F1 Drivers Thinks Singapore GP Circuit is BUMPY!

What F1 Drivers Thinks Of Singapore GP Circuit - From http://www.singaporegp.org

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27 Sep 2008

In all, the F1 drivers gives the thumbs up [Ed: Really?] of the Singapore GP circuit which was laid out by Shell Bitumen and lighted by Valerio Maioli. Although visibility wasn’t a problem, there was some bumpy issues many of the drivers spoke about during the press conference. [Ed: They were just being politically correct lah. No one really likes driving over humps right?]

Fernando Alonso (Renault)
The circuit is interesting, very bumpy in places, especially into turn number 7. In terms of the lighting, when I walked the track I was impressed, but behind the wheel at 300 km/h some parts of the track are a bit dark. I am satisfied with my day

Nelson Piquet (Renault)
It was an interesting experience to drive today during the night and the organisers have done a remarkable job to make this possible. The behaviour of the car felt good and it reacted well to the different set-up options that we tried

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
It’s an amazing venue. On first impressions, there seems to be quite a lot of grip on the track, so you can brake quite late into the slower corners. It’s a very physical circuit - more than I expected, it requires double the energy of Monaco over a single lap

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
To be honest, racing under the lights wasn’t really a problem. The track was quite bumpy. Perhaps we should also look at the pit entry, everything else about the track is fine. This place has got some difficult corners but I quite like all the sectors

Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
We know track conditions will improve so it is too early to draw conclusions. Visibility is not a problem. The entry and exit to the pit lane could turn out to be a bit critical in the race. In general, the track surface has a lot of grip but in some points there are some bumps that are a bit of a pain

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
The visibility is great and you don’t really feel you are driving at night with all the lights on the track. In general I like the track although some parts are too bumpy. Overtaking? I don’t think we will see much, as usual in fact

Nico Rosberg (Williams)
It is a lot of fun to drive but it is however incredibly bumpy, so much so you could even get a headache! But, importantly, the track is safe and the visibility under the lights is absolutely fine. The organisers have done an amazing job

Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)
It’s a very tough track, hot and bumpy, probably the bumpiest track surface we encounter all season. As a consequence, I think it will be a pretty demanding race. The grip level is not at all bad, maybe a little low at the moment

Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)
You are always going round corners and the surface is very bumpy, especially in two or three places. On the first lap I got used to the track and, as I was going at a good pace immediately, we were then able to start working on the set-up

Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber)
The track is a lot of fun. It is much more of a street circuit than the new track in Valencia and is more challenging. Here it’s significantly narrower. After one or two laps you forget it is artificial, although the brightness isn’t exactly the same everywhere. Bumps are an issue, and there are plenty!

Jenson Button (Honda)
The circuit is interesting to drive and it’s very bumpy which adds to the excitement as the bumps bounce the car all over the place. We spent both sessions trying to improve the ride quality and balance of the car by testing many different things and the outcome was largely positive

Rubens Barrichello (Honda)
The layout of the circuit is quite good but it is very bumpy which has been the cause of the problems with our car. The lighting is quite bright although there seems to be a dark spot at Turn 5. Visibility is not a problem although it may be more tricky if it rains

Timo Glock (Toyota)
The track is really bumpy and the car is quite tricky to handle at the moment. It was a different experience driving in the lights and the whole track is a bit unusual. At the end of second practice I just lost the car when I hit a kerb and that was it, I made contact with the barrier

David Coulthard (Red Bull)
Unlike Valencia, which was a smooth circuit with very good kerbs, the kerbs here are very aggressive, especially at Turn 10. We’ve already seen a few people having incidents this morning and I think we’ll see more of the same story during the weekend

Mark Webber (Red Bull)
It’s a nice track, they’ve done a good job with it. There’s still quite a bit of work to do, but at least I’ve now got a good idea about the circuit. Running at night seems okay, but I might make a few tweaks to my visor and tear-offs

Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso)
Visibility is not a problem. The track is very difficult, but unfortunately the surface is very bumpy which does not make life easy. It is tough and demanding for both car and driver. As for my car, I’m not happy yet as it feels very loose and I don’t think we will have an easy time

Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso)
There are no worries about running under the lights. There are hardly any shadows and you can see very well. It’s a very nice track but unfortunately, the quick parts are the bumpiest and so we are having to run the cars quite high, which obviously reduces performance

Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India)
It is really bumpy out there and I struggled a little bit with driving at night because there are some dark spots which make it a bit harder than normal. To be honest the circuit is not particularly challenging for a driver because it is mainly made up of 90° corners

Adrian Sutil (Force India)
It’s a really beautiful circuit here and a great place to visit. It’s a very physical track as the humidity is so high - it’s very much like Malaysia in that respect.There were also several bumps, probably more than at any other circuit, and sometimes it actually hurt when I was driving

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Dear F1 drivers, may we assure you that most of our normal roads in Singapore are not as bumpy as the race track itself. Don't blame us because Shell was the one who laid the track (for free?). The reason why the track is bumpy is because you do not pay COE, Road Tax, ERP etc, which the locals pay and therefore we have to channel the resources into the other roads which the general population are using. They can't possibly have bumpy roads when they have paid so much to use the roads right?

We have however taken into consideration your comments and may we assure you that plans are in place to make the next Singapore GP a less bumpy ride for you. To do this, we will erect ERP gantries around the race track and each vehicle will be fitted with an IU-unit before you are allowed to race. Also note that you you do not qualify for the fixed ERP Scheme.

Remember to insert your cash card into the IU unit properly and ensure that there are sufficient funds. In the event that you do not have sufficient funds, top up machines will provided at each team constructor's pit area to ensure that topping up is a breeze when you pull in for your pit stop. Remember, the 3 Rs - refuel, re-tye and recharge (your cash card)! Valuable time will be lost if this is not done properly and constructor standings will be affected.

Ongoing discussions reveal that placing ERP gantries at 100m intervals is the most feasible method of generating income, by that we mean much needed funds to improve road conditions for you. The circuit length of 5.067km (rounding down to 5km) will therefore comprise of about 50 gantries. In other words, cars will pass 50 gantries every lap. Each time you pass a gantry, $5 will be deducted from your cashcard.

Drivers, remember that the Singapore GP is 61 Laps long so it is REALLY advisible that you have stategies in place such as having spare cash cards in the pit area or in your pockets to eliminate top up time. Alternatively, recharging the cash cards to $500 (the maximum amount permissible) will be a good strategy as you will be able to complete as least 2 laps before your cash card run out of money. You can try switching cash cards during the practice races to familiarise yourself to driving with one hand.

Happy Racing and once again, a warm (and humid) welcome to Singapore!