2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day One Report with Videos

The first ever Formula One night race kicked off in spectacular fashion in Singapore yesterday evening as the teams tested the Singapore street circuit for the first time during their practice sessions. "Atmospherically probably the best pictures ever seen in F1. The scenery - it's unreal, it's like in a movie. It's a big, big step forward for Formula One," says Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug. He wasn't the only one who gave the Singapore F1 Grand Prix a glowing review. Teams and drivers were also full of praise for the Singapore night street circuit.

None of the drivers reported any visibility problems at all under the bright lights that lit up the circuit but some said that coping with the numerous bumps on the circuit was the most serious challenge for them. A team-by-team look at the early progress here.

Lewis Hamilton from McLaren-Mercedes should be pretty pleased with his performance last night as he topped the time during the first practice session. The two Ferraris came in second (Felipe Massa) and third (Kimi Raikkonen) respectively. For the second practice session, Lewis Hamilton looked set to set the fastest time again but he was pipped by Renault's Fernando Alonso. Massa came in at third. Full results here.

A report of the historic first day of the Singapore Grand Prix will not be complete without videos of the F1 cars in action so here are some clips from YouTube for those of you who were not there yesterday.



Watch the F1 cars in action here (video above), here, here, here and here.

It will get more serious tonight with the qualifying sessions set to start at 10pm.

Update:
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Three Report with Videos
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Two

Previously:
Inside the Williams F1 Simulator
Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide