After the highs of the Canadian Grand Prix, F1 returns to Europe with a bump, as it faces the prospect of racing around an unspectacular dockyard. Welcome to follow the leader, Formula 1 style.

The Weather

Early weather predictions have the weekend down as a dry and sunny one. There's almost no chance of anything interesting happening in the sky. Patchy cloud on Friday is as dramatic as it gets.

Regularly updated weather information for the region can be found on the BBC.

The Circuit

Bridgestone will again bring their medium and super soft compounds to the track. Although the nature of the circuit means the combination is unlikely to pose teams such extreme problems as were witnessed in Canada. A lack of grip off the racing line, means overtaking is all but impossible, and that's before you factor in a whopping 25 corners per lap.

Event Schedule

An F1 weekend comprises of events spanning three days. Action begins on Friday and ends on Sunday.

Support racing for this event includes GP2, GP3, Formula BMW and Porsche Supercup.

Press Conference Schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend.

The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Following Live

A thread will be created on Sidepodcast.com for every session and every thread is live enabled, meaning you can follow along and contribute to the conversation without refreshing the page.

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

The anticipation ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix was rising from the moment it was announced as a night race. Even when Valencia was staged, and we were excited about a new street circuit, Singapore was always at the back of our minds.

Unfortunately, Valencia didn’t manage to live up to the hype, as the street circuit saw wide field spread and the views weren’t very interesting. Singapore, however, lived up to our expectations and exceeded them.

From the early moments of Free Practice 1, you could instantly tell that this track was different. Firstly, there’s the stunning scenery. With FP1 and 3, there was a beautiful sunset to take in, as the rays filtered away behind the city landscape. Once it was dark, the skyscrapers were lit up, the traffic was blinking into the distance, and a single circuit of tarmac was illuminated for all to see.

Whilst the background was too dark to affect the view too much, the lighting did make things more interesting. Only a couple of corners seemed to be slightly darker than the rest, and as predicted, shadows were not a problem. The track itself, although long, slow, with many corners, allowed for some fascinating racing.

The entire weekend saw incident after incident, as drivers bounced over the kerbs and into the walls. This brought out the safety car, which can only ever mix things up a bit. It’s not a good idea to have a circuit relying on a safety car to make for an interesting race, and Singapore looked as though it could hold its own without any outside interference.

The only worrying aspect of the weekend was the marshals. Whilst they seemed to do a good job once they got going (and things certainly improved as the weekend went on), they were very slowly to get to an incident. When Piquet hit the wall in the race, it took him a few minutes to climb out of the car, and there wasn’t a marshal in sight. The only way we knew he was okay was because we heard him on the team radio, apologising to his team. There were struggles with the crane, and getting cars out of harm’s way, but whether this was partly to do with the narrow streets and tight run off areas, remains to be seen.

There was a small problem with the pit lane entrance during qualifying, as drivers slowing to come in for a stop, naturally hinder anyone on a lap behind them. It seems likely the pit entrance will be altered for next year, although it didn’t cause any problems in the race itself.

All in all, Singapore can count itself as a big success. Without the night race aspect, it would probably be a worthy event anyway, but for now, the added novelty of racing in the dark means it’s up there as one of the best on the calendar.

• Length: 46:30 
• Size: 40.8 MB 
• File: episode79.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 

The anticipation for Formula 1's first ever night race has been building since Singapore was announced. Now we rake over all that happened, take a couple of calls, and get feedback from the circuit.

Intro

Doing a show on a full stomach may just calm the hyperactivity.

Good Week / Bad Week

A good week for David Croft and Richard Cregan who have both secured jobs, but a bad week for, well, everyone.

Qualifying

So many incidents, which highlighted issues with the marshals and intrigue about the safety barriers. Also, we discuss Trulli driving the wrong way round the track, and why Ferrari's can't turn circles.

The Race

It was a brilliant race, there's no disguising the fact. We look at who did well, who was anonymous, and who throws like a girl. Plus, we hear from a couple of callers, and get two voicemails from trackside.

Feedback

Two emails, one with some fantastic Singapore stats, the other about F1 on the internet, leading to some discussion of embedding video.

Linkage

• Inside Sport
• Sidepodcast's Drop.io

So far, we've had three sessions of Free Practice, four hours of on-track action, and many, many incidents. Singapore has already far surpassed what I was expecting, so I don't see how it can't live up to the hype. Who knows what Qualifying will bring, but this is the place to find out.

The only thing letting the side down at the moment is the abysmal performance of the marshals. On the one hand, it's incredible to see so many drivers struggling, hitting the walls, and generally having issues. But every time someone goes off, we have to endure the painful sight of incompetent marshals. They look like they're not quite sure what they're supposed to do, or as Neil said in the comments, whether they're even allowed to touch the cars.

Hopefully this isn't going to be too big a problem, because it's the only blight on what is already turning out to be a stellar weekend. The scenery continues to be stunning, and I can't wait to see what qualifying brings.

Alonso looks completely on it so far this weekend, but we'll have to wait and see what happens with fuel loads. Hamilton is also showing well, as is to be expected, whilst Kovalainen struggles down in the mid-field. Kovi has also used his joker engine change for this race, so hopefully he can pull his socks up a little bit. Raikkonen and Fisichella both saw early ends to their Free Practice session today, and it's worth keeping an eye on them to see if it affects their qualifying performance.

It's all about your predictions now, then, with the Live Commenting Live... Thing ready and waiting to hear your thoughts. Tell us where you are, how you're watching, and who your money is on for pole. Thankfully, ITV do know about qualifying so we will be watching that, whilst looking at the live timing, assuming it is working. 5live were mysteriously not on for FP3, but they should be up and running for qualifying. I will see you in the comments!

• Length: 10:47 
• Size: 9.9 MB 
• File: digest58.mp3 
• Transcript: digest58.pdf 

Our first look at the Singapore circuit was a wonder to behold, as the drivers struggled to make it round in once piece, whether due to their own issues, or the bumpy circuit.

Free Practice 1

The lovely lights of Singapore are merely a backdrop for all the on track action as first Webber and then Barrichello mess up their first go at attacking the newest street circuit.

Free Practice 2

Whilst Barrichello and Webber take to the track, Glock and Fisichella mess it up, and Hamilton and Alonso continue to fight it out for the top spot.

Conclusions

There's a general feeling of content with the lighting system, if you ignore a few dark spots, but the consensus is that the track is just too bumpy, with Rosberg saying it could give a man a headache.

We learnt three things from the first session:

1. Singapore at night is undeniably beautiful. Add in a lit up track and some shiny cars, and you've got something pretty spectacular.
2. Just a glimpse of FP1 was better than the entire Valencian GP put together.
3. The walls might be magnetic and the marshals don't seem equipped to handle it.

Already, we've seen Webber crash into the barrier underneath the grandstand in great style. Barrichello also met the wall, and both times it took the marshals over five minutes to muster up a crane and sort the situation out. Early days, of course, but considering how many slips and slides we saw, it looks like it's going to be a busy day for the tractors, and will they be able to cope?

We've barely had time to digest what happened in the first session, so let's look forward instead. Hamilton beat Massa by the smallest of margins, and Massa jumped Raikkonen at the last minute. So far, all three are looking on form and they'll want to get the most data from the track this afternoon.

There was very little running on soft tyres, and I'm hoping to see more action with the white stripes. The projected lap times were 1 minute 45s, and we only just saw that. With a bit of soft rubber bolted on to the cars, and some hard rubber down on track, we might see some faster times this afternoon.

I'll be glued to the ITV stream, and keeping up with the official live timing. It seems to be working smoothly at the moment, although now I've said that, of course it will fall down. There's plenty of pictures and links to look at in drop.io, and we'll be Live Commenting as always.

Although it hasn't been widely reported, and while certain factions of the racing community are keen to keep it hush hush, Formula One may be about to happen upon its very first night race.

It's difficult to escape the fact that the upcoming Grand Prix is an evening affair, and Inside Track is no exception. In this edition we hear from current drivers, ex-drivers, and the men behind the men, about what might lie in store this coming weekend.

Don't forget the obligatory lap of the circuit too. This one's a proper street circuit, so there's plenty to take in and who better to guide you around the twists and turns than Sidepodcast's one and only commentator, Christine. You wouldn't have it any other way, right?

Special thanks go out to Allianz SE, Toyota Motorsports GmbH, AT&T Williams, Royal Bank of Scotland and RTV GmbH for the use of their video footage.

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

The Valencian street circuit was announced with a couple of beautiful press shots, and we all remembered the spectacular show when McLaren launched their 2007 challenger there.

Unfortunately, having rushed to put the track together in about nine months, the circuit itself didn't exactly live up to expectations.

The Pros
Obviously the organisers know what they're doing, having put on a strong first event with no serious trouble. There were a couple of security worries, some track invaders the main threat, but everything was handled smoothly. The race itself, whilst not particularly good in terms of overtaking, provided it's own interest. The pit lane was the source of most of the excitement, which, whilst not ideal, at least added to the race weekend.

The track is quite unique in terms of the 2008 calendar. It's too early to say whether the racing there is dull, it was this year, but who's to say next year will be the same? There are over 20 corners, which means the drivers took a while to learn the track, but once they know what they're doing, maybe there will be even more competitive racing.

The Cons
Sadly for this race weeked, the cons strongly outweigh the pros. The track was dull to look at, mostly a lot of catch-fencing, concrete, and tarmac run off areas. The racing wasn't very good, with a wide field spread meaning overtaking was almost impossible. Whether this is the fault of the track is impossible to say.

As mentioned above, the pit lane was the source of most of the excitement, but that really is because it is too narrow. We had a driver penalised for almost missing the entrance, and another for racing side by side with a rival team. The pit lane was so narrow that both of these usually acceptable things became an issue.

Although I have weighed up the good and bad points of the track here, it is still too early to come up with a definitive review of the circuit. Next year they will have had time to put the finishing touches on everything, and that will be the real test.

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I found that first session a bit of a let down. I suppose I built it up too much to start with, but when the highlight of the hour and a half is spotting a lime green building, you know something's up.

I suppose it takes time to get used to the track, the feeling of the circuit, and the atmosphere in Valencia, and that's just for us! Never mind the drivers.

For Free Practice 2, then, I am curious to see whether Vettel was showing off a little, or if he can keep it up as the track gets even better. The dust should be clearing, bit by bit, and we should be seeing the times drop somewhat.

I noted in the FP1 comments that the official simulation was giving a lap time of 1m 37s, but we have yet to see anything like that.

Elsewhere, we'll need to see what's going on with Red Bull, as the bottom of the timesheets is bad even for them, and also whether Sutil is up in 13th on merit, or because the other drivers were struggling.

There were no major incidents in FP1, just a few slides and spins, so we'll be eagerly awaiting the first driver to stuff it up properly. Place your bets now. There are concerns that Valencia hasn't been planned out particularly well in terms of recovering any stricken cars. Hopefully, if the worst does happen, the sessions won't be disrupted too much.

If it works, we'll be watching ITV's live stream, but I'm not holding my breath. The good ol' reliable live timing helps, but it honestly seems like the best place to be is the Live Commenting Live... Thing. Pooling our knowledge makes the sessions much more interesting.

Here it is at last. After an interminable three week break, the action returns at the new Valencia street circuit. Perhaps because there has been so little other news, I feel like I've read and re-read the preview quotes too many times, and know what everyone is thinking.

So, what are they thinking? Everyone seems to have been working hard to get to grips with the 20+ corners of the track, using simulators, watching the F3 race, and walking the track (that must have taken ages). Most of the drivers seem to be as excited as we all are about the race, so here's hoping it's a good one.

Two particular guys to watch out for this weekend are Raikkonen, who apparently is putting more concentration on his qualifying performance, at the possibility of sacrificing a good strategy. He's obviously not impressed coming in at the wrong end of the top ten. Also keep an eye on Kovalainen, who seems to be throwing the gauntlet down, as much as the quiet-spoken chap can. He says he won't be helping Hamilton because Hamilton doesn't need his help. Maybe that win has changed some things then?

On to this morning then, and the weather reports seem to suggest that today will be hot, whilst tomorrow may see some showers. Maximum temperatures seem to be pushing 30°C for the entire weekend.

We're expecting all Free Practice sessions to be pretty busy due to the many unknowns of coming to a new track, and I would imagine we might see the odd red flag or two as well. We'll be watching the ITV live stream, and keeping track of the Live Timing. We'll try and keep our Formula 1 on the Internet page updated with the latest alternative feed links as well.

Aside from that, enjoy the Live Commenting Live... Thing, and make good use of drop.io. The weekend starts here.