MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS previews the Singapore GP

The next race on the Formula One calendar is one of the most spectacular of the season. As the sport's only night race, the Singapore Grand Prixprovides a fantastic show under the lights around the 5.073 km Marina Bay Circuit, and has quickly become a firm favourite with fans, teams and drivers.* The Safety Car has been deployed at least once in every Singapore GrandPrix since the inaugural race in 2008* The circuit features nine corners taken below 100 kph, more than Monaco,and 15 different braking events* The drivers change gear 80 times per lap - 50% higher than the seasonaverage and nearly double that of MonzaMichael SchumacherSingapore is a one-off in lots of ways, with the city, racing at night andthe circuit itself. It's a brilliantly unusual race. At first sight,everything seems more relaxed because the action happens at night, but ofcourse it's not like that at all. The reality is that you have to work hardto stay on European time and in the right bio-rhythms, so that you canperform perfectly in the race - because it's unusual to be competing at thistime of day. The nice thing is that the circuit is very technicallydemanding and it's very tricky to get a perfect lap.After a reasonably encouraging weekend in Monza, we have good expectationsfor another promising performance. I'm looking forward to the night race.Nico RosbergThe Singapore Grand Prix is one of the highlights of the season and it'ssuch a fun weekend. The city is fantastic, and I finished second in the racehere in 2008 which was a great experience and has given me some really nicememories of this event. It's always seems strange to be driving at night,going to bed at 5am and then waking up in the afternoon but it's surprisinghow easy it is to adapt. I really enjoy the Marina Bay track, it's a streetcircuit with a difference and with the intense heat and humidity, the sheernumber of corners and racing under the lights, it really is a challenge.Ross BrawnWith the conclusion of the European races, we now enter a very intensecountdown to the end of the season with seven flyaway races in just two anda half months. The first of these weekends is in Singapore for one of ourfavourite races of the season in the unique conditions that a night racebrings. Now in its fifth year, the routine of the weekend with working lateat night and on a European schedule has become well-practiced and everyoneat the team loves visiting the lively city of Singapore. On track, weconcluded our successful Young Driver Test at Magny Cours yesterday, and wehave a lot of useful information which is now being studied at our factoriesat Brackley and Brixworth to help bring improvements to the car for thefinal seven races of the season.Norbert HaugThis year's Singapore Grand Prix marks the beginning of the final 'flyaway'phase of the 2012 season, which will comprise seven races in nine weeks.This will be the fifth edition of the Singapore Grand Prix, which embodiesthe attractions of modern Formula One in a very specialway: a spectacular city-centre race, where fans can get close to the actionand which is run at night in a unique atmosphere for Formula One.In spite of relatively slow speeds, the circuit is a tough challenge for thedrivers and cars. There are a total of 23 corners, including 10 in the finalsector alone, and the drivers will change gear almost 5,000 times during therace. At over 100 seconds, the lap time is the longest of the year and onlyMonaco has a lower average speed. However, last year's race in Singaporefeatured nearly three times as many overtaking moves as the race in Monaco.The demands of Singapore, with a lot of relatively slow corners, arecompletely different to those of Monza, with its straights and selection ofhigh-speed curves. We have been hard at work since the last race, with SamBird and Brendon Hartley testing developments over three days at the YoungDriver Test in Magny Cours in order to further improve our car performance.

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