Last year's inaugural Singapore Grand Prix was anything but pedestrian and the floodlit night race was celebrated as a welcome addition to the Formula One calendar. Drivers and senior team members discuss their prospects for this year...
Fernando Alonso, Renault
2008 Qualifying - 15th, 2008 Race - 1st
“I like Singapore because it's quite challenging and there are some interesting corners like the high-speed chicane at Turn 10 where you have to carry a lot of speed and use the kerbs. Overtaking isn't easy in Singapore, but there are some opportunities. The car is working well at most circuits so I believe we are competitive enough to get close to the podium, which has to be my target this weekend. Last year I decided it was better to remain on a European schedule rather than adjusting to local time so I will do the same this year as it's the best way to manage my energy levels.”
Romain Grosjean, Renault
2008 Qualifying - N/A, 2008 Race - N/A
“I enjoy street circuits and the track layout looks interesting. I saw the race on television last year and thought the cars looked great under the lights. This will be my first ever night race and I'm really looking forward to it. I've been doing a lot of work with my engineers and I've watched some videos to try and learn the track as much as I can before I arrive there. I already know the layout from studying the map, but it's only when you drive a lap and feel the grip that you start to understand the circuit. My aim is to put together a strong weekend to maximise practice, qualifying and the race. I will try and get close to Fernando in qualifying and hopefully race for some points.”
Bob Bell, Renault technical director
“The R29 doesn't have any specific weak points and delivers a similar level of performance with both high and low downforce. Its weakness is that it needs more overall performance in terms of grip through downforce and mechanical set-up. This weekend we will use a similar package to the one we used in Monaco, although we will incorporate the evolutions made since that race. Based on our experience last year, I would say that night racing has not caused too many difficulties for the team and the facilities and lighting in Singapore are excellent. We're effectively working nightshifts in Singapore, but as a team we remain on UK time so it works quite well. The team keeps to the same schedule as at any other race, except that everything is shifted a few hours later in the day.”
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