I'm scheduled to fly out to Singapore on Wednesday morning, a good two days before the start of Friday practice, and I can't help but be excited!
Here's the latest bit of news coming from the Singapore GP website:
"2010 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
Off To A Great Start
20 September 2010 – The track barriers are in position, the lighting projectors are being tested, and the FORMULA ONE teams are arriving at the Marina Bay Street Circuit for the 2010 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX.
Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing leads the title race and enjoys the Lion City although he has yet to score a point here. "I like Singapore; it's unique as we race at night," says the Australian. "You get the impression the crowd is pretty close to the track in most sections, so it's certainly cosy. I'm hoping to improve on last year's result, as it's a high down-force street circuit that should suit our car. It's got some similarities to Monaco and Budapest and we did well at both those circuits."
Lewis Hamilton, who won the 2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is just five points behind Webber and ready for the renewed challenge. "Winning in Singapore last year was one of the most satisfying victories of my Formula 1 career," says Hamilton. "It's difficult to say accurately how competitive we'll be in Singapore but the engineers are positive that we've made some good progress, so I'm looking forward to getting out on track and sampling the changes for real. The race should give us a clearer indication of exactly where we stand."
Teammate Jenson Button agrees: "The Singapore Grand Prix will be a very interesting weekend because I think it'll give us a clearer idea of the destiny of the world championship," says the man Hamilton succeeded as title-winner. "Singapore will be interesting for all of us – we'll not only get an idea of the speed of the Ferrari and Red Bull, but we'll get to see for the first time whether all our efforts over the past two months have helped put us back in the ballpark at high-downforce tracks."
Continue here.
I haven't really decided on which F1 team to cheer for. I'm just elated to be able to enjoy the F1 experience. At this point, I'll just let the whole thing sink in and roll with it.
But some of the teams & drivers I won't mind performing well are:
- Red Bull Racing, specifically Mark Webber, who's turn to win the Driver's Championship is next. I also plan to get some RBR team souvenir items like a shirt or cap maybe, depending on the budget.
- Jenson Button, who I also believe needs a good win to cement his place as a consistent champion.
- Mercedes Benz. Can't help but still be awed by Michael Schumacher, despite all his success being stuck in the past. It would be great to just see a semblance of brilliance from this guy at the SG F1 circuit.
- Ferrari. Of course, one can't really enjoy a great F1 race without the strong participation of the red team.
This. Is. Gonna. Be. Great!
