Should F1 hold more night races?

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Jarno Trulli races in the dark - should F1 have more of this?

The first ever F1 race held at night went very well at Singapore. None of the pre-event concerns over the use of artificial light came to pass.

Bernie Ecclestone is keen for F1 to have more night races in the future. He’s urging the Japanese to hold their event as a night race. Malaysia had considered it, but it now seems to have persuaded Ecclestone that the cost would be too great.

Do you think F1 should hold more races at night?

I thought the spectacle of holding a race at night was brilliant and you can’t deny the race gave us some fantastic images (see here, here and here).

But as Checkpoint 10 points out that what’s good for Europe isn’t necessarily good for the rest of the world:

The Singapore race was run at night just to allow European viewers to watch the race at their usual time, which happens to be the ungodly hour of 5:00am Pacific time, or 4:30am if you want to watch the pre-race show. Does Bernie Ecclestone hate Californians?

There are other concerns about night racing yet to be resolved: can night races be run safely in the wet? And what about the environmental impact of powering all those lights?

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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56 comments on “Should F1 hold more night races?”

  1. Ron Dennis is being quoted on ITV-F1 as saying that maybe a European circuit could hold a night race, just because of the spectacle the lights create.
    However, I don’t see Silverstone being able to afford it, or Donnington. Monaco is probably the only place worth doing it, but wouldn’t that also clash with Le Mans? And it would be too similar to Singapore. Valencia might be more impressive at night?
    Perhaps its a thought for any future US Grand Prix – you might be able to forgive them if it was held in a Las Vegas parking lot again!

  2. i thought the spectacle was really great, and it worked well.

    maybe one or two more night races, additional to singapore, but anymore than that would ruin the novelty factor.

  3. If you have too many night races, the novelty factor wears out. I think there should be a max of 2 races run at night (Singapore and Japan in that case). Also, if some European races were to run at night, that would be really inconvenient for the Asian TV audience, which Bernie is currently favouring, as they would have to wake up at ridiculous times of the day.

  4. If they want the Singapore race to be regarded up there with Monaco in terms of glamour and spectacle then the best way to do this is to make it the only night race.

    I absolutly loved the race at the weekend (especially the old school sparks from the back of the cars!) and feel the novelty value would be lost of we had 3 or 4 more night races.

    I actually enjoy getting up at wierd hours for races (Looking forward the Fuji!) It also means I don’t need to be sitting watching tv in the middle of the day when I can be outside! It gives the races a strange unreal feeling somehow. x

  5. Night races make sense commercially.. Think laser shows, fire works before and after the races.. A rock Concert immediately after the race.. Late night parties immediately after the race..

    But environmentally.. hmm..

  6. @ Checkpoint 10

    The Singapore race was run at night just to allow European viewers to watch the race at their usual time, which happens to be the ungodly hour of 5:00am Pacific time, or 4:30am if you want to watch the pre-race show. Does Bernie Ecclestone hate Californians?

    Well, Australia and the Asian races all start between 04.00 and 08.00 Central European Time. That hasn’t stopped me from watching them, though.

    @ Sumedh

    But environmentally… hmm…

    A good point, but how does lighting up a street circuit in Asia compare to a couple of tens of millions of viewers switching on their living room lights in Europe? That might add up.

  7. I enjoyed Singapore but I think you could overdo it on the night races – daylight races can be fun to!
    This before you consider the environmental impact.

  8. One is enough imo…without the safety car, would people really be talking about the race if Massa & Kimi finished 1st and 2nd?

  9. If you have too many night races, the novelty factor wears out.

    Agree. Singapore night race is unique. I think it should be kept that way. But I’d just keep it to Singapore though.

    I actually enjoy getting up at wierd hours for races (Looking forward the Fuji!) It also means I don’t need to be sitting watching tv in the middle of the day when I can be outside!

    Have to agree with _Ben_ on that one. Getting up early hasn’t been a problem for me and actually makes it easier to see a GP.

    So I’m for no more night races. Just keep it at Singapore.

  10. I thought that the night race was a fantastic spectacle. Too many and the novelty of a race at night will surely wear off.
    Keep the concept as a once a season, maybe twice, but no more than that. You can have too much of a good thing.

  11. I’m actually in favour of the asian races staying in the afternoon local time. My girlfriend is not a fan of F1 and I have had to miss more than 1 GP this year to keep her happy because the weather has been so crappy in general that when the Sunday has been nice she wants to go out. Thankfully she also enjoys lazing in bed until around 11am on her day off so that means that I get no arguement whatsoever when I get up early and go sit downstairs to watch the Aussie, Malaysian, Japanese and Chinese GP’s. And we usually go to her parents for tea so her Dad holds sway over the TV at the times that USA, Canadian and Brazillian GP’s are on, so no arguements there either!! All for more Asian or American GP’s so long as they’re not held at 1pm UK time!!
    Wasn’t part of Ron Dennis’s arguement for night races in Europe based around the fact that the races held in the evening draw larger viewing figures??

  12. I am a European and I loved this GP !!! The lit-up track was just amazing and if i was living in Cal, I think i would have gotten up for it ! (As I used to do for other GP) !!!

  13. The time is probably fast upon us when the very existence of this sport is going to have to be justified to those who believe the environmental costs are too great. Even the FIA recognises this – and that’s really saying something.

    The ‘carbon cost’ of lighting circuits may be paltry compared to things like air-freighting the teams and their equipment around.

    However, the element of spectacle that is attracting so much praise also means it an extremely visible use of arguably unnecessary resources. It is, in short, an easy target and the whole thing could so easily backfire.

    It could be that the symbolic environmental cost of night-racing is much more harmful to the sport than its actual cost. Not necessarily a wise direction to go in, unless Greenpeace protestors hanging off the pit wall to unfurl banners is your idea of entertainment.

  14. I have written in another forums. As a novelty factor. One race on calendar is good. If Greedy Bernie tries to overdo it, it will be a bust.

    Second Point is – Race makes a great spectacle for TV viewers, Trackside the atmosphere will be same for fans in grandstand may it be day race or night race. Having said that. Only street circuits with City Skyline will make a good spectacle. I can’t imagine a middle of nowhere dedicated circuit like Magny or Sepang hosting a night race. everytime there is Helicopter shot, there is nothing to see but brightly lit track.

    Another factor is local response – Having lived in Singapore a state controlled Country, only people in State Controlled Setup will put with late night Light and Sound Pollution.

    Activists in Democracies and environmentalists will not make hosting night race a easier task.

    Residents in Melbourne have voiced their concerns about inconvenience caused by the OZ GP

  15. No more night races, not even Singapore. If the product is not viably entertaining on it’s own, fix the product. Don’t put lipstick on a pig.

  16. No more night races, not even Singapore.

    But from what I understand, viewing figures spiked for this one, so you’d have to say people are entertained by it. Why remove something that adds value to the sport? Sure, we shouldn’t rely on novelties like this, but it doesn’t harm us any if we have them – so long as it’s in moderation, like what most of the others said.

    Not necessarily a wise direction to go in, unless Greenpeace protestors hanging off the pit wall to unfurl banners is your idea of entertainment.

    It’s actually interesting to see why Greenpeace hasn’t given F1 a visit yet, considering that it’s been popular for so long and it’s been flying around for so long. I guess they understand that going against the favorite sport of half a billion people will hurt more than help their popularity.

  17. If they’re going to happen then they need to be street circuits, as TooGood has said, a normal circuit doesn’t have much going on visually so the visual impact would be very much reduced.

    I think the fact that Singapore is the only night race gives it a sense of being unique, this obviously wouldn’t be the case if we had several night races.

    I’m quite happy to get up in the early hours to watch a race & don’t see why the Japanese fans should have to change the time of their GP just to suit the Europeans, most of whom have no problem with it’s current time slot.

    I think this is just Bernie being greedy again (shock, horror, would you believe it ?).

  18. No no no…. no no no….
    i mean its gud to hab such a race… but certainly not MORE… 1/2 is jusst phine… :-)
    besides has anyone thought about the ammount of power (electricity) such a race consumes! it is a kinda non bio-friendly… isnt it?

  19. I am against night races. Sure it looked spectacular but that was only because it was new. Same goes for the spike in viewing figures. If you have regular night races the novelty factor wears out and you need a new one. Grand Prix on ice?

    The problem with lighting is that you can only sensibly light a street circuit. The cost of lighting a proper circuit like Spa or Suzuka would be astronomical.

    I would far rather the money spent on lighting at Singapore had been spent training the marshals. There were downright dangerous but all we hear from the F1 insiders is how sparkly the whole thing was.

    Frankly that circuit should never have been given a safety certificate. The drivers identified the pit lane entry problem after one lap in practise. The pit lane exit is potentially dangerous and I dread to think what would have happened had there been a serious accident at Singapore because those marshal had no sensible training. Someone could have died because of incompetence on a scale we have not seen since the 60s but it was sparkly so who cares about life and death.

  20. I am against night races. Sure it looked spectacular but that was only because it was new. Same goes for the spike in viewing figures. If you have regular night races the novelty factor wears out and you need a new one.

    The novelty will only wear out if night races happen too often. If they end up only happening once or twice a year, the novelty will be there for a long time.

    I would far rather the money spent on lighting at Singapore had been spent training the marshals. There were downright dangerous but all we hear from the F1 insiders is how sparkly the whole thing was.

    Frankly that circuit should never have been given a safety certificate. The drivers identified the pit lane entry problem after one lap in practise. The pit lane exit is potentially dangerous and I dread to think what would have happened had there been a serious accident at Singapore because those marshal had no sensible training. Someone could have died because of incompetence on a scale we have not seen since the 60s but it was sparkly so who cares about life and death.

    While there is some truth to it, the thing is, nothing serious happened. The marshals were good enough this year. Now that the first race is out of the way, they’ll have more time and money to train the marshals better for next year. Trust me, they will.

  21. Vlad the Inhaler
    30th September 2008, 17:11

    How the heck would you have lights for a night time race at a non-street circuit ie Silverstone??? Apart from anything, in these times of increased energy prices and reducing co2 emissions, it seems daft not to use that free natural light we get everyday…….

  22. I thought the track looked (aesthetically only) great and yes it was nice different and unusual to have it at night.

    But frankly I don’t care what time they hold a race as long as they put it on a track that suites F1 cars and allows for decent overtaking opportunities, which I don’t think any of the current street circuits offer. Don’t misunderstand me… I like street circuits for the skill and precision driving required but I dislike intensely watching a boring monotonous parade that may sometimes throw up ridiculous safety car situations where undeserving drivers win (I may as well watch boring Nascar or Indy racing when on ovals). I prefer the wet weather to do that. In fact I’ve come to think all current street circuits should invest in a robust sprinkler system (instead of lights) to spice things up.

    Ditto… I too have wet weather concerns for night racing.

  23. Singapore is right on the equator, and after the sun goes down it doesn’t cool off very quickly. So an evening race doesn’t have the problem of dewpoint etc.
    Japan is a long way North and Aus is a long way South too. Would there be any problem with dewpoint and condensation in Japanese or Australian evenings?

  24. Japan is a big player in F1, big enough that they shouldn’t be forced to adjust the running of their GP to suit European audiences. It obviously more cost-effective to run a race during the daytime. Those lighting rigs used in Singapore can’t be cheap. If the Japanese GP organizers want to run their race in the daytime, then that’s what they should be allowed to do.

    But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Fuji organizers set up lights in an effort to pull the GP away from Suzuka permanently. Or vice-versa. Heck, maybe both circuits will wind up having lights.

  25. Grand Prix on ice would be brilliant!

    No more night races though, I like getting up really early to watch the Aussie Grand Prix etc., it’s exciting.

  26. A Grand Prix on ice would be one of the best things ever.

    I’ve seen speedway & rallying on ice and they’re some of the most entertaining races I’ve ever seen, I’m sure Bridgestone would have no problem getting some spiked tyres sorted.

    The only problem we may have is getting the FIA & GPDA to agree to it, although come to think of it, it’d be pretty hard designing an ice track that meets F1 safety regulations :~)

    I’ve got to agree with Eric M, the Japanese are one of the greatest motor racing nations in the world, and the premier racing nation in Asia, as such they should not have to run their race to suit European audiences.

  27. HI guys,

    Nice topic, a few month before the race, i could remember many people voicing concerns over the ecological impact of powering those lights. from a certain point i agree, i think it’s useless to make all asian GrandPrix’s night races, one i think is enough, it keeps its uniqueness, and it has proved to be quite a spectacle.

    but… hehe, and a big BUT, Bernie weasel’s plan to make asian races at night to suit a tv spot is rubbish. die hard, true fans of the sport will wakeup at 2 am, or not sleep at all, in order to watch the start of the race, and then take a snooze… no?

    Hey Bernie, haven’t you heard of replay?

    anyway, bernie is already asking for wicked amounts to give the rights to hold a race, and to incure the extra costs for lighting would add up considerably, making tickets very expensive and costing fans a lot of hard earned currency.

    I prefer to keep the races as they are this season, timming is right, Singapore GP seems to be a great night event,and leave it as is. unless, if some hosts are really really up for wasting money, alternate the night race every year, but i hope they stick to option 1. replicate the season, just shuffle the dates.

    no more, no less.

    well what the hell maybe more races, and cars, and laps, and hey why dont they do one or two endurance F1 events where the races run for more than 2 hours. say 500Km? with a maximum averagesplit time, when cars go away, SC comes in and bunches them up. should be cool.

  28. I watch F1 to hopefully see lots of overtaking so the best car and driver on the day has a chance to win. The time of day or night the race take place is immaterial. I recorded the race and watched it later so girlfriends, wives and even pets can be kept happy in this modern age.
    This new circuit needs some re-design to achieve that and has been hyped out of proportion. We now have 2 new cicuits this year and unless rain or safety car incidents occur they are going to be a monotonous bore, even with turn 7 overtaking opportunity.
    Only hope is for the Kers system to work in the coming year or so as Kimmi would then be able to hit the wall and go straight through it to win the race. Of course the gaining advantage ‘rule’ would be redefined to ensure there was no possible bias in his favour.
    Piquet can’t possibly be dropped. Surely his timely crash got his team the win. What other driver would do that for Alonso.

  29. A Grand Prix on ice would be one of the best things ever.

    I understand that there is pun intended ;)
    Polar Caps are melting and all the ice is rapidly melting to water. There is already a WaterF1 and Redbull has AirF1.

    So poor Bernie can’t squeeze another drop of juice out of F1 lemon now.

    One race is what you’ll get.. If Bernie can convince Valencia and Monaco Royalties to host a night race. I will back him for UN General Post :D

  30. Once was more than enough. I’ve already stated why I was against night races, and I haven’t changed my mind after watching this one.

  31. NO NO NO!!!i am very dissapointed with what Ron said
    Night races change the character of Formula 1 .I really enjoy watching F1 3pm drinking coffee.I don’t wanna this to change…

  32. For future night races the cars should be equiped with lights, powered by KERS. Then we wouldn’t need those pricey lighting rigs. This would make it more fair for the GP organizers by putting the cost of the lighting onto the teams. ;)

    But to answer the question of the article, which I didn’t really do in my first post, I don’t think we need more night races. I agree with those who say that the Singapore night race is enough. The spectacle was impressive, but not so much so that it needs to be replicated elsewhere. As others pointed out, night racing is expensive and wasteful. And potentially dangerous for the drivers.

  33. The Singapore night race will be terminated the first year it rains during the race, probably next year.

    Imagine the difficulty of seeing through the cars spray, then compound it by the prismatic effects of overhead lighting. Mayhem and chaos. That would be applicable to any circuit anywhere.

  34. As a photographer, I think the cars look better under natural light. Keeping the Singapore GP the only night race would make it an exciting once a year event.

  35. Night racing, but no different from racing on an overcast day.
    The track was so well lit that from the drivers perspective it didn’t register much that he was driving at night.
    The circuit fencing made it very difficult for the marshals to get to the accident zones fast enough. Unlike in Monaco, where you just have the armcos and marshals standing directly behind them, in Singapore you had full track debris fencing, making the job of the marshals more difficult.

    Ron is right, we can play with the concept for races everywhere. For sure not all races can be run at night. In fairness to him, I don’t believe he meant all night races, but rather playing about with the time of the races, but maybe having some races earlier in the day or more towards evenings.

    Of all the tracks, F1 currently visits, only tracks like Canada, Monaco, Suzuka and Australia maybe even Valencia, have the layout that allows for easy fitting of flood lights. As for the others, it will make them ugly.

  36. I’d prefer the races to be run in daylight.

    The time of transmission doesn’t matter to me as I record all races and watch them (as live) in the evening when there are fewer distractions.

  37. I’m in line with those who say no more night races for the many reasons already stated – although for me it’s mainly cost and environment issues….it was good to watch, but not super-fantastic. It probably served as more of an excercise of “look, it can be done”, congratulations to Singapore for pulling it off, but its not worth all the issues that were raised. It can be argued that all the issues that can be sorted should pave way for other, better, night races, but I think it should be left alone.

    I definately wouldn’t look forward to more, and would be content if Singapore was the only night race. Just because F1 is inherently expensive, and not particularly environmentally friendly, doesn’t mean it should take the mick.

    As for the timing issue, it doesn’t really matter to me. Even though Europe is the mainstay of F1, I don’t see why hosting countries should make arrangements that suit us – I find it a bit rude if that’s the way the contracts are negociated, but I don’t know for sure and I guess every country wants to host a GP event and will bend over in some way to get it.

  38. DG – I think Ron Dennis has missed the point entirely. The point of the night races was mainly TV scheduling for Europe.

    Lustigson – My money’s on the Singapore Grand Prix weekend being more expensive to light than a few million homes in Europe. But I’d like to see the maths if anyone can be bothered!

    Nick – You could be right there, but I think this is back to the same old problem of F1 cars not being able to follow each other closely.

    Adrian – Perhaps a solution there is to plan next year’s weekends in advance? Here’s the provisional 2009 F1 calendar

    GeorgeK – Oh dear, I think that’s the first US Election 2008 reference on F1 Fanatic.

    Chaz –

    I don’t care what time they hold a race as long as they put it on a track that suites F1 cars and allows for decent overtaking opportunities, which I don’t think any of the current street circuits offer.

    Careful or I’ll break into another chorus of “don’t blame the track, blame the rules“.

    Loki –

    Even though Europe is the mainstay of F1, I don’t see why hosting countries should make arrangements that suit us

    I know what you mean. it’s an odd situation where the business imperative to expand into new territories and the business imperative of maximising your core audience collide.

    On the environmental thing – Of course night races aren’t necessarily environmentally-unfriendly, it just depends where the power for the lights comes from. In this case, Singapore mainly uses gas-fired power stations, which I imagine chuck out a fair amount of carbon.

  39. Maybe the night race gave F1 a boost from the norm but,I would rather watch daytime races.One night race a year is more than enough for me….and I really feel the cost of powering all those lights on top of F1 costs already is a waste.

    ..and I agree with George K:

    “The Singapore night race will be terminated the first year it rains during the race, probably next year.”

  40. At the end of the day, the Singapore race was a huge success. Visually, it was stunning, and fortnately, had plenty of incidents unlike Valencia.
    Personally, come what may, I think we are going to see more races held at night, and in more glamorous locations across the world, not just in Asia. The problem with hosting a global event like F1, is that not everybody is going to get to see a race at a conveniant hour, it is just not possible. However, we must all realise that the future of this sport is changing, evolving. That is the real danger concerning circuits like Silverstone and Magny Cours, they have not evolved with time. They resemble the F1 of the 1970s and 1980s, which is all well and good, but compared to other locations, they are showing their age.
    I’m am all for keeping the classic circuits though, as much as possible, but in the end, there has to be a cut off point. A circuit like Suzuka for instance, would be mesmerising under floodlights, or Indianapolis too, because you would be seeing the cars at their maximum performance, and at night. Flavio Briatore summed it up in one sentence on Sunday by saying that ‘it is nicer to be at a circuit with more hotels than sheep’.

  41. “The Singapore night race will be terminated the first year it rains during the race, probably next year.”

    Trust me, the drivers will be OK in a wet night race. If anything, the drama it would create would probably help Singapore more. And I’m betting that if the race sees its fair share of incidents in the wet next year, but pushes through for 2010 and beyond anyway (which is what will happen), then many people will blame Bernie for going beyond common sense and just being greedy, when in fact such incidents could’ve happened in daytime races as well.

  42. Spectacular it may be but night races will just do bad to everything else. That much electricity can be used for better purposes.

  43. While there is some truth to it, the thing is, nothing serious happened. The marshals were good enough this year. Now that the first race is out of the way, they’ll have more time and money to train the marshals better for next year. Trust me, they will.

    I wish I shared your optimism Journeyer. From what I have seen a huge effort goes into the first race at any circuit an less goes in each year. I will be amazed if the marshalls are any better next year. I would disagree that the marshals were good enough this year. The accidents were not serious enough that anyone was injured but the marshals could not even handle them.

  44. The enviromental argument against night races is a joke.

    If that is your mindset, why have Formula 1 races at all? Who needs petrol heads burning fuel and rubber like no tomorrow. Then… let’s look at Football. Why play games at night, just make every game of every league a daytime match! Where does it end? That only enviro friendly sports and activities should be indulged in? – Give me a break!!

    The spectacle was great, something different, one is enough though and I think Singapore did a fantastic job – both the city and the race compliment eachother so well.

    As an F1 Australian fan our race got pushed back to be a ‘twilight’ event to cater for European audiences, which I don’t mind, it was a compromise between Bernie and our Government instead of a straight night race.

  45. Yes, I think Formula 1 can hold more night races, but I don’t consider the Singapore GP to be a real night race. The track was so completely lit up that it was practically a daytime race. That’s why I don’t think the Singapore GP was really such a big deal. It seems to me that it was made to run at night primarily to maximize the television audience, and that the “nighttime” was simply incidental.

    If Formula 1 were serious about night racing, they would install headlamps to the front of the cars, put reflectors on the sides of the track, have fewer on-track lighting, and then we’d see who’s actually good at driving at night.

  46. Jonesracing82
    1st October 2008, 8:20

    i hope not in europe as i’d b at work on mon mornign when it’s on and hear result on radio!
    doubtful as it’;s to please euro viewers s for me thats agood thing!
    same applies for us, brazil etc!

  47. Keith – Perhaps Ron was having a quiet dig at Bernie? Bernie says that he wants the night races to appeal more to the European market, but surely at the same time isn’t he increasing the market in the Middle East and Asia?
    So surely a European night race is just as reasonable as an Asian one? Or, as I think an American one, where they know about these things already, and if its somewhere exciting like LA or Las Vegas, it would be a crowd-puller.
    And, you may recall I do object to the idea of night races on cost and enviromental grounds, especially since Bernie insisted on it, but didn’t have to pay for it!
    Maybe the Credit Crunch will see the end of all Bernie’s high-spend ideas for next year? Simple F1 cars anyone? Like in the 70s?

  48. Bernie doesen’t care about us – the people who visit f1fanatic – because we tend to watch F1 whenever it is on. He wants to maximise the TV audience. If the peak audience is in Europe, he would prefer races to be at peak viewing times in Europe, which is more likely to be early evening than afternoon. According to this logic, the Australian GP could be held at dawn, to show late Saturday night in Europe. And Singapore should have been at 3am. Not so good for packing the grandstands, perhaps.

  49. Deeza:

    If that is your mindset, why have Formula 1 races at all? Who needs petrol heads burning fuel and rubber like no tomorrow. Then… let’s look at Football. Why play games at night, just make every game of every league a daytime match! Where does it end? That only enviro friendly sports and activities should be indulged in? – Give me a break!!

    I think you’ve taken it slightly out of context – the point I was making is that the environment issues and cost didn’t produce a mind blowing experience (for me, at least). I’m not going to do much about the environment in that respect, but after the race I felt it was just an excercise – worth watching to see what it was like, but I’m not convinced it’s worth all the while. In the end, it was a city that lights itself up at night anyway, so what’s another 3.18MWatt over the weekend, right?

    I’m not going to protest over another night race, the cars look magnificent at night, but I think F1 needs to pump money on making the actual racing better rather than into shiny lights.

    If I was that much an environmentalist I probably wouldn’t support F1 at all, but everyone’s conscious of the environment in their own way and offset it in different ways and views. Keith’s revelations about the lights coming from fossil fuel sources is also another subject – F1 has been, and should continue to be, the showcase of the pinnacle of technology…and this should extend past the cars themselves in areas such as safety, and in the case of night races: lighting and power. For which the Abu Dubai concept sounds good if it is to be run through hydrogen.

    And I think F1, and indeed most other motorsport, has to show environmental concerns because we’re not all going to be burning fuel forever like we once did.

  50. I thought the lights were powered by their own generators? And I think I saw a comment somewhere about them being the latest in ‘Clean’ diesel technology, which was rather offset by the fact that there were 2 or 3 of them for the event….
    Now, did anyone who was there go looking for them?

  51. night races great lets not spoil a good thing one a year (two at a push) is ample………………

    next time let it rain.

  52. Indeed one or two night races a season is a good idea- it mixes things up and lets everyone have some fun, while also providing a bit of a different experience for the fans at the venue. But if a large number of them are scheduled, I believe the concept will lose it’s novelty and appeal, and will just turn into another gimmic that won’t sit well with teams, drivers and fans alike.

    I find it interesting that Sepang apaprently has ruled out the night racing concept, as I thought they would do anything to keep Bernie happy (don’t they pay the highest sanctioning fee for their GP each season?)In terms of Japan, I know the GP is supposed to alternate between Suzuka and Fuji, so is Bernie pushing one or both of these venues to go under the lights in the future?

  53. The energy used by the lights is equivalent to lighting 2400 homes.
    If 2.4 million homes in Europe watch it in daylight, we have 1000 times savings on energy.
    Big picture scenario — Super environmentally friendly.

  54. Personally I hate street races from a television viewpoint (with the exception of Monaco). All the concrete block side walls and catch fencing everywhere makes tracks featureless, eg. Detroit and Las Vegas.

    Now putting one on at night is like watching a race in the Dartford tunnel. I’m sure the spectacle was great if you were there, but for once I find myself in agreement with Sig.Luca and not with Mr.Ron – just one a year is more than enough for me.

  55. I agree with you on that Roy- while Singapore turned out well overall, they are featureless for the most part to TV viewers. That’s just one more reason on top of many that the USGP should not go back to Vegas- hopefully Bernie remembers that :)

  56. Although the race was a great one, that really had nothing to do with the fact that the race was held at night.

    ALthough the lights did set off the paint jobs of the cars so they looked awesome, I really can’t say that I thought being held at night added anything to it.

    Perhaps it was so that it would be a bit cooler for the fans than sitting out in those unshaded grandstands during the heat of the day? ;)

    I think one is enough – even too many if truth be told. Just a gimmick, and what we want is racing, not image and trickery.

    I do have a couple of awesome shots of the the cars at sunset though, which I’ll post on the drop io at sidepodcast if anyone is interested in seeing them.

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