The race track when it first came onto the calendar as the first ever F1 night race was a big wow factor and a brilliant spectacle. the first few races were not half bad (though one of them may have been manufactured). But now it has a few years on its back. has the fascination dulled? is the night race gimmick wore off? I don't know about you guys but the track just seems cold and quiet. It doesn't have an atmosphere with cheering fans. when you do see the fans they seem half asleep (well it is the middle of the night). The track has now also lost its signature corner the Singapore sling. sure it was crap for the drivers but it caused mistakes which would make the race more entertaining. What would you prefer? a procession in the sun overlooking the 'med' in the streets of Monaco or... a procession in the dark at Singapore?
No it's more interesting than Monaco for example and the races are better than Monaco. And it's where the big bucks really are.
I quite like the Singapore race. Its a street circuit that rewards precision as theres not 2 million miles of run off everywhere, but it also has places where you can get past a slower car. I'm not fussed about the whole night race part but I would take Singapore over Monaco every time. Drivers take advantage of run offs these days, you could see them all doing it at T1 in Singapore and its nice to know there are still places that offer up walls when they decide to take a shortcut
I think the racing would be as good but it probably looks better under the lights. Valencia's just a awful track, a street circuit with none of the benefits of street circuits.
I get the feeling that Singapore would be a good track to drive but it suffers from the same problem as Valencia in that it has too many corners and the track is very samey - you can't pick out whereabouts on a lap a driver is at any given point. That said, it's clearly able to produce action, and it even gives us greater than expected tyre wear. I like it as a track, but I wish it had more soul.
For 1 corner it was so promising.. however normal service resumed before turn 2, by lap 4 I was on the golf course..
This - I'd love to see if any track has got increased viewing figures over the last 3 years. Domination is never healthy for the sport, and that's all we've had for a while. I think everyone knew by about race 8 that the titles were going to Red Bull and Vettel. If Red Bull start on top in 2014, viewing figures are going to plummet.
Singapore's a brilliant race. The track is quality now they've removed that awful chicane, it's brutal on the drivers because of the track layout, the race length and the heat. It looks spectacular. There's always action too, every race so far has had a safety car.
It's 'lost it's sparkle' because of Vettel. Like many other viewers, I groaned when he re-took the lead and was out of sight at the end of the first lap. The venue is relatively new, Singapore itself is a young country and thus not a 'traditional' racing hotspot like Brazil, Britain or Italy.
