A handful of Formula One drivers have admitted they are concerned about the prospect of rain at this weekend's night race in Singapore.
In its two year history, the floodlit grand prix has not had a wet session but thunderstorms are forecast throughout the weekend.
Nico Rosberg said he is "definitely worried" about the weekend's weather. "It's going to be rather interesting if it rains, but I hope it doesn't because it will be quite messy."
F1's most experienced driver Rubens Barrichello added: "It is a very slippery track and luckily they have done a good enough job for the track not to be as bumpy as it was. We have no experience in the wet whatsoever here so we need to understand what the tyres will do and the visibility more than anything. Not so much from the spray but the wet coming onto the visor. I've never driven in the rain at night. I really don't know what to say about that. We just have to wait and see."
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was also unsure what would happen: "We've yet to experience any wet running on a floodlit track, so it will be interesting if that happens."
The concern is that the bright overhead lights will reflect off the wet surface of the track and the rain droplets themselves. There was a huge downpour in the Marina Bay area on Wednesday, and on Thursday another severe storm rolled in.
"It [Wednesday's rain] was so heavy that rivers of water flooded the track to a point where the tyres can't deal with it," said Sir Jackie Stewart. "In daylight, we can see beyond the track if we're heading into rain. But here, the light is contained on the circuit and everything else is dark. So it'll be very challenging on the drivers' peripheral vision."
Source: ESPNF1
In its two year history, the floodlit grand prix has not had a wet session but thunderstorms are forecast throughout the weekend.
Nico Rosberg said he is "definitely worried" about the weekend's weather. "It's going to be rather interesting if it rains, but I hope it doesn't because it will be quite messy."
F1's most experienced driver Rubens Barrichello added: "It is a very slippery track and luckily they have done a good enough job for the track not to be as bumpy as it was. We have no experience in the wet whatsoever here so we need to understand what the tyres will do and the visibility more than anything. Not so much from the spray but the wet coming onto the visor. I've never driven in the rain at night. I really don't know what to say about that. We just have to wait and see."
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was also unsure what would happen: "We've yet to experience any wet running on a floodlit track, so it will be interesting if that happens."
The concern is that the bright overhead lights will reflect off the wet surface of the track and the rain droplets themselves. There was a huge downpour in the Marina Bay area on Wednesday, and on Thursday another severe storm rolled in.
"It [Wednesday's rain] was so heavy that rivers of water flooded the track to a point where the tyres can't deal with it," said Sir Jackie Stewart. "In daylight, we can see beyond the track if we're heading into rain. But here, the light is contained on the circuit and everything else is dark. So it'll be very challenging on the drivers' peripheral vision."
Source: ESPNF1
