First F1 Night Race - Singpore F1 Grand Prix

Yes .. the day has finally arrived. The first ever F1 Grand Prix to be held at night and it is right here at our door step in Singapore.

Expecting a big crowd, I started my journey to the F1 circuit as early as 2.30pm. I arrived at the gates at about 3pm. The Aston Martin support race has already began, as I joined the queue to clear the security checks. The checks were very quick and thorough. Nonetheless, I was through the gates within 5 mins.

Little known to some poeple, there were 3 support races prior to the F1 night race. They are the Aston Martin , BMW and the Porsche Carrera races. Aston Martin race featured drivers in their Aston Martin DB8s. The races lasted for 10 laps. Engine noise was very loud, but cannot be compared to the loudness of an F1 engine. The next race was the BMW race. This feature cars looking similar to F1s but smaller. I was surprised as I was expecting to see BMWs going past me. The 3rd support race was the Porsche race, featuring Porsche Carreras. Engines were quieter then the Aston Martins.

The inaugural F1 night race started at 8pm and before the first 20 laps was completed, out came the safety car. I guess the turning point of Massa's race came with his first pitstop. What was the lollipop man doing !!!! Lifting the lollipop (albeit a digital lollipop) when the fuel dispenser was still connected to Massa's car !!! That cost Massa and Kimi their race as they fought hard to regain track position. Both Ferraris finished without a single point for the first time this season and Ferrari lost their contructor's first position to Mclaren. In the end ... it was Fernando Alonso who took the chequered flag with Nico Rosberg coming in 2nd, and Lewis Hamilton finishing 3rd. Hamilton now leads by 7 pooonts from Massa in the F1 Drivers Championship standings.

Will be posting some pictures soon, once I get them sorted out. I must say that the F1 cars were travelling at such high speeds, it made photo taking a real challenge for an amatuer photographer (like me). Stay tuned.