Next year's Formula 1 calendar could contain an unprecedented 20 races. One of those races will be held for the first time on the island state of Singapore, and according to Bernie Ecclestone, it will be held at night. Both IRL and NASCAR have night races, so why not Formula 1? The reasons aren't just for spectacle, either: a night race in Asia will be more convenient for viewers in Europe and the US, and after all, for Bernie this is all about television revenue.
A few drivers, most notably current F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, are against night racing. Alonso apparently imagines a number of horrors happening at the same time: "What if it rains? All those painted lines. What if the lights go out?" However, Singapore is a notoriously fastidious state that will work overtime to make sure its first F1 race and the first ever night race come off safely. It has also indicated that the race will be held at night only so long as everyone has faith in the safety of the event. Ecclestone, as usual, doesn't appear to be worried -- he's sure the race will happen after dark, saying "I think that we can stop discussion about the possibility of holding this race during the day."
[Source: Fox Sports]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tired Watcher @ May 14th 2007 5:22PM
Night racing in the rain...I think my head will explode!
John Paul Rowan @ May 14th 2007 5:39PM
This is great. It will be really amazing to see how these cars and drivers adapt to night racing. It is also a great introduction for F1 in this area of the world.
http://www.refinedrogue.com
David @ May 14th 2007 5:42PM
Both Nascar and IRL race on ovals. Lighting them is easy, like lighting any stadium. This will be a street race in a densely built up city. Cities have shadows cast by tall buildings. Cities don't have a uniform spread of light on all the street surfaces. Drivers will need to see the braking point, corner entry, apex and exit for each corner. They'll need a clear view of the traffic ahead and of what's in their mirrors. I have no doubt that lighting can be installed that will let them see what they need to see, bit comparing this to IRL and Nascar makes zero sense.
So Alonzo is right to be concerned. After all, F1 races when it rains, no postponements and no red flagging the race until it stops. Imagine low light conditions combined with rooster tails on a course with blind entires into corners where all the painted lines are slippery when wet.
Solo Racer @ May 14th 2007 6:10PM
"After all, F1 races when it rains, no postponements and no red flagging the race until it stops."
At least not in recent history. But races have been red flagged in the past. Last time was probably after Senna's crash at Imola.
fizzandpop @ May 14th 2007 6:25PM
#2: Malaysian Grand Prix? I think a Singapore street circuit is a brilliant idea. The roads are wide and the smoothest in the world. Bernie is so financially motivated (tight) I bet the real reason for racing at night is to avoid the congestion charge? Ha, ha. Four Floors will be busy that weekend.
Hamud @ May 14th 2007 6:40PM
Racing at night could bring some excitement to the boring F1, but it might end up really bad.
Mike @ May 27th 2007 10:53AM
@Hamud: F1? Boring?
Are you watching the same F1 I am? Have you ever watched NASCAR or DTM? How about drag racing? Check out an oval track race then let's talk boring.
The only people who have a right to call F1 boring should be fighter pilots, astronauts and brain surgeons.
Eduardo @ May 14th 2007 7:16PM
will it take place on saturday or sunday?
Rocket Punch @ May 14th 2007 8:28PM
If you are going to Singapore. Make sure you bring lots of chewing gums and eat them everywhere you go. It is a special Singapore greeting, and if you are not chewing it is consider very rude in their culture.
Ian @ May 14th 2007 8:41PM
Sportscars have run for years at night.
With the proper preparation everything will of course be fine. The curcuit itself look far smoother and better to race on then Monaco.
I think the race should run in February as that's when I will next be in SIngapore.
visual @ May 14th 2007 8:50PM
Rocket Punc said "If you are going to Singapore. Make sure you bring lots of chewing gums and eat them everywhere you go. It is a special Singapore greeting, and if you are not chewing it is consider very rude in their culture."
ha ha.. i bet the rest didint know that chewing gum is BANNED in singapore......
James @ May 14th 2007 11:20PM
#9... sports cars have headlights, they can see the road ahead of then in shadows, Formula cars normally don't run at night as they don't have headlights (unless its the IRL in a well lit oval as mentioned before).
I am sure the course will be lit up well, but it still wont be as straightforward as sportcar or IRL oval racing
Grajeda @ May 15th 2007 12:58AM
it seems great!!!!
fm @ May 15th 2007 3:51AM
This is BS. Ecclestone just want's the best of 2 worlds for his bank account. He gets to introduce F1 to Asia and he gets to primetime coverage. It's ridiculous. Not to mention, has anybody seen a American Lemans night race... it's not more exiting then day races not to mention the difficulty tv spectators have trying to differenciate the cars' paintjobs to spot their favorite driver.
roadside observer @ May 15th 2007 10:40AM
F1? Night racing? Bernie, welcome to the late 20th century.
Brett Kelley @ May 15th 2007 1:16PM
I cannot wait for 2008--F1 night racing?!??!?! EXCELLENT!!! (from a non-marketing-make-Bernie's-wallet-fatter standpoint)
kenny T @ May 16th 2007 1:56AM
Yes, Singapore’s first F1 race promises to be an exciting night race. And there are cheers from every corner of the city-state. Everywhere I turn, everyone’s excited about the news…
I do however, think that there’s no point to zoom into conclusion that it is a success from a sporting standpoint because safety is the biggest issue with night F1 racing. I don’t want to see my favorite driver lose his life just for a night spectacle.
It’s difficult enough to keep up with the 22 drivers on a racing track in mid day… let alone with floodlights? Two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, didn’t believe floodlights will ever be enough to make night racing safe, so why isn’t anybody listening? Must we have another Ayrton Senna-style death before we put safety back into the priority instead of looking for a novel way to make more money?
Get excited with the prospect of the first Singapore GP, but I mourn the arrival of night racing, as an F1 purist and enthusiast.
http://read-my.blogspot.com/2007/05/singapore-f1-gp-yippie.html
amp @ May 16th 2007 10:44AM
The last thing Bernie needs to be doing is take a page out of bill france's playbook.