Formula One / Thomas Cowie / 22 September 2008 /

Driving under lights on a brand new circuit would be hard enough but drivers will also have to constest with Monsoon season in Singapore, writes Tom Cowie.

The prospect of a Singapore Grand Prix was first discussed in 1989. Ninteen years later, it finally becomes the third street circuit on the F1 calendar, and the second brand new venue for 2008. Oh, and one other thing - it is the first ever F1 GP to be held at night.

Whilst F1 has followed in the footsteps of MotoGP and IRL with night racing, getting this project off the ground has required work and development of epic proportions - a level that only the budgets of F1 can realistically entertain.

For starters, the track had to be designed and built. The result is a 23 corner circuit, which like Valencia, runs around a marina. It's a less flowing lap than its' Spanish counterpart, but that's not to say it will be a dull race which, ironically, was the case in Valencia.

Then there are the lights. Running from generators the size of a living room, the lighting pylons will be situated every 4 metres along one side of the track, and will shine light down on the cars from a height of eight metres. There are four back up systems in case of a power cut - nothing has been left to chance.

There is however one element that all the planning in the world cannot prepare the teams for - the weather. We are in monsoon season in Singapore, characterised by short but very heavy showers.

As though driving under lights on a brand new circuit wasn't hard enough, the expected wet weather adds yet another dimension. There is a chance that the lights shining on a wet track could dazzle the drivers, or that the wet, humid air could hang in the lights, creating a fog.

The weather Gods certainly seem to be favouring Mclaren at the moment. After rain in Belgium and Italy, more is expected in Singapore, Japan, and China.

It isn't the rain which affects the performance of the Ferrari, but the cool track temperature which accompanies it. In these conditions, they struggle to get their tyres up to optimum operating temperature. Whether wet or dry, the late running of the race in Singapore won't help their cause.

Mclaren on the other hand, just need to keep a calm head, and not repeat the silly mistakes that they made at this point last year, allowing Raikkonen to overturn a 17 point deficit, and steal the Championship from under their noses.

Whilst F1 is rightly being congratulated for rewarding the fans with something completely new, there is of course a commercial reason for the race being held at night. With Bernie, nothing is ever quite as it seems.

Ecclestone was very aware of the downside of hosting races in the Far East - namely that the time difference meant that the massive European audience would all be asleep when the five red lights went out.

By starting the race at 8pm local time, there is no disruption to this crucial sector of the global TV audience, which is more than can be said for the teams themselves.

The majority of the teams will remain on European time, meaning that they will sleep for most of the day, and work through the night. It is a strange, new challenge for all involved, and everyone seems to be relishing it - tackling challenges head on is what F1 is all about.

With just a single point separating them, Hamilton and Massa will know that from here on in, it's a case of who blinks first. The margin for error for drivers and teams is tiny - and it's going to get smaller.

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