[Dertrioz]

NASCAR are enclosed bodied cars which do not run in the rain.
LeMans are cars equipped with lights.
Other series are usually not open wheeled, and would usually have lights on them.

A formula one car is an open wheeled, open cockpit car; without headlights fitted. Considering that the size of the rear mirrors is basically about the same as a playing card and that you have a 19,000rpm monster behind the cockpit, how do you honestly expect the drivers to be aware of anyone else's existance? We've had 15 pages of debate about moving over on someone during the daytime, and that was bad enough.

A typical rain street race usually results in only about half the field making it home, what happens at night?

Champcar ran a few races at night on street courses with reasonable success. They were, what, 750bhp monsters at the time? Funnily enough, no-one died and most of the field made it home.

If it rains in Singapore then sure the pace car will be out and/or the race will be postponed/abandoned/generally considered rubbish. But otherwise it'll be fine. Just because F1 has never raced under lights before doesn't mean that a) it's dangerous or b) it's a stupid idea.

[secondmertg]

Nobody knows what this thing will be like .
It will be interesting to see .

If it does rain , with some reports saying the evening is a likely time of day for showers , it begs wonder how hard it will be .
A friend from Singapore has told me of how it rains there sometimes . It sounds like the front wings may be underwater within half a lap if it comes down like it can .
We might expect a stoppage , but it may be short , as he also spoke of how the deluge can begin and end in short order .


So , if it does rain , and it isn't too hard , how will they cope under the lights ?
If it's at all like my experience on the roadway , proper lighting can make all the difference .
Seeing intermittently from the relative dark into the illuminated light ahead may be somewhat more tiring for the eyes , but it is possible that it will make it so one can see the car ahead better in the spray , as the lights will be focussed down on the cars .
Headlights on cars often serve better as markers for others of the car's position , as the light projected by the beams reflects back at the driver .

That said , it might be a good addition to the cars , if night racing is to continue , to put marker lights on all four corners .

We may see drivers using the brightness to advantage in overtaking moves as well , if we're lucky , and they're crafty .

It might be as bad for TV as it is good for the drivers though , and as such may be a one-off . I can't imagine the camera's getting much picture in the mist .

It's going to be interesting .

[alicewong]

No need to watch--Kimi will win,

Forget what anyone says! This is why I love Kimi:I don’t know what time the race is. Is it in the evening? Good. I enjoy evenings and night time more anyhow. I like to sleep until noon every day so for me this seems the perfect venue. I am more awake in the evenings than in the mornings.

I guess he just found out that the race at Singapore is at night.

"I like to sleep until noon every day so for me this seems the perfect venue"

That explains it

I was wrong. so sorry....
--I thought he had ADD!!!

My guess would be more like to sleep in until about 1:15 pm, then wakes up enough to set fast lap and get out of the car....

He should win, no problem @ singaport. If not, he can always drink a port...

[7kitthuptarill]

Perhaps you are not aware that races are capped at 2 hours?

No, i was not. thank you for reminding me

[7kitthuptarill]

It'll be safe - I think challenging or difficult would be the best adjectives for a wet Singaporean Grand Prix.

Anyway - I think McLaren will have the edge, considering how they work their tyres is advantageous in cold/wet conditions, and have their revolutionary front wing. Unless Ferrari magically hit the sweet spot during their final tests - which I doubt. If it's a crash fest then it's anyones guess who'd win.

Personally I'd like to see Kubica win and close in on Massa and Hamilton, or Alonso or Webber win.

Rain fest, crash fest. What happened to F1? You know, that sport where you see cars racing?

[7kitthuptarill]

This is racing at night with artificial lighting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYegikwwTGQ

It's only a disaster if you're leading.

Let's list a few other series that race at night.

IndyCar Series
NHRA
MotoGP
World of Outlaws
USAC

If it going to rain it will be a disaster and you know it too.

[stutnerman]

Here's some footage of go-karts racing at night. It's a shame I couldn't find video from the previous year. Lots of rain then!

http://motorrev.klipz.tv/view_video....1d5a8e90fefdc9

[CesseOveldset]

What happened to F1? You know, that sport where you see cars racing?

Well, TC was banned for 2008 onwards and it has led to more spectacular racing.

[7kitthuptarill]

Well, TC was banned for 2008 onwards and it has led to more spectacular racing.

That's the irony. You would think, for safety sake, now that the TC is gone you would try to schedule races that don't push the envoloppe too much. And instead? No TC and the race is going to be:

1. At night
2. Most likely in the rain
3. In a very narrow track with two very narrow bridges

If that's not the perfect storm I don't know what it is.

If someone dies I would definetely arrest the two old guys - who are definetly losing it - for murder. It's as simple as that.

[Eugen80]

That's the irony. You would think, for safety sake, now that the TC is gone you would try to schedule races that don't push the envoloppe too much. And instead? No TC and the race is going to be:

1. At night
2. Most likely in the rain
3. In a very narrow track with two very narrow bridges

If that's not the perfect storm I don't know what it is.

If someone dies I would definetely arrest the two old guys - who are definetly losing it - for murder. It's as simple as that.

Sheesh talk about over-reacting! Quit the doomsday speculation and look at facts here.

1. The circuit is fully lit with a small countries energy supply.

2. Rain is more difficult to drive in, yes the drivers have less control. However, speeds are also lower.

Riddle me this... when was the last time any driver, if any, has been killed in wet conditions?

3. Narrow track. Hmm. I suppose you want Monaco banned as well? Seriously, the FIA are strict with safety. Why do you think they roped in Tilke for this? Furthermore, why do you think they have stewards and a race director?

[jhkjurter]

I'm no fan of street circuits & less so of night-racing. If it were up to me, every race would be on purpose-built circuits & street racing would be limited (if at all) with perhaps Monaco being the only exception.

[7kitthuptarill]

Sheesh talk about over-reacting! Quit the doomsday speculation and look at facts here.

1. The circuit is fully lit with a small countries energy supply.

1. Don't agree. Racing in the rain is bad enpugh witht the day light. Imagine with artificial light.

2.

Rain is more difficult to drive in, yes the drivers have less control. However, speeds are also lower.

Hence it's not more racing. It's watching a train of cars going around for two hours.

Riddle me this... when was the last time any driver, if any, has been killed in wet conditions?

I have seen, and maybe you too, cars losing control and piling up one on top of the other. While that would make the show (not the racing) more "exciting" pilots could die in those pile ups.

Narrow track. Hmm. I suppose you want Monaco banned as well?

Excellent example. We have seen what happenes in Monaco in the rain. This is going to be, if it rains of course, way worse than that. And since you asked, yes IMO Monaco should be cancelled for good. I love to see cars passing each other. Not lined up like in a parade.

Seriously, the FIA are strict with safety. Why do you think they roped in Tilke for this? Furthermore, why do you think they have stewards and a race director?

I truly hope I am wrong and I am over reacting. If that were to be the case nobody would get hurt and everybody would have fun. However, if I am predicting it right, then...well you can come up with your own conclusion.

[siflversonemunk]

That's the irony. You would think, for safety sake, now that the TC is gone you would try to schedule races that don't push the envoloppe too much. And instead? No TC and the race is going to be:

1. At night
2. Most likely in the rain
3. In a very narrow track with two very narrow bridges

If that's not the perfect storm I don't know what it is.

If someone dies I would definetely arrest the two old guys - who are definetly losing it - for murder. It's as simple as that.

Also, the Large Hadron Collider is coming after you!

[gamecasta]

Di Montezemolo:

The drivers are concentrating on what needs to be improved and on the next grand prix in Singapore. But I have the impression that it's another track where you can't overtake, Valencia-style. To go on with these circuits spells an ugly future for Formula One. Finally, a team principal with some huevos.

[stutnerman]

Hence it's not more racing. It's watching a train of cars going around for two hours.

Excellent example. We have seen what happenes in Monaco in the rain. This is going to be, if it rains of course, way worse than that. And since you asked, yes IMO Monaco should be cancelled for good. I love to see cars passing each other. Not lined up like in a parade.

LMAO! Watching a train of cars going around for two hours! I should show this to everyone on the NASCAR forum. They'll never believe a Formula 1 fan said that!

Monaco in the rain was great this year. I loved watching the cars tip-toe their way through the Grand Hotel Hairpin.

Also, the drivers are a lot less likely to go single file in the rain. They'll have to get out of line not only to avoid spray but keep their tires wet as the track dries.

I remember watching that first NASCAR race in the rain, and the commentators were worried about what would happen when the water would hit those glowing red brake discs. Do you know what happened when they started racing in the rain? The brake discs never got hot enough to glow, let alone be damaged by rain water. The moral of the story is that the worst case scenario never happens. The Titanic could have had less lifeboats, the first atomic bomb could have ignited the Earth's entire atmosphere, and we could all be killed by a comet at any moment.

[CesseOveldset]

That's the irony. You would think, for safety sake, now that the TC is gone you would try to schedule races that don't push the envoloppe too much. And instead? No TC and the race is going to be:

1. At night
2. Most likely in the rain
3. In a very narrow track with two very narrow bridges

If that's not the perfect storm I don't know what it is.

If someone dies I would definetely arrest the two old guys - who are definetly losing it - for murder. It's as simple as that.

Complete overreaction. They have engineers who design F1 circuits to be as safe as possible, I would trust their analysis of a circuit far more than someone who knows next to nothing about circuit design. It has a narrow bridge - so what? Monaco is narrow. Macau is narrow. Bathurst is narrow. That doesn't make it more dangerous, it just makes it harder to pull off a successful pass.
No-one will die.

[ovenco]

The drivers are concentrating on what needs to be improved and on the next grand prix in Singapore. But I have the impression that it's another track where you can't overtake, Valencia-style. To go on with these circuits spells an ugly future for Formula One. (Di Montezemelo)

I admit, I'm not predicting that this race is going to be a classic... this year. I think next year, with cars redesigned to actually allow overtaking, it should be a lot better. It's Ferrari's (and everyone else's!) fault that there's little overtaking, due to the characteristics of the cars.

I have no problem with street circuits, would they prefer 20 identical, soulless Tilke tracks?

[crycleascentyv]

It seems to be generally accepted that rain + lights = OMG can't see a thing, but I'm not sure that it will be that way.

Certainly it might turn out to be dangerous, but I would like to give the people who designed the lighting system the benefit of the doubt and see how it works, first.

[siflversonemunk]

Remember, if it does rain, you still have high intensity rainlights on the back of cars.

My opinion on the visibility, if the lights are as good as they make out, I can't see it being much different to an afternoon rain race.

[tigoCeree]

Also, the Large Hadron Collider is coming after you!

Nah, it's been shut down for some time because of all kind of glitches!