Hot night race
Sweat everywhere: Formula 1 endurance test Singapore
Max Verstappen talks about the challenge of the track in Singapore. photo
© Vincent Thian/AP/dpa
It’s hot in Singapore. And it’s humid. This is a particular burden for the drivers.
Air temperature around 30 degrees, humidity around 80 percent and more – Singapore becomes a sweaty Grand Prix for Formula 1.
It was one of the toughest, if not the toughest, races of the year, said Nico Hülkenberg’s Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen. Even when driving in the evening, the temperatures hardly go down, and the Singapore Grand Prix always tends to last a little longer.
“A strenuous route”
Safety car phases or interruptions are simply a given on the street circuit. “You do the hard days in the gym for this race,” emphasized Magnussen. The fluid loss can be up to four liters. This means that the drivers actually have to drink a lot during the race.
“In the first 15 or 20 minutes the drinks are still cool, after that it becomes almost like tea and too hot to drink,” said Magnussen. In addition, it is difficult to drink fluids while being thrown back and forth in the car.
“What’s the best thing about driving in such humidity? Well, you lose weight,” said World Championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull with a smile. The unpleasant thing is that you are always hot and the sweat just runs everywhere. “Yes, this is a strenuous route,” emphasized the 25-year-old Dutchman.