vettel from confirming his second consecutive world championship by a mere point. 

To put the title beyond doubt he needed to be 125 points clear, but Button remains a tantalising 124 behind and takes the battle to Japan at the very least.

Mercedes' Michael Schumacher played a key role in the race, but for the wrong reasons. An accident involving him and Sauber's Sergio Perez brought out the safety car on the 29th lap, and that was the first bit of good news that McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had enjoyed all race.

Hamilton's race strategy was compromised from the start after he had lost a set of super-soft tyres to the puncture in the right rear he suffered during the second qualifying session. It meant he had to switch to the less grippy soft compound tyre sooner than his rivals who still had three sets of super-softs.

Vettel blasted into the lead from Button at the start, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso snatching third, but Hamilton's day got worse when he got blocked by Red Bull's Mark Webber and lost places, dropping from fourth to eighth. He climbed quickly to sixth, passing the Mercedes of Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, but a brush with Ferrari's Felipe Massa on Lap 12 damaged his front wing just after they had both stopped for new tyres, and a lap later Hamilton pitted again for a new nose and dropped to 16th. He then received a drive-through penalty for causing a collision, dropping to 19th.

Up front, Vettel owned the race, lock, stock and double barrel, building a lead of 11.4s by the 16th lap after a flurry of fastest laps distanced him from Button, who in turn had dropped Alonso. After losing time behind third placed Force India's Paul di Resta, who moved up temporarily on his harder tyres as faster runners switched to replacements for their soft compounds, the Spaniard was back in third place by Lap 20, but further behind Button than Button was behind Vettel. 

Webber was running three seconds further back, but soon began to challenge Alonso until their second pits stops. Then came the incident on lap 29 that changed the complexion of the race.

Rosberg had overtaken Sauber's Sergio Perez for seventh place on the 28th lap, but got on the marbles in the last corner and Perez pounced again. But Rosberg retaliated and they touched going into the first corner, pushing the Mexican wide. That gave Schumacher the chance to close in, but he then misjudged things and crashed into the back of the Sauber. As the Mercedes crashed head-on into a safety wall, thankfully without injury to Schumacher, Vettel's near-20s lead was neutralised as the safety car was deployed. Schumacher was subsequently reprimanded for the incident.

The safety car's presence triggered a rash of pits stops, and when they were done the order was now Vettel, Button, Alonso, Webber - then Di Resta, Rosberg, Force Indias Adrian Sutil, Perez and Hamilton, who had fought back to ninth and had now been thrown an unexpected lifeline.

When the race went green again on Lap 34 Vettel had lapped cars between him and Button and was still 8.9s ahead of the McLaren driver at the end of the lap, but in a key move Webber removed Alonso's championship hopes by passing the surprised Spaniard, as further back Hamilton moved past Perez for eighth. The McLaren driver then overhauled Sutil, Rosberg and Di Resta. So now it was Vettel, apparently cruising home, Button doing likewise in second, Webber and Alonso, and Hamilton finally stalemated in fifth.

The final stops only temporarily shuffled the order, leaving Hamilton behind Di Resta. He caught and passed him again on Lap 53 to regain fifth, leaving the Scot to take a career-best sixth after another superb drive. Hamilton and Button were flying in the closing stages, the latter slashing Vettel's advantage until he was frustrated by the duelling Williams drivers right at the end, but the spotlight was deservedly focused on Vettel.

In the closing laps there was also a huge fight for seventh, which Rosberg just won from Sutil, as Massa was right with them after snatching ninth from Perez on the last lap. Pastor Maldonado beat Williams team mate Rubens Barrichello, as Sebastien Buemi also slipped ahead of the Brazilian late in the race to take 12th. His Toro Rosso team mate Jaime Alguersuari had a tough race, clashing early on with Kamui Kobayashi, and crashing in the late stages.

Kobayashi was 14th following a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags, ahead of Bruno Senna who had an up and down race for Renault but caught and passed team mate Vitaly Petrov, who was 17th. Renault's day went from bad to worse after the race when they were fined 7,500 Euro for a communication error at the safety-car restart that had led to Senna colliding with Perez, the Brazilian thinking he was battling for position when in fact he was a lap down on the Mexican.

Between the black and gold cars, Heikki Kovalainen was 16th, his Lotus team picking up a 10,000 Euro fine for unsafely releasing him into Vettel's path during their final stops.

Behind Petrov, Jerome D'Ambrosio drove tidily for 18th for Virgin, with Daniel Ricciardo recovering for 19th for HRT after needing a new nose and front wing on the first lap, while team mate Tonio Liuzzi later ran into trouble and dropped back to 20th.

The other Lotus, Jarno Trulli's, joined Schumacher, Alguersuari and early spinner Timo Glock's Virgin on the retirement list, when its gearbox broke.

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes 23 Sep 2011

As the light dimmed in Singapore on Friday the Formula One cars came out to play for the first time this year. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton led the way during the opening practice session, but the second saw Red Bull and Ferrari come to the fore. The leading teams and their rivals reflect on their progress at Marina Bay…

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, P1 - 1:49.005, 2nd; P2 - 1:46.374, 1st
"It's a demanding circuit, it's quite warm with the suit etc. and on top of that you have to focus – it's one of the toughest tracks for the mind here. I quite like it, but I'm sure no one's jumping out of the car looking better than when they got in. We worked on the set up of the car, but the baseline was not too bad. We still have to make a good step overnight. It looked pretty tight out there today, so we need to wait and see."

Mark Webber, P1 - 1:50.066, 3rd; P2 - 1:47.265, 5th
"It wasn't too bad. I need to find a bit more pace, but there's a bit of low hanging fruit which we can grab tonight, which will be good for us. Seb's going alright, so I just need to find a bit more and get into it tomorrow. In Free Practice 1, I had a small incident. I thought Glock was letting me through, but he didn'tknow I was there, so when we got to the apex, our car's touched."

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P1 - 1:50.596, 4th; P2 - 1:46.575, 2nd
"The first session was interrupted so often that, along with the shortened time, it meant we could not do as many laps as we would have liked. So we tried to make the very most of the ninety minutes available in this evening's session and at least, this time, everything went smoothly. Overall, I am pleased with what we were able to see today. Here, like Monaco, it's very important for a driver to be able to lap enough to find the ideal reference points to be able to push to the limit, but not one centimetre over it, because every mistake is very costly. Racing at night is always a special feeling: it usually takes a little bit of time to adapt, but then, from tomorrow onwards, you can push to the maximum, trying to find the best performance. The car is behaving more or less as we expected and the feeling from this Friday is definitely better than in Monza and Spa, but we have to be realistic and not expect any great surprises: the Red Bulls are still favourites here and McLaren are also very strong. We will try and make the most of every possible opportunity."

Felipe Massa, P1 - 1:52.043, 6th; P2 - 1:47.120, 4th
"Heat was the main feature today and there was plenty of it in the cockpit! From what we could see, tyre degradation is reasonably high, but we know the track condition can change given it was very dirty today. It will also be important to choose the right level of cooling for the brakes and the engine: the race will be very long and tough, both for the drivers and the cars. I think we are in better shape than at the last two races and, who knows maybe we can fight with the McLarens, but we must wait and see what happens tomorrow. The performance difference between the Soft and Supersoft today seemed very high, especially for us, but that's not to say it will be the same on Saturday: the track will rubber in and the situation could change. Here you have to pay great attention to your driving: today I kissed the barrier, fortunately without any consequences!"

Pat Fry, Ferrari chassis director
"As usual on Friday, we had a busy programme to get through: unfortunately, partly because of the unexpected and sudden reduction of the length of the first session and also due to a few small blips that slowed our work, we did not manage to get through everything we wanted to. We have a few new components on the car: some produced the results we expected, but others still need some work. Taking into account the usual considerations when it comes to evaluating Friday's times, it seems that we are back to being closer to the situation we had seen prior to the summer break. Not that we needed to be told, but we saw today just how hard this track can be on the cars: just as at Monaco, the slightest slip comes at a high price. Therefore, one has to be very careful not to go over the limit. One very important factor will be tyre behaviour: in the race it will be crucial to find the best moment to make the pit stops."

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P1 - 1:48.599, 1st; P2 - 1:47.115, 3rd
"We were competitive in P1, but in P2 there was a larger gap to the front and we started struggling a little with the rear tyres.

"There are some areas out on the track where the bolts are coming out of the kerbs - they must be taking some serious force from the cars. On a couple of the corners - Turns Three, 13 and 14 - the exit and apex kerbing has been removed, so some drivers were using the extra track.

"We don't yet know whether or not the kerbs will be reinstated tonight, so I continued driving as though the kerbs were there. If they're not replaced, then we should gain an extra couple of tenths by being able to run as wide as some of the others did.

"Either way, we're going to improve the car overnight; we'll change the set-up a little bit. Qualifying will be very important tomorrow, because a good starting position for the race will be vital. Then, looking after the tyres will be key; we'll be making adjustments to limit the rears' sliding, and also to make them last longer."

Jenson Button, P1 - 1:50.952, 5th; P2 - 1:49.751, 10th
"During P2, I locked up into Turn 14, but I just kept it out of the barriers. I selected reverse and started to pull back slowly, but then I had no drive. I tried to turn the car around, but there was no room. So I tried to reverse again, and something wasn't working with the gearbox. We looked at the 'box once we got the car back to the garage, and it's now happily resolved.

"I only ran the Prime tyre today and didn't really find a great set-up. It was a little disappointing not to do any more running, because I couldn't improve the package. Still, we have some good ideas for tomorrow and I'm confident we'll make more progress.

"I think everybody will struggle a little with tyres during the race - they seem to be overheating quite quickly. So it's going to be a bit tough, but we're all in the same boat."

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
"Today was a tricky day for both Lewis and Jenson. Lewis showed impressive pace in P1, but wasn't completely happy with his car's set-up in the second session.

"We're looking closely at rear tyre degradation, and I'm confident that we have a number of solutions to try and improve the issue.

"Jenson was also struggling with an oversteering car and unfortunately locked up early into his P2 programme and ended up very close to the tyre barriers.

"Given the tight nature of this track, he wasn't able to get the car turned around - and, after suffering a problem with reverse gear, wasn't able to get the car pointed in the right direction in order to continue.

"We looked into the issue and fixed it - but, nonetheless, it was a frustrating issue for Jenson, because he couldn't complete his planned run-programme today."

Mercedes GP
Michael Schumacher, P1 - 1:52.416, 8th; P2 - 1:48.418, 6th
"As usual on these types of circuits, the track is pretty slippery and provides low grip. It was not really useful therefore that the practice time was cut, because we had a big programme to work on. But then, it was what it was, so we made the best out of it. The picture overall is probably as expected: no big surprises, and maybe the most obvious thing is that the difference between the tyres is quite big. For the rest, it is too early to say as we did not have the time yet to analyse the practice sessions fully. I like the race here; it is a bit like the modern Monaco, very exciting with more run-off areas."

Nico Rosberg, P1 - 1:52.815, 10th; P2 - 1:50.790, 15th
"It was difficult to learn a lot in the first practice session this evening due to the interruptions. However in the second session this evening, we were able to work through a lot of set-up changes and learn a lot about the car. I was on higher fuel levels to help our understanding of how to prepare the car for the race. It wasn't a perfect day but a decent day for me and hopefully we can make further progress tomorrow."

Ross Brawn, Mercedes GP team principal
"Singapore always hosts a spectacular weekend and it is a race which the teams and drivers love. The Marina Bay Circuit is an extremely challenging track to find a balance which will look after the tyres during a demanding race situation. Therefore all our work today focused on race preparation and this confirmed how challenging the race will be. The critical element will be the longevity of the tyres and understanding how to work them to the maximum for as long as possible. We made good progress during the sessions and have a lot of information to work with tonight."

Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"Firstly our compliments to the organisers here in Singapore for hosting this unique Grand Prix which produces the most spectacular images of the whole Formula One season. Michael and Nico concentrated on race preparation today, and did not run the same programmes all the time. This will be a challenging race for our current technical package but our guys are working very hard to make the best out of it in order to achieve a respectable result."

Force India
Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:52.251, 7th; P2 - 1:48.866, 7th
"I always enjoy street circuits and today's sessions went pretty well for me. It usually takes a while to get back in the rhythm, especially on such a long lap as Singapore, but I got up to speed quite quickly. The general car balance has been good all day with just some understeer in the high and low speed corners to solve. By the time I was running on the supersofts the understeer issue was much better. We did some good work on both tyre compounds with some long runs in the second session. The supersofts obviously give a lot more grip, but the drop-off in performance after a few laps is quite big."

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:52.435, 9th; P2 - 1:50.345, 13th
"It wasn't the best of days because what I really needed was time on track to help me learn the circuit. The first session was cut short and in the second I had a hydraulic brake issue, which took most of the session to fix. So it means that I go into Saturday with limited running on the soft tyres and just one timed lap on the supersofts. It's not ideal because you need to build your confidence on a street circuit and find the limits because there is little margin for error. On the positive side Adrian has shown that the car seems to be on the pace and I felt quite happy during the limited running I did do on the soft tyres."

Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer
"Slightly less track time than usual today during Friday practice, with the first session shortened whilst some damage to the kerbs was repaired, and with Paul's second session restricted by downtime while the team worked on curing a brake system issue. Nevertheless, it was possible to conduct the usual tyre comparisons and evaluate some new aerodynamic components on the cars. Because we opted to run our race drivers in both sessions today, we're confident we didn't loose too much and can recover any lost ground tomorrow. This circuit remains very challenging in a lot of areas and with some hard work to do before Sunday we can look forward to an interesting race."

Sauber
Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:53.703, 14th; P2 - 1:49.578, 8th
"Today we had very nice conditions for driving. The circuit is very demanding for the drivers and also for the tyres. You have to be focused all the time. Turn ten can be quite tricky because the kerbs are high, and if you get it wrong in that chicane you jump too high. I hope we manage to find a good balance for the car for the race. I think we have some good opportunities here to score points."

Kamui Kobayashi, P1 - 1:53.749, 15th; P2 - 1:49.730, 9th
"My car is quite okay. Generally it is better on circuits which require more downforce, which, unlike at the recent circuits we have raced on, is the case here. It is a different and a better feeling. Also for me both tyre compounds, the soft and the super soft, seem okay."

Giampaolo Dall'Ara, head of track engineering
"It is never very easy here and today it has been difficult but we have done a lot of work. For the first practice we had a bit of a disturbance because of a shorter session and two red flags, so, even though we tried to pull everything together, we couldn't do what was planned and, because of this, the performance suffered a bit. For the second practice we completed our programme okay. We tested tyres, something on the set-up of the car and some checks that were planned."

Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari, P1 - 1:53.050, 12th; P2 - 1:49.792, 11th
"I am very happy to be back in Singapore again, as I enjoy the track and the special atmosphere, driving in the night time. As usual on the first day, the grip level from the track surface is very low and in general, I was not so happy with the car and I never felt that comfortable with it today. Because we did not run for the full amount of time, we still do not have a clear picture of the Soft tyre's behaviour on a long run and we have yet to see how much degradation will be a factor. I think the track was dirtier today than this time last year, which did not help, although the surface feels less bumpy, especially going into Turn Seven and apart from that the only change is the one they made to the kerbs this morning. We still have one more session to improve the car prior to qualifying, which will be a more important session than at other races this season, because overtaking on a street circuit is always so difficult. In the morning, I did not hit any walls, but I rode the kerbs very aggressively and the team called me in before the end of the session, to check over the car as a precaution."

Sebastien Buemi, P1 - 1:53.785, 17th; P2 - 1:52.257, 19th
"The morning session was delayed as they modified the kerbs at some points on the circuit and so, at first we had to adapt to the new lines that were made possible because of the removal of the kerbs. We managed a good number of laps in the first practice, which meant we were able to get a first impression of how the Soft tyres perform. Degradation seemed quite high, but this is normal here on the Friday. In the second session, I did two more runs on the harder tyres, but when I switched to the Supersoft, I was doing a hot lap when I made a small mistake exiting the last chicane and I touched the wall. My session therefore ended early, but I hope we will recover for Qualifying tomorrow. The car is not bad here and, as we saw in Monza, even if things do not go too well on Friday, we can still have a good race."

Laurent Mekies, Toro Rosso chief engineer
"A short day for us, partly because the morning session was delayed for everyone, then this afternoon, both cars stopped running before the end of the session: in Sebastien's case he hit the wall, removing the right front corner of the car, while with Jaime, our data showed us that he had hit a couple of kerbs very hard and, as a precaution, we brought him in early to check over the car. Because of this, we did not get much long run data and we will have to take this into account and modify our Saturday morning programme accordingly, to make up for the time we have lost. Apart from that, we had a few new elements that we were evaluating across the two cars and tonight we will study the data to put together the best combination for tomorrow."

Renault
Bruno Senna, P1 - 1:53.765, 16th; P2 - 1:50.241, 12th
"It was quite something to experience the night time driving here; it really was very special. It was also a productive evening for us. We made a step forward with the balance over the two sessions but there is still some work to be done to get the car race-ready. We have a long night ahead of us to figure out what we are going to do. On the upside, I managed to complete a good number of laps and there were no incidents nor was there damage to the car. We managed to steer clear of any major difficulty and this was the main objective of today. We need to work hard before we get to FP3 tomorrow in order to understand what we can do to improve our pace and consistency, as there's more to come from the car this weekend."

Vitaly Petrov, P1 - 1:54.736, 18th; P2 - 1:50.399, 14th
"Unfortunately we lost FP1 because the engine overheated a little, so we had to revert to older specification bodywork. My mechanics did a fantastic job to prepare my car for FP2 - a big thanks to them. It is difficult to catch up in the second session when you've lost a great deal of time in the first, but we know what we have to do for tomorrow and we know which way to move to get the most out of the car this weekend."

Alan Permane, Renault chief race engineer
"We ran a fairly regular programme today; we got a feel for the track and car set-up in FP1 before preparing more specifically for the race in FP2.

"There was disappointment with Vitaly's car in first practice because the bodywork upgrade package had a problem with its water radiator. Without time to diagnose the problem we had to make a swift decision to revert to the original package for the remainder of the weekend. We will figure out what went wrong ahead of the next race.

"As with Monaco and Hungary, here in Singapore we are seeing again that high downforce, very low speed corners expose the relative weakness of the R31 under traction. We expect the situation to improve a little as the track rubbers in over the remainder of the weekend, but this weekend is going to be a fight. Tomorrow's task will be to try to settle down the rear end of the car to give the drivers more confidence around this challenging, technical track.

"The car was not quick enough today, which has been a recurring problem this season at slow corner tracks. After relatively promising runs in Spa and Monza, our work is cut out to demonstrate the pace we need under the lights in Singapore."

Williams
Rubens Barrichello, P1 - 1:52.991, 11th; P2 - 1:50.897, 16th
"We had an effective morning during which we managed to try out various different things. The afternoon brought a few issues and so we were not able to run as much as we would have liked. We will iron out those areas tonight in order to find some more performance in the car."

Pastor Maldonado, P1 - 1:53.399, 13th; P2 - 1:50.937, 17th
"We haven't achieved the optimum set-up yet as we have some issues with the aero balance on the car but we can work through those now and in tomorrow's practice. With more rubber going down, the track will improve and so will the car so I think we can be optimistic for qualifying."

Sam Michael, Williams technical director
"That was a fairly compressed practice day due to the long red flag period in the first session. We had quite a few upgrades to test and now have lots of data to run through this evening to prepare for qualifying. The new parts were working ok aerodynamically, but we did have a problem with the rear wing actuator in first practice. The only other issue we had was quite a bit of bodywork damage from running over the kerbs which we will repair this evening."

Lotus
Heikki Kovalainen, P1 - 1:56.198, 20th; P2 - 1:51.950, 18th
"I was pretty pleased with where we ended up, but obviously we wanted more running in P1. The fire this time was much smaller than last year, and with brakes at the temperatures they run it's not uncommon to see them catch like that, but it wasn't a major issue at all and we got where we wanted by the end of the day's running. I think we can keep getting more from the new package here - there's definitely a couple more tenths in there so let's see where we are tomorrow night."

Jarno Trulli, P1 - 1:54.821, 19th; P2 - 1:52.489, 20th
"I didn't have the best runs today, but I'm still relatively happy with where we finished. We were able to get good temperatures into both compounds, but traffic and the red flags ruined both my quick laps so I don't think we really showed what's in the car yet."

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer
"That was a pretty hard day's work for everyone in the team. The first session was obviously disrupted before it even started and then the red flags affected the whole grid. Jarno's programme suffered from the stoppages and Heikki had a small off on his third run in FP1. Once he came to a halt the high brake temperatures meant he had a small fire in the front right but it was not a big issue and once we had the car back it was sorted out quickly. With Heikki's car and some changes to Jarno's setup the team had a lot of work to do during the break to turn both cars around and worked extremely well to have both cars ready for FP2. The second session was more productive and we were able to evaluate the aero updates we have brought here and it looks like we have made another small step forward. We will know more after going through the data tonight and then look forward to a good qualifying session tomorrow."

Riad Asmat, Lotus chief executive officer
"I think everyone up and down the pitlane had a disrupted FP1 with the track issues just before the session, and with Heikki stopping out on track we were looking to make sure we completed as much mileage as we could in FP2. I am not too sure what it is about Heikki and fire here in Singapore, perhaps our Finn thinks it is not quite hot enough for him here in Singapore, but the car was pretty much unscathed this time and the guys worked well to clean it up and get him out for FP2. We are reasonably happy with where we ended up – there is more to come on the super softs and both drivers are giving us positive reports on the updates we have brought here, so I am pretty happy with where we ended up."

Virgin
Timo Glock, P1 - 1:58.792, 22nd; P2 - 1:53.579, 21st
"Not a great first practice session. It was a pretty short one due to the problems on the track and then the incident with Webber, which in the end made us lose a lot of time. The rear left tyre was punctured and I didn't run again as we didn't want to waste a set of tyres in FP1. FP2 wasn't great but it was slightly better. We did some variations in terms of set-up and the direction is not bad, but it's still difficult on a long run as we suffer on the rear tyres. We have to look into it and try to fine-tune the car for tomorrow."

Jerome d'Ambrosio, P1 - 1:57.798, 21st; P2 - 1:54.649, 22nd
"An interesting day getting back into Singapore mode. This is the first time I have had proper night running, so it's very different – it's quite warm and the race will definitely be long. It's definitely going to be interesting. In terms of my performance today, I'm quite happy. FP1 went okay, even though we lost a bit of time – but we all did. FP2 started well with a race simulation. The only negative point is that on the new tyre run, on my Supersoft tyres, I went a bit wide on the kerb and damaged a bit of the front wing and the floor, as well as having to abort that lap because of the yellow flags. I came in and they repaired everything, but when I came back out the floor wasn't optimal anymore and I definitely lost some performance on the tyres. So we will have to look into this and I'm sure it will be an interesting qualifying tomorrow."

John Booth, Virgin team principal
"At this type of circuit you always hope that your practice sessions are going to go exactly to plan in order to maximise track time and enable the drivers and engineers to arrive at the optimum set-up. So it's fair to say that it's been more than a little frustrating. Whilst we've collected some good data on higher fuel runs for the tyres with both drivers, what we ultimately missed out on with both cars was the low-fuel Supersoft run. Unfortunately both drivers had started their laps when the yellow flags came out for Buemi. We thought the Yellow would be out for some time given the position of his car so we aborted both cars' runs and in doing so we effectively missed the sweet spot of the tyre life when we went back out. We've spent quite a bit of the day stepping through some combinations on the upgrade package but mainly to help with the engine cooling demands of this circuit. We now look forward to a smooth FP3 tomorrow and getting some better qualifying runs completed."

HRT
Daniel Ricciardo, P1 - 1:59.169, 23rd; P2 - 1:54.754, 23rd
"I knew beforehand that this Grand Prix would be a big challenge and it didn't let me down but it is really hot and the circuit doesn't create much air flow; it's like a sauna in there! I have really enjoyed it because the track is good: tight and challenging. You can't even blink. Today was positive but we are yet a little bit off our closest rivals. We need to try and close that gap for tomorrow's qualifying. Racing at night is not much different in terms of visibility, but it is really nice seeing the lights reflecting off the cars and the sparks flying. I'm enjoying my first taste of night racing."

Vitantonio Liuzzi, P2 - 1:55.198, 24th
"I'm quite pleased with how the session went. We had to adjust a few things set-up wise; there was a bit of oversteering at the front end and we had to modify the balance a bit. We went into a bit of traffic every time we were on soft or supersoft tyres so we couldn't get achieve the best lap time but I'm positive ahead of the weekend. With the 5 place penalty, there's not much we can strive for tomorrow so we have to focus on Sunday's race."

Narain Karthikeyan, P1 - 1:59.214, 24th
"It was fantastic to be back in the car today. I brushed off all the cobwebs after two and a half months without driving. It was a good session even though being a new track for me it was not ideal. But I'm very happy with how the testing went, especially since I was faster than Daniel until the end. On the last lap I had a really good split but encountered some traffic and couldn't finish the time. It's a shame that the session was cut short because we couldn't do many laps and, with the red flags, I couldn't really get into a rhythm. But I was pretty much on the pace and that is quite positive."

Colin Kolles, HRT team principal
"Today has been a positive day for the team. All three drivers and the whole team in the garage have worked well and we have completed the programme we had scheduled for today. Although the first session was shortened and interrupted a couple of times by red flags, both Karthikeyan and Ricciardo made the most of their time out on track. After a long time without racing, Narain was solid and consistent and Daniel was getting used to the track and later on set some good times in the afternoon. Tonio was back in for the second session and completed the set programme of different configurations. In the afternoon we also ran some tests with supersoft tyres without doing a qualifying simulation, so I'm confident that we can improve on our times tomorrow when the track conditions will also get better."

Pirelli
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director
"This was one of the most important free practice sessions of the year for the teams, and the number of people encountering problems showed just how tough it was. Singapore is an extremely demanding track, so it was vital for the teams to assess the correct set-up, particularly on full fuel tanks, as this is a circuit that is particularly heavy on fuel consumption. Naturally, a heavy car works its tyres harder, but despite this factor and the warm conditions, we've been very pleased with the performance and durability of both our P Zero compounds. We've seen a difference of about a second per lap between the two compounds but with all the teams trying out different fuel loads, it's hard to get an exact picture until we've examined all the data."

FIA Thursday press conference - Singapore

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

Drivers - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Timo Glock (Virgin), Sergio Perez (Sauber), Daniel Ricciardo (HRT), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull).

Q: Timo, this is probably a circuit that you quite like giving that you finished second here in 2009.
Timo Glock: Yeah, definitely. It is one of the best races in the calendar. For me the best or the top three. It is just a really good track. Here if you do one mistake you end up in the wall and it is quite different to all the other tracks and in 2009 it was one of my best races here, finished on the podium, second. Looking forward to be back again.

Q: What are your thoughts about this year given that it could be wet. So far, we have escaped the rain but would that be a great leveller? Is it something you would like?
TG: For us it would be good. It opens up a bit of chance for us. I think in wet conditions it is more difficult here. We will have to see. I think we had one little - I would say -wet practice last year and I felt quite happy with it. It is good fun here so we have to see what we can do if it's wet.

Q: Is that what would make the difference for you do you feel? Or is the car still developing?
TG: We have a little update here again. I think Monza was quite positive for us. It went in the right direction and the numbers were quite okay. It should be slightly better here but it doesn't change our position. As I said, if it rains, in wet conditions, the races are different and others maybe make mistakes and that's where we have to be on top and finish the race.

Q: Sergio, your first time here. Your first impressions?
Sergio Perez: Well yesterday I went to walk the track even though it wasn't completely finished. I think it is a very difficult circuit to learn. I am looking forward to driving at night. It will be my first experience doing a night race and it's a street circuit and I always enjoy to drive on the streets.

Q: Both cars retired with gearbox problems in Monza. Was it the same gearbox problem and presumably now it's been sorted whatever it was?
SP: Yeah, of course. We try to find the problem and we found it. Now we are looking forward. We lost some good points in Monza due to this. But the team is very confident and looking forward to try and catch the competition, which is Force India. We try to get back the position and hopefully we can score some good points here.

Q: The last two circuits you've thought of as not being good circuits for you. Is this a better one or is a street circuit a street circuit and it's the same for everyone?
SP: Well I think in a street circuit a driver can make a little bit more difference so let's see how it goes. This is the first time in Singapore for me. I hope we can go well. The last races we have been quite good in terms of pace. Very unlucky not to get a result, but it is looking good and hopefully we can do a good job here.

Q: Daniel, first time here. Again, your first impressions?
Daniel Ricciardo: Bit the same as Sergio. I am looking forward to another street circuit. It is my preferred type of circuit. I really enjoy Monaco and Macau and these ones. It is always nice to come to a new one. Lots of corners. It is going to be quite difficult to remember where it all goes, but I spent some time on the simulator so it should help me out. I think it is going to be quite physical as well. Drivers I have spoken to say it is one of the harder ones over the season. The humidity and the length of the race, it always seems to be pushing around two hours, so good challenge.

Q: What about in the wet?
DR: Another good challenge. Should be fun.

Q: There are so many different things here. The lack of grip, the heat, but what's the main impression from the simulator?
DR: I think it's going to be quite hard on traction. Lot of stop, stop, start. Some other corners where you are turning and braking as well so quite easy quite easy to lock an outside front tyre. I guess until I drive I won't know really where the time is going to be made or where it is going to be lost. But definitely challenging and I expect it to be quite bumpy as well. A typical street circuit. Never easy but always a good challenge and always something the drivers enjoy.

Q: Probably the closest race to home so far. Are many people coming up from Western Australia?
DR: Yeah, it is only a five-hour flight or so from home. Sounds long for European based people but very close for an Australian. My family and a few friends out to enjoy it. Whether they will be watching the race or up in one of the hotels gambling or drinking a few beers, I don't know but it should be good to have some support.

Q: Sebastien, what is the main thing to take into account for drivers here as there are so many different things: anti-clockwise; it's a street circuit; temperatures get cooler during the evening; humidity, all that sort of stuff.
Sebastien Buemi: I think it is going to be a very tough race. Like you said all those points are making it a little bit harder for the drivers and the teams. We will have the super soft tyres and the soft as well so we will have to look after the tyres especially in the first few sessions. The weather is a bit unpredictable. We don't know if it is going to be rain or not. It takes a long time to dry up as well so you have got to take this into consideration. Then I think the circuit is quite bumpy so you have got to have in a way a soft car, you need to have a lot of downforce but you need to find a good compromise which is never easy with so little running. But still I think it is going to be a very good weekend and we will definitely enjoy it.

Q: For you this is a bit of a milestone. The 50th grand prix. Does that make you feel as though you are just beginning or are you feeling fairly experienced?
SB: I think you always learn whether it is 50 or 100. I don't know. At the end of the day you learn, you have got more experience, you know better what to do. It's the third time for me in Singapore and I think it is going to help definitely. Like we said it is a difficult race and you have got to have a bit of experience if you want to come around it pretty well.

Q: As we said before the car seems to be improving. Have you got further modifications here?
SB: We have got a few things, but the main difference is the fact that we will have a lot of downforce here compared to Monza. We closed the gap quite a bit on Force India and Sauber so I would say the fight with them is pretty open for us. Hopefully we will have a good race, but the qualifying we need to see it improve quite a bit but then normally the race pace is quite good so we will see.

Q: Sebastian, you have been second here on the grid, second in the race itself. Is this a good race or a bad race or an average one? Most of them seem to be good for Red Bull Racing?
Sebastian Vettel: I think it is a very good race. One of the best we have in the season. It's a night race so very much looking forward to it. The circuit, as we touched on already, is one of the toughest for the drivers. To keep the focus it is extremely important so it should be a good race.

Q: Obviously you will be looking at the same two teams as usual, McLaren and Ferrari, but Fernando Alonso seems to be particularly keen here. He has won here twice.
SV: Yeah, I mean we will have to see. I think it will be a long weekend. A very long race. Nearly two hours. It is longer than all the other races that we have during the season. Ferrari were very competitive here last year. I think we were equally matched. I couldn't get past on the track, so hopefully this year it is the other way around. I think it will be a long weekend. On this circuit it is hard to predict who is really going to be very competitive. Obviously I think we will be fighting McLaren and Ferrari but also I think Mercedes could have a good chance here so we will see. It is a circuit where the car is important, but I think the driver can make a big difference as well.

Q: Is there still a flow of development parts coming?
SV: I wouldn't call it a flow. But we have some bits.

Q: A trickle then?
SV: Yeah, we have some bits. You always try to improve the car. It is not another step on Monza package as it is a completely different circuit but it is a step on the car we had on similar tyres of tracks, street circuit, so we will see.

Q: You could actually win the championship here. What are your thoughts on that?
SV: As you said would, could, should. So far we haven't won anything. We are in a good position but still some way to go. We have to race and do our normal job and try to achieve our best. It is one of the most difficult tracks for the car, for the drivers. It is a long, long way to the chequered flag. A lot of people talk about it but certain things have to happen. It reminds me a little bit of the situation we faced in Abu Dhabi where people came up every two or three minutes giving another option that is possible. Out of I don't know 1,467 options this could be one. It's not the objective for this weekend. The target is to optimise our performance and then either we get surprised or not?

Q: So we could say you are not in a hurry?
SV: Generally our target going into the season was to defend our title. We are in a very good position. There is no reason that the target should change. It doesn't really matter when, it matters to us that it happens and that is what we are working on.

Q: Nico, this is a circuit I think you really enjoy. You have qualified third here and finished second as well.
Nico Rosberg: Yeah, in general I have had very good experiences here in the past few years. Often been right at the front. I had my best ever position here in 2008 second place so it's a track I enjoy and I hope I can do similarly well again this year.

Q: What is it about the circuit that's so enjoyable?
NR: It's just a street circuit. I go well on street circuits. It's just a big challenge and a lot of fun and quite tough.

Q: When it comes to the circuit and the car is it a good one for the car do you feel?
NR: Not sure. For sure the last couple of races have been good for the car like Spa and Monza where we have seen some progress but here probably a bit less so. But we need to see. We have a few new bits coming here to Singapore and that will improve the car so it remains to be seen. It's a possibility.

Q: In many ways you are quite a traveller. Do these final six grands prix excite you? The very thought that we are away from Europe now and it becomes a massive World Championship in itself.
NR: Of course I find it very exciting to go to see new places, especially. For example, India is going to be a very nice experience. Never been there. Look forward to that and even coming here is great. Singapore is a fantastic place and Japan. It's great venues that we have on the calendar.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ian De Cotta - Today) Sebastian, I know you said 'it happens when it happens' but is there any pressure on you to realise the championship in Singapore?
SV: I think there's always pressure on me and on us because we want to achieve our best every single weekend and achieve our maximum so if there's a possibility or chance to win, then we want to go for it. I don't feel any extra pressure trying to win the championship here or trying to win it in one particular place. As I said earlier, we have to just remind ourselves what was the target going into the season and the target was not to win the championship by Singapore or any other race; the target was to win the championship itself. That's why I think this race is as important as all the other ones, to be able to win the championship.

Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) Sebastian, last year you were stuck behind Fernando; do you think that DRS could help you to overtake him this year and overtake everyone?
SV: I think we have to wait and see. Sure you might have a better chance with the DRS, simply because of the fact that if you're close enough, the car behind is allowed to use it and the car in front is not, like at all the other places. But we've seen this year, firstly depending on distance - so how big the DRS zone is, and secondly, where the DRS zone is, meaning which circuit, which straights and so on. It can make a big difference, so we will have to wait until we find out here.

Q: (Marco Degl'Innocenti - La Gazzetta dello Sport) I would like to know from you all - except Sebastian - what is your personal opinion about the next possible World Champion, Sebastian Vettel? How do you judge him as a driver and fellow?
SB: I've known Sebastian for quite a long time now. He's been winning everything that he has raced in so I think he's doing a really good job, especially last year when he clinched the title in the last race. This year's he's had the perfect season, nothing to say. It's been a wonderful season, winning nearly all the races. He's just getting the maximum out of the car and the team. He's done the best job of everyone.
NR: Good driver and deserves to win.
TG: There's not much to add on that. I think Sebastian won the title last year, had a lot of ups and downs. This year, I think he's just managed to have a near perfect season up until now. I have my money on him to win the championship this weekend so he has to push for it.
NR: How much did you put on him?
TG: I'm not telling you!
NR: I heard 20,000, is that true?
TG: Not really, no.
SP: I think he's really a complete driver, and I think he deserves to win the championship this year.
DR: Seb sets a good target for us younger drivers, definitely. I think if we can repeat or maybe even one day try and do better, I think it's the ultimate. He's definitely set the benchmark, particular for us Red Bull Juniors. We'll try and follow.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de São Paulo) Sebastian, this weekend will you take the same risks that you take in other races or will you be more conscious of this race?
SV: Well, it depends. It depends on the race that you're in. I think one thing is clear. It always depends - given the risks you take - it always depends on the chances you see. If you see that there's a gap and a chance to pass a car in front, then you go for it. If you think at that moment whether you decide to go for it or not that the risk is too high you don't do it. It would be wrong to drive around with the handbrake on, just say 'OK, I need to finish, I need to finish.' On the other hand, it would be wrong to go into the race and say 'now I need to risk something.' So I think you should just race. In the end, we have a long season, a lot of races. Surely sometimes you will make mistakes, it's natural. But I think the more races you do the more experience you get, ideally the fewer mistakes you make. As I said, we try to get the best out of this race and if we find ourselves in a good position, able to win, and there's a chance and a gap, we have to go for it. If not, there's no need to try something stupid.

Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) Jenson is quoted today as saying that despite being fit, that because the race is at night, because of the humidity, the concentration levels, the race is actually a bit long and drivers would like to see it shortened. I wonder what the view is with everybody up there?
NR: Jenson can always stop if he gets a bit tired!
SV: I think it's fine as it is. It's the usual distance. Sure the speed is slow here because the average cornering speed is quite slow, so we need a lot of time to manage the 61 laps in the race, but it's one of the biggest challenges we have, so the focus has to be extremely high throughout the race. It's very hot, the humidity is very high. It's very tough for the drivers, the whole thing happens at night, it's more difficult for your eyes. I think it deserves to be a tough challenge. It's long but it's OK.
TG: It's definitely one of the hardest races but I'm used to [how it was in] 2005 when I did ChampCar. Every race was nearly up to two hours. If you do Milwaukee oval race and you have 225 laps to do, that's a long one. But I have to say, last year here was one of the toughest races for me because I was eleventh at some point in the race and I could hold up a lot of guys behind me and these 15 laps were some of the hardest I think I have ever had to drive. It's all about staying focused and quite similar to Monaco. As I said, if you make a mistake, it's over.

Q: (James Allen - Financial Times) Sebastian, going back to the DRS question earlier on, if you had had DRS last year, knowing what you know about it from this season, do you think you would have been able to get past Fernando, and secondly, there was quite a bit of banter between you and Fernando after the race in Monza about putting you on the grass. Was that always good humoured? You mentioned it a few times, did you feel it was a little bit marginal in the end?
SV: First part: it's hard to know. The cars were different last year but I think with DRS I would maybe have had a better chance. On the other hand, Fernando would not have waved me past so I would still have had to make the pass. I don't know. The race is done, we can't change the result. Overall I'm happy with last year's outcome, it's OK.
For Monza, I think he didn't expect me to go on the left, so trying to go on the inside for the second chicane so initially he didn't see me, but as soon as he saw me, he didn't back off but he at least pulled to the right and gave me enough room. It was borderline but I know that if I want to get past, I have to try something. Actually, the lap before was more critical, when I was on the right, on the outside for the second chicane and he moved a little bit under braking to the right side and there wasn't much room for me. We talked about it after the race and I think it's fine. Generally, if you race people like Fernando and people with a lot of experience and people you respect a lot, you can really push the limits and really go wheel to wheel without thinking about it, because you know that the guy will see you and will know that you are there and will give you just enough room - not a lot but just enough.

Q: (Andy Benson - BBC Sport) Sebastian, on that subject, I understand you went to see the stewards about Fernando's driving after Monza… that's not true?
SV: No.

Q: (Michael Schmidt - Auto, Motor und Sport) As you mentioned already, this is a street circuit like Monte Carlo. For those of you who know this circuit, what are the differences from Monte Carlo in terms of driving challenge and driving technique? Is it more or less difficult here?
TG: I would say Singapore is quite a bit longer than Monaco, but in general it's not that different -maybe it's slightly more bumpy here. And that's it really. It's at night yeah, but that's the difference.
SV: In a way it's tougher than Monaco. Obviously I haven't been around that long - maybe you should ask Michael - but I think over the last couple of years we have resurfaced (Monaco) again and again, and tried to make it smoother and better, safer. We've just been here a couple of times - this is the fourth time - but it's much rougher than Monaco in a way. It's very bumpy. At some places there's not a lot of room for mistakes - generally there's little or no run-off on street circuits but I think that given the lap is so long and there are so many corners, it's quite hot, it's humid, I think it makes it a tougher challenge in a way than Monaco. It's a different track, but I think it's tougher around here.

Q: (Heikki Kulta - Turun Sanomat) Nico, which is more difficult: to catch Massa in the championship or keep Michael behind?
NR: My target is to catch Massa, for sure, but that's going to be a challenge. It's also difficult to keep Michael behind, and I just need to keep on scoring points consistently and don't get taken out in the first corner.

Q: (Gary Meenaghan - The National) Do you think that night racing is an unnecessary expense or is it something more circuits should look to try and consider?
SV: I think it makes it very cool around here, it's something very special, something we all look forward to. Here and obviously Abu Dhabi, we start just when the sun goes down. It's exciting for us and I think it's also more exciting to watch, in a way. It doesn't meant that all the races have to be night races now, because then it wouldn't be something special, so I think the rhythm we have is very fine and with one or two - maybe three - races in the future per year. I don't know where. It could be very nice.

Q: (Dieter Rencken - The Citizen) I would assume that you've watched either all or part of the re-run of the Italian Grand Prix. What are your comments about Michael Schumacher's driving? Was it within the bounds of sporting good behaviour; what are your feelings?
SB: I think that he was really quick on the straight, first of all, and that Lewis had a completely different rear wing setting so that he was on the limiter a lot, which is maybe a better compromise for them in qualifying, but worse in the race. I don't think it was unfair, I think that what he did was quite fair. It was on the edge, at the limit, but I still think that the biggest problem was that McLaren were really short on seventh gear.
SV: I think it was fun to watch, that's one thing. Whether it was too hard or not… in a way it's very easy for us to understand Lewis's frustration: if you are behind, know that you can go quicker and you're stuck because you're short on ratios and the other car is very quick on the straights, and you can't really get past. I saw the race and one move was arguably a little bit too much. I don't know if Michael saw him or not, but out of the first chicane, when Lewis tried, with the speed he had, to go on the inside, it looked like Michael didn't see him so he had to go on the grass.

Q: (Mat Coch - pitpass.com) To Sergio and Daniel: having come from the junior categories, what's the style of racing like in Formula One compared to the feeder series?
DR: I think it's definitely different. In a lot of junior categories you go 110 percent from the green light to the finish and you don't have to worry about other factors coming into play. Fuel effect isn't really anything and your tyres last the race. I think, for me, the more difficult thing, or the different thing to get used to, is maybe at times driving more conservatively. You're always tempted to push 100 percent/110 percent but you have to think about what's best for the tyres and for strategy and situations, so that's probably a brief summary of the differences that I'm experiencing.
SP: Yes, I think you have a lot more things in Formula One, like different tyre compounds and you have to drive in a different style on each of them, to try to make them last as long as possible. It's a bit similar to GP2 in that way, in that you have to save the tyres a bit, but you also have to be on the limit and try to save the tyres as much as possible. You are always changing your style during the race. This is something very important and important to learn, and you've got to learn during the races, because to make them last and be fast, you have to be changing your style every single lap, every single corner.

Q: Is the track behaviour, is the driving behaviour very different?
SP: Well, I think it's a combination, it's a combination of both. I would say it's quite different.

McLaren committed to Mercedes power for 2014

With a new engine formula to be introduced in 2014, teams' choice of engine supplier have come into sharper focus in recent weeks, with Red Bull signing an enhanced agreement with Renault and Ferrari already professing to be hard at work on their new, fuel efficient 1.6L V6-turbo power unit.

In light of the changes, questions had been asked of the future of McLaren's partnership with engine supplier Mercedes, but during a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Phone-in on Wednesday, managing director Jonathan Neale dismissed such talk and reaffirmed the team's commitment to their longstanding engine partner.

"We have had a long relationship with Mercedes Benz HighPerformanceEngines at Brixworth," said Neale. "We know the guys up there really well and we're a good team. So we are working with them very closely ahead of 2014. Our job, as is theirs, is to make sure that Mercedes has the best engine on the grid and are the best prepared and most ready.

"I'm not going to discuss the contractual terms but I can tell you that there's an absolute cast-iron guarantee that it's our intention to stay with Mercedes Benz as we transition to the next generation of engines. They are our engine partner. We very much like working with them and want to do so for many years to come."

Since joining forces back in 1995, McLaren and Mercedes have clinched four drivers' championships and 68 victories together, but with a Mercedes works team now back on the grid there was a risk McLaren could start to feel at a disadvantage. Neale, however, rejected that was the case.

"It's not a concern or an issue for us at all," he explained. "The one thing that ourselves, Mercedes GP and Mercedes Benz HighPerformanceEngines want is for Mercedes to have the best engine in 2014. The fact that they can draw on technical contributions and know-how from their partners should only make them stronger.

"Our job, as is theirs, is to make sure that Mercedes has the best engine on the grid and are the best prepared and most ready. I don't feel in any way that we are being disadvantaged or being held at arm's length."

Following the recent expansion of McLaren's road car business with the new MP4-12C, there have also been reports that the team could move towards in-house engine development. Neale, however, suggested such stories are wide of the mark. 

"I think that sometimes when people look at the McLaren Group as a whole - and the way that the road platform is developing - then I think in that domain there are lots of what-if's and maybe's," he concluded. 

"But we shouldn't confuse that with what's going on with the engine development programme. Our focus is very much around our engine department at Mercedes Benz, who do a first class job for us, and we expect to be an intimate and high performance partner for them."

McLaren are currently second in the 2011 constructors' standings with 325 points, 126 behind leaders Red Bull and 71 ahead of third placed Ferrari. The Mercedes works team are fourth on 108.

Singapore Grand prix 2011 preview quotes - Ferrari, FIA, Force India & more

It may be one of the calendar's more recent additions, but the Singapore event isn't short on fans in the Formula One ranks. Not only does it present the unique challenge of being a night race, the track itself tests everyone to their limit too. The drivers and senior team members look ahead to the Marina Bay race and discuss their prospects…

Felipe Massa, Ferrari
2010 Qualifying - 24th, 2010 Race - 8th
"For Singapore, Pirelli is supplying the soft and super-soft compounds, which definitely suit the characteristics of our car better than the harder tyres and if we had a free choice, these would definitely be the ones we would go for. But tyre choice is only one element of the car package and we will have to work hard if we are going to make the most of any advantage we might have at this race. It's true our car was okay at the Monaco street circuit, so we can go to Singapore in reasonably optimistic frame of mind. We have been to Singapore three times now, so we know what to expect and the fact the race takes place at night is no longer a concern. The track is very well lit and visibility is not a problem. Rather than the light, it is the heat that makes this a tough event, one of the toughest races on the calendar. It is very hot and humid, even with the race beginning at eight in the evening and the Singapore race is the longest of the season: I think last year it lasted a couple of minutes less than the full two hours, which is not so easy to deal with physically. I have taken that into consideration and have been training hard for this weekend."

Charlie Whiting, FIA race director
"The venue is what makes this race special and the timing: it's a very hard and very long race that almost goes to the two-hour limit even when it's dry. The marshals have come a long way in the past three years, with the support of CAMS, the Australian motorsport governing body, and the event runs very smoothly. It's a very easy place to work and the circuit is built to the highest standards with real precision. The only complication is that we have to open up two of the roads every night to traffic, so there's an enormous amount of work to move barriers away and then back into place. So far we've been very lucky with the weather here. It rains quite often in Singapore and when it does, it's usually heavy."

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2010 Qualifying - 15th, 2010 Race - 9th
"Singapore is quite an interesting circuit. Perhaps not my favourite, but there are some challenging corners and over the years I've grown to like it more and more. Plus, I always enjoy the challenge of street circuits. The low downforce configuration of Monza did not really work that well for us so Singapore should be better. It's the opposite of how it was before: we are now more competitive on downforce circuits, so we should be quite strong. With a good strategy I think anything is possible there."

Paul Di Resta, Force India
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
"I've just done the usual stuff to prepare really, working on the simulator and looking at on-board videos. I was there last year watching and walked the track, so I know the layout. But it's true that Singapore is probably going to be one of the more difficult tracks to get up to speed on because it's such a long lap. Also, with any street circuit you need to build up your confidence over the weekend. I definitely enjoy the challenge and you have to take a slightly different approach to them. It's all about having as much time in the car so that you can push right to the limits of the track. We will also need to keep any eye on the weather because any rain storms could hamper things. I just hope we get some dry weather while I learn the track."

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal
"It's a great event in an exciting location and I still believe racing at night adds some extra sparkle. Also, we should not forget there is a big Indian community in Singapore so it would be great to continue our strong run of results there."

Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director
"Singapore is a race that adds a unique and truly spectacular new dimension to the Formula One calendar. Because it is such a specific event, this makes it quite hard for teams to arrive at the best set-up and you often see some quite different solutions. Our tyres have to work equally effectively within a wide range of parameters, and this is one of the biggest challenges for us over the course of the year. A lot is made of the heat in Singapore, but what people tend to feel is actually the humidity, which means that our tyres should be comfortably within their working range when it comes to ambient and track temperature. The tyres will be working as hard as the drivers this weekend: many of the drivers say that this street circuit is even more demanding than Monaco. As we've seen in the past, particularly in Canada, the combination of soft and super-soft tyres provides plenty of opportunities for the teams to put in place some interesting strategies, with the super-soft in particular expected to provide an appreciable performance advantage. The free practice sessions in Singapore will be crucial, as the teams assess the effect of each of our tyres on their set-ups and overall speed."

Rubens Barrichello, Williams
2010 Qualifying - 6th, 2010 Race - 6th
"I love Singapore and I think the night race has been a great success. I don't really have a favourite corner as all of them are very challenging. Turn 4, for example, is a medium speed corner with some bumps on the way in that makes you double your attention but you can gain a lot of time there. As it is a long lap you need to keep the car and tyres in good shape as the last corner is a high speed one that determines your speed onto the straight. Williams has always done well there and I hope this time it is no different."

Pastor Maldonado, Williams
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
"Marina Bay is a new track for me so I will need to work hard to learn it ready for qualifying. It will be my first time in Singapore and my first time racing at night as well. Everyone has told me it is the most beautiful place so I'm looking forward to getting there. I really like street circuits so I think I can be quick there. We have some upgrades for this race that we hope will be a big improvement and help us better our last result. It has been nice to be back in Venezuela since racing in Italy, especially visiting Canaima National Park last week as it was a great experience. I'm now feeling very relaxed and ready to get back to work in Singapore."

Sam Michael, Williams technical director
"Singapore has all the challenges, for both the drivers and engineers, of a classic street race, but with the addition of it also being held at night. There is a large improvement in track grip as the race weekend progresses. There are also more bumps and kerbs to deal with compared to normal and downforce is set to a maximum. Good traction with minimal understeer are always the focus of the car set-up here. We have an upgraded diffuser and a new front wing assembly for the first of the flyaways. We'll test both of them on Friday."

Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus
2010 Qualifying - 19th, 2010 Race - 16th
"I'm really looking forward to getting back to South East Asia and particularly Singapore. I like the heat and we have a lot of support in Singapore so it's a race the whole team is excited about. Last year was obviously a pretty spectacular end to the race, maybe a little too hot even for me and not quite how I'd like it to have finished, but there were a load of cool photos from the fire and we ended up winning the LG Moment of the Year prize for a shot of me putting it out. This year we go with a similar goal to last year - have a solid weekend, make sure we're there at the end of the race to take advantage of whatever happens around us and do our best to push the guys ahead.

"There are a few obvious talking points around the race weekend - it's a night race so all the drivers and teams stay on European time. In practical terms that means heavy blackout blinds in the hotel rooms, breakfast at lunchtime and our normal race weekend schedule all shifting forwards several hours to replicate the European race schedules. The heat is pretty hardcore for the guys in the garages, but I like it. Physically I have felt good all season and while it's obviously more challenging in the humidity and heat of Singapore, it's a good challenge and it's what F1 should be all about."

Jarno Trulli, Lotus
2010 Qualifying - 21st, 2010 Race - DNF
"I'll go to Singapore as late as possible, to make sure my body clock isn't affected by the fact we run at night. I'm excited to get back to somewhere that means so much to Tony, Din and Nasa, and to see the strong fan base we have out there but once we're on track I treat it just like any another race - the circuit is so well lit you don't suffer from any issues to do with light, and as its layout is similar to Monte Carlo it's somewhere I feel pretty comfortable."

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer
"We approach Singapore in much the same way we do Monaco. We will be running with a maximum downforce package with a new floor and diffuser and bigger front brake ducts to cope with the brake cooling demands. The numbers from the wind-tunnel look pretty promising for the update to the floor so we will see what we have found when we get out on track. Because the track surface is very bumpy we have to run the cars at almost the highest ride-height settings of the season whilst also focusing on braking stability and maximising traction to generate the quickest lap times. As Singapore is a street circuit the track surface is very green when we first run on Friday, but it has high evolution throughout the weekend and by Sunday the grip levels have improved dramatically. Pirelli are bringing the soft and super soft compounds to Singapore and it will be interesting to see how teams deal with the degradation rates of both, especially in qualifying and in the race itself."

Tony Fernandes, Lotus team principal
"I have been looking forward to Singapore for the whole year - there is an incredible atmosphere around the whole place and the fact it is a night race just adds to the spectacle. Alongside Malaysia and Silverstone this is our third home race of the year and the support we have in Singapore is fantastic, both from the Singaporean locals and from the thousands of Malaysians and other visitors from around the world who attend what is always a fantastic race.

"The heat and humidity are obviously challenging for the whole team but we have shown throughout the year that our guys are ready to take on whatever lies ahead of them, deal with it and keep learning and progressing. One of the most pleasing aspects for me over the last couple of races has been to see the improvements in the garage and on the pit wall that have seen us perform quicker pit stops, turn the cars around during and in-between sessions more quickly and efficiently, and make the right strategic calls at the right time. This was particularly true in Italy where Jarno performed particularly well all weekend but was robbed of a higher position by bad luck and Heikki also gave his all, giving us 120 percent all weekend and helping us show what we can do when the opportunities arise. Drives like those, and every step forward for the team, are all part of the process of our development, and while we are working very hard behind the scenes to put all the pieces in place for the next phase of our growth, the team is working equally hard under intense pressure at the races and back at the factory and it makes me very proud to see how far they have already come. The icing on the cake now would be a point - perhaps we can win the LG Moment of the Year for 2011 by recording our first points finish, that really would be daring to dream!"

Bruno Senna, Renault
2010 Qualifying - 23rd, 2010 Race - DNF
"Singapore will be a real test. It's a fairly recent addition to the calendar in F1 terms, and it will be quite a novelty for me. It will be quite demanding to extract everything I can from the car, but I am enthusiastic about what awaits, and I hope I can reward the team with some more points. I will approach the weekend in a similar vain to Monza by completing as many laps as possible in the practice sessions, which will hopefully help me reach Q3 in qualifying. Singapore is a trying track; there are so many corners and you have to be on the ball to avoid making mistakes; it really does bring out the best in a driver. Knowing how to set-up the car is not easy either. Physically, it's also difficult because it is very humid and the track requires you to be precise corner after corner. Driving at night, you notice the combination of light and shadow which takes some getting used to. As with the Malaysian GP, Singapore requires you to arrive at the track a little earlier to help acclimatise. Having said that, the team will also remain on their British Summer Time body clocks because of the weekend's timetable! I'm looking forward to a fun and different type of race weekend."

Vitaly Petrov, Renault
2010 Qualifying - 12th, 2010 Race - 11th
"Singapore is a little different because you are racing at night and sleeping during the day, so you need to change your schedule and be prepared to be a nocturnal racer! As a driver, you really need to spend more time outside, which is why I arrive on the Monday prior to the race weekend so I can adapt to the conditions. I like tracks that require maximum concentration and where you cannot afford to make any mistakes. It goes without saying that it's not an easy track ; the traction is very important, which is something that has plagued us in the past. However, we are confident of improving on this by ensuring a good set-up for qualifying. The track consists of 23 very demanding corners but I'm looking forward to returning there and trying to improve on my performance from last year."

Eric Boullier, Renault team principal
"Singapore has become one of the top events - everybody wants to be there and attend the Grand Prix. It is a great race with excellent organisation, and in the last couple of years it has become one of the most popular venues; the Singapore GP means business. It is exciting to have a night time race which allows us to keep our bodies in tune with BST and CET. Singapore has already established a reputation as one of the most popular locations with all the teams, and everyone loves having the F1 circus there because the people are so friendly and accommodating. Quite simply, everyone loves the Singapore Grand Prix."

James Allison, Renault technical director
"Monaco and Hungary were not good races for us and Singapore shares some characteristics of these two circuits. We feel we have improved things since then and we have a bit more to deliver for Singapore itself, but it is fair to say that I am apprehensive. However, if we do have a good race then we will be set for good performances in the five races that follow, as we will then have shown improved performance on three very different tracks."

Timo Glock, Virgin
2010 Qualifying - 18th, 2010 Race - DNF
"The Singapore Grand Prix is clearly one of the highlights of the year and my favourite track on the calendar. It really is an amazing experience and I just can't wait to get in the car and drive through the streets of Singapore at night again. It's great to be back in Singapore where I finished in second position in 2009. The Singapore Grand Prix is clearly one of the highlights of the year and my favourite track on the calendar. It really is an amazing experience and I just can't wait to get in the car and drive through the streets of Singapore at night again. It's great fun! The Marina Bay Street Circuit is very challenging. Just the fact that it is a street circuit already makes it very demanding, but if we add the fact that it's a night race it just adds to the excitement. Car set-up is tricky, as with any other street circuit, so Friday will be a busy day. It's an anti-clockwise stop-start layout which demands a high level of downforce and even though the average speed isn't the highest, it's really enjoyable. I am looking forward to the final leg of the season."

Jerome D'Ambrosio, Virgin
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
"I have very good memories from Singapore - this time last year the team gave me the chance to jump into the car on Friday for the first time. It was a very special moment - a key moment in my career. I have very good memories from Singapore - this time last year the team gave me the chance to jump into the car on Friday for the first time. It was a very special moment - a key moment in my career. One year later I return to Singapore as a Formula One driver and having learned an incredible amount in a very short space of time. It's a very special track and great fun to drive at night. Visibility is not an issue thanks to the amount of light projectors illuminating the circuit, but it's certainly not the same as driving in daylight. It's a very demanding and bumpy track, a bit like Monaco or any other street circuit. One of the biggest challenges will be the high temperatures and humidity, which make this race one of the most physically demanding weekends of the season. Luckily we stay on European timing for the race weekend, staying awake during the night and sleeping most of the day, so we don't have to worry about jet lag. I'm really looking forward to this weekend."

John Booth, Virgin team principal
"We head to Singapore with a great deal of momentum after an upturn in performance and it's always encouraging to know that there is more improvement to come. It has been a busy end to the European season, as well as a logistical challenge. As well as preparing for Singapore, part of the team stayed on in Italy after the Grand Prix for our third straight-line test of the year. We completed more aerodynamic correlation work and continued to optimise the upgrade - all of which was extremely beneficial. We head to Singapore with a great deal of momentum after an upturn in performance and it's always encouraging to know that there is more improvement to come. Singapore is unique as the only night race on the calendar and it's a race we really look forward to every year. The circuit characteristics are reminiscent of Monaco. The short straights and many first and second-gear corners require a very high level of downforce to give good braking stability and traction. It is a hard circuit on the brakes as there are so many braking zones and so few straights to cool them down again. It really requires the drivers to focus during the whole lap as any mistake can be crucial - but that's what street circuits are all about."

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 3rd, 2010 Race - DNF
"I love street circuits and I really enjoy this place - it's almost two tracks in one: there are quite a few fast corners, which require good set-up and a bit of commitment, but there are also lots of tighter 90-degree bends, which are slower and more technical. You've got to keep it precise through these and just be patient, waiting for the tyres to bite before getting on the throttle. If you're impatient, then you end up losing time because you over-stress the tyres and you over-drive the car. Still, I'll really be pushing for a good result next weekend. I think we had a car capable of winning in both Belgium and Italy, so I really want to make sure we arrive in Singapore with a good set-up, and that we're able to run with it through practice and qualifying. If it all goes to plan, we should be in good shape on Sunday. Even though the title is now almost out of reach I'll be pushing hard for the best possible result. I will never give up and I'll be driving to win as always."

Jenson Button, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 4th, 2010 Race - 4th
"This is one of the races I'd most love to win and I'm hopeful that we'll be able to show the same sort of pace that we showed at Monaco and Hungary, where I had two of my best drives of the year. It's strange to have concluded the European season and still have six more races remaining. Personally, I love this end-of-year series of flyaway races - the circuits we visit are really diverse and, from a drivers' perspective, they're some of the best tracks on the calendar. I flew out to Singapore via Japan, so I've had the chance to spend a few days getting myself ready. Of course, for Singapore, we'll revert to the slightly unusual European timetable to ensure that we're as fit, alert and focused for the night race as we would be for any other Grand Prix. Given our current form, I'm positive that Singapore will be another strong race for us. I've been really satisfied with the pace of the car and the efforts of the team. Nevertheless, winning is what we're all about and that's what we'll definitely be aiming for this weekend."

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
"We go to Singapore feeling very encouraged about our performance potential. I also think we're set to continue the trend we've witnessed so far this season, with DRS enlivening races that hitherto would have been somewhat processional. At Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, the reality is that we're fortunate enough to have two drivers who are never satisfied to merely sit behind another car; but the addition of DRS means that we should expect some truly electrifying racing this weekend. The track is wide enough to support close and exciting wheel-to-wheel racing and I sincerely hope that's what we see this weekend. In just a few years, the Singapore Grand Prix has become a classic Formula One event - the circuit and facilities are truly world-class and the setting and atmosphere of the race make it one of the jewels of the calendar. If circuits like Spa, Silverstone, Monza and Monaco represent the epitome of classic Formula One, then a circuit such as Marina Bay has, I think, quickly established itself as one of the sport's modern wonders and greatest success stories."

Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
2010 Qualifying - 9th, 2010 Race - 13th
"I really enjoyed my first experience of Formula One night racing in Singapore last year and it was an interesting weekend to be working on such a different time schedule. Surprisingly, it worked out very well and somehow even fun to drive and have meetings in the middle of the night. The street circuit is good fun and quite challenging, and as an event for the fans, it is also fantastic as they can get so close to the cars around the city streets and see a real racing spectacle. We have enjoyed good results at the final two European races in Spa and Monza, and everyone will be working to continue the hard work and keep up the points finishes as we head to Asia for the flyaway races."

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2010 Qualifying - 7th, 2010 Race - 5th
"I'm really looking forward to the Singapore Grand Prix and it's a circuit that I enjoy very much. I finished second at the first race held here in 2008 so I have some good memories from that weekend. Singapore is a fantastic city and I always try to spend some extra time here with friends after the race. The track itself is good fun to drive and a real challenge. The stop-start nature means you have to concentrate hard throughout the lap and it feels very narrow and enclosed, like a true street circuit. We've made a good step forward with the car in the last few races and I hope we can take advantage of that again next weekend in Singapore."

Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
"The Singapore Grand Prix has resoundingly become one of the most impressive events on the Formula One calendar and a unique weekend which is enjoyed by drivers, teams and fans alike. With the fourth race taking place next weekend, we are now well-practiced at working late at night and on a European time schedule, and it makes an interesting change to the usual race weekend format. The Singapore street circuit is very narrow with many first and second gear corners resulting in a low average speed and requiring a high-downforce aerodynamic package. We look forward to achieving further good points-scoring finishes in Singapore and at the final few races."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"This year's Singapore Grand Prix will be just the fourth edition of this unique race, but this night race has already established itself as a fixture on the Formula One calendar - and one of the most spectacular race weekends of the year. The circuit itself is extremely challenging for both the cars and drivers: it is the toughest of the season for the brakes and gearbox. In the final sector alone, the drivers must negotiate 10 corners in the space of 1,500 metres and there is very little margin for error on such a twisty and bumpy street circuit. The team enjoyed an up-turn in form at the last two low-downforce circuits and, although Singapore is a very different type of track, we will work hard to carry our form into the final six flyaway races of the 2011 season."

Vitantonio Liuzzi, HRT
2010 Qualifying - 16th, 2010 Race - DNF
"Singapore will be an interesting weekend for everybody because of the characteristics of this Grand Prix. It will be a tough race physically because it is very hot and also a tough race for the car. The guys have been working hard back home to arrive in Singapore with some new upgrades that will help us in our fight with our closest rivals. With the lighting system at the Marina Bay Street Circuit it feels like you're driving at midday so the fact that it is held at night doesn't affect the racing. It would make things different if it rained, with the reflection of the lights in the water, but for us it shouldn't be a big difference. After what happened in Monza I'm looking forward to putting in a good performance in Singapore, fight until the end and try to get the best result possible."

Daniel Ricciardo, HRT
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
"I haven't raced at the Marina Bay Street Circuit before, although I was there last year as a reserve driver. But I've spent some time on the simulator and it looks like an interesting and fun circuit with a lot of corners. It's quite a confusing track but should be fun. I like street circuits and am yet to do one with HRT so it should be a good challenge. Physically it will be difficult, the drivers say it's the toughest race all year, because it's so humid and a long race with a lot of corners. It will be nice to race at night because I haven't done so since I was competing in go-karts around eight years ago. I'm really looking forward to it because it is also closer to home."

Colin Kolles, HRT team principal
"Singapore is always a highly demanding race for the teams, drivers and cars. Racing and working at night under high temperatures and humidity make it a very special one. Everybody needs to be very focused and adapt to these circumstances but the positive is that we will be working in European times, which will certainly help. After the disappointment of Monza, we are ready to move on and I am sure that both drivers will do their best to put in a good performance. We expect Tonio to take the most out of his experience and push the car and the team, while Daniel should keep on improving and take another step forward on a track that he has never raced before. We are bringing some updates on the aero side like a modified engine cover and a new underfloor that we hope will help us to close the gap to our rivals. Last year we couldn't make it to the end but this time, with everybody's effort, I am sure we can hope f or a two-car finish in Singapore next Sunday."

Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - 10th, 2010 Race - DNF
"Last year we were quite competitive in Singapore. I made it into Q3, which is a nice memory - very different, of course, to the outcome of the race when I was lying ninth, but made a mistake when the tyres were quite worn and crashed. After the European races I'm now looking forward to going to Asia. Singapore has a very special atmosphere, because it is in the city and it is at night. Night racing I must say gives me an extra motivation, and I really enjoy it a lot. I went to Tokyo after the Italian Grand Prix. It is not too far from Singapore and in Tokyo I will make sure I prepare myself to the working hours we have to adopt by going to sleep late and getting up late. The Singapore circuit has many corners, they are all quite similar and all very tricky as well. All in all I'm confident for the weekend, and I really want to achieve a good result because it is the last race before my home grand prix in Suzuka, and good results always give you extra motivation and make you stronger."

Sergio Perez, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
"I believe the Singapore city circuit could be a good one for us. Actually I have not raced there yet, but I did a lot of work in the simulator and, knowing our car, I really hope we can have a positive weekend there. We obviously need to score points to get back our sixth position in the World Championship. I have done some night racing in Qatar when I was in GP2. It is a very special feeling if you live at night and it can also be fun. I will arrive from Zurich, which means I come from the European time zone and then for the night race you actually just stick to that and don't go onto local time. Regarding the city of Singapore, I only had a quick look around during a stop-over, so I can't say much about it as this was only a few hours. This time I will make sure I come early enough to discover a bit more about it."

James Key, Sauber technical director
"Following Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, which are unique circuits, we go to another unique track in Singapore. It's a long and windy high downforce street circuit, which is typically quite bumpy. It needs good mechanical grip. Traction levels and braking stability are important as well. It's a hard circuit for the brakes. We'll be running a high downforce configuration, and we will be working on the mechanical grip. Pirelli will supply the soft and super soft tyres, the same as in Hungary, and we feel these are generally better tyres for us than what we have had at the last two events. We'll be looking closely at the balance of the car and its ability to absorb the kerbs and the bumps. We tested some new engine maps in Monza for the first time, and we will develop these further in Singapore. Even with DRS, overtaking will be difficult on this track, so qualifying positions and strategy are going to be important. Last year Kamui was able to make it into Q3. Obviously we are keen to bounce back after the disappointment of not scoring the points we thought were certain in Monza."

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
2010 Qualifying - 2nd, 2010 Race - 2nd
"We've had some good races in Singapore in the past, especially last year when we finished second, just behind Fernando. I love the track, it's very challenging; there are a lot of corners, it's very long, it's hot and it's a night race, so there are a lot of special things about Singapore. The car seems to be very competitive there, so I hope we can go back there this year and win – it would be very special. Looking to the Championship, there is still some way to go. We are in a very strong position, which we deserve because we've been working hard and made few mistakes. As long as we come out of the next race with a bigger lead then we start with, then we have done a good job, so let's see."

Mark Webber, Red Bull
2010 Qualifying - 5th, 2010 Race - 3rd
"The Singapore night race is a challenging one. The track's bumpy and although the 1500-odd lights do a good job at illuminating the circuit, it's not like racing in daylight and that makes it tiring. It's also the longest race of the year, running close to the two-hour time-limit set by the FIA, and the intense heat and humidity makes it pretty warm in the cockpit. You have to watch your hydration during the build-up to the race. I finished third at the Marina Bay circuit last year, but the track hasn't been that kind to me in the past. I enjoy driving there, so I hope to nail it this year in much the same way that I nailed Valencia earlier this season. In the championship, four of us - me, Fernando (Alonso), Jenson (Button) and Lewis (Hamilton) - are separated by just 14 points and none of us is going to give an inch."