Rain forecast for Singapore
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 tires 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 tires 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."
09/23/10 Weather forecasts are predicting rain across this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix weekend, with a selection of drivers believed to be worried by the possibility of a first wet race under lights.
The threat of the ultra-powerful floodlights causing tremendous glare when rain falls was first discussed back in 2008 although the first two race weekends in Marina Bay have both remained dry. However, with much of the Formula 1 fraternity having arrived in a damp country this week, concerns are now beginning to mount with regards to rain.
That said, race organizers have continued to insist that the danger element would be no greater than usual. At present, heavy showers are forecast through to next week, with this resulting in humidity levels as high as 80 percent as ambient temperatures fail to fall below the high 20s.