Di Resta revs up for debut in the dark at Singapore

Bathgate’s Paul Di Resta was this morning gearing up to race in the dark in practice for the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.

And the 25-year-old, who finished eighth last time out in his first race at Monza a fortnight ago, is also getting used to having ‘lunch’ at 8.30 in the evening.

“Singapore is a fantastic place to race in an F1 car,” Di Resta said, “but the one thing which is really quite surreal, is we all tend to keep our watches on UK/European time.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It helps us keep our body clock in sync with racing at a European time — even though the Singapore race actually starts at 8.00pm local time, which is 1.00pm UK.

“It also means we end up doing some rather strange things, like having lunch when it’s actually 8.30pm in Singapore!”

Di Resta, as in Italy, will be racing on Singapore’s Marina Bay Circuit for the first time, and he’s looking forward to racing under the floodlights.

“Racing a Formula One car at night under the Singapore streetlights is something I have never experienced before,” the Scot continued. “It’s going to be a bit of a challenge.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“That said, I’ve spent some time on the simulator and watched a number of on-board videos, which has definitely helped.

“It’s also one of the longest laps on the calendar, so hopefully it will stay dry in the run-up to the race and I can spend as much time on-track today and Saturday before qualifying.”

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday’s race knowing, if the result works in his favour, he can clinch his second successive world championship crown.

Related topics: