Formula One news

Force India struggling at Singapore

Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella made history as the first F1 driver to drive the stunning new Marina Bay street circuit in the island nation of Singapore . Taking to the track for the opening practice session - run under the glare of thousands of floodlights lining the sides of the circuit - the Italian also became the first driver to run during the hours of darkness. He ended the day 17th while team mate Sutil was 20th.

"It's a really beautiful circuit here and a great place to visit," said Sutil. "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, particularly my legs as they crashed into the monocoque over some bumps. The whole race will be really hard. There's not very much room for error here, the walls are very close so you need to be very careful not to get too much oversteer on the exit. I really enjoyed it today."

Giancarlo Fisichella commented, "I feel very positive about the new circuit. It is very challenging and difficult to learn and especially to feel confident. It's a very physical circuit, very twisty, and it's hot and humid so I think it will be tough on Sunday. It's interesting to run at night. It doesn't make that much difference for us to be honest on the track, but it's a different routine and having a free morning and then practice at 7pm was really good. Today was generally OK, apart from the gearbox problem we had on the first run in the second session, but not too bad a start for the weekend."

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer added, "Congratulations to the circuit and the city for putting on such a fantastic venue. It was a very interesting first day. Obviously the circuit was new and dirty but rubbered in during the day. The drivers had no real problems in the first session, but unfortunately Giancarlo's car developed a gearbox problem in the second practice and he had to stop early. Adrian was able to complete his full programme of tyre and set-up evaluation and overall we have lots of data for tomorrow."

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