Formula One news

McLaren upbeat after first day

McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in Friday's free practice sessions for the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. In the first ever night session in Formula 1 history, Lewis completed 20 laps and set a time of 1m45.518, which was the fastest time of the day. In the second session, Lewis was second fastest with a 1m45.752 (28 laps). Heikki Kovalainen was fourth fastest in both sessions; he did 20 laps in the first practice with a best time of 1m46.463, followed by 31 laps and a 1m45.797 in the second session. 

"On my first proper run, I managed to find a half-decent line - but the car was still bottoming in places," Hamilton said. "I was able to get more comfortable with the car; on first impressions, there seems to be quite a lot of grip on the track, so you can brake quite late into the slower corners. It's a very physical circuit - more than I expected, actually. You need to put a lot of work into the car to get a good lap - I'd say it requires double the energy of Monaco over a single lap. One lap around here is like two laps of Monaco!"

Kovalainen commented, "To be honest, racing under the lights wasn't really a problem. The track was quite bumpy. Perhaps we should also look at the pit entry - it could be quite difficult if a driver decides to pull into the pits at the last minute. The visibility was fine, to be honest - I don't think it really makes any difference for the drivers. Same with the bumps, we'll get used to them very fast." 

Team boss Ron Dennis commented, "From a procedural point of view, today was a very encouraging day - which, as usual on a Friday, we spent evaluating race tyres. But I want to make a broader point: along with everyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Singaporean government, and to Bernie Ecclestone, and to everyone else who has made this event possible. It's a fantastic circuit, and the added attraction of racing under floodlights has been very well achieved. It feels a little strange to be at the circuit so late, well past midnight in fact, but overall I would describe the advent of night-time grand prix racing as an excellent new development in the ongoing history of Formula 1."

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