F1 fever grips Singapore

An overwhelmed Fernando Alonso took the top place on the podium after winning a stunning first ever F1 night race. However what Alonso saw in front of him was quite different from the usual: the artificial lighting gave a whole new dimension to the Singapore Grand Prix.

It felt strange: normally after the podium comes the press conference, then the individual interviews, waiting in the media room for the press releases from the teams... hopefully by 7 p.m. you are heading back to the hotel with another odd hour of driving.

Here, it was quite different and unique. Once all this was done, I realised that the time was nearly 1 a.m. Outside it was dark, the grandstands were all empty but the audience had no rush to go home. The city was still vibrant and the night was young. The track was opened up to the crowds to facilitate the departure.

People were taking the time to take pictures at each corner, describing an incident at a specific location, the atmosphere was unique.

I knew I was just 20 minutes away from the Holiday Inn where I was staying and this was just walking along the main road.

However, how did this all come about? Two new street circuits were introduced this year in Valencia and Singapore. The major difference between the two is that Singapore's had to be a night race to accommodate European viewing times. Little did we realise that the circuit would be a very bright, white light surrounded by a rainbow of colours.

The scenery was breathtaking. I arrived in Singapore late Thursday evening, all had been in place for quite some time now, with the locals trying to get to grips with what was in store, most of area of the circuit was closed for traffic however the circuit passed through an array of shopping malls which by the time of the first practice session were packed with local and the odd thousands that came to be part of the history.

Awareness of the race was immense and the seasonal thunderstorms and rain stayed at bay for the whole weekend.

The night sky had just lost its colour when the scream of a Formula 1 car pierced the atmosphere.

What a noise. It went through the massive skyscrapers. It was electrifying: car and shop alarms went off with the intensity of the noise. A group of students were selling mufflers to dampen the noise, translating the noise emitted from a Formula 1 car to decibels to potential customers. Until the first car left the pits, not one was sold, but things changed some minutes later.

At every other venue in Singapore, there was a full-scale F1 replica on display. I came across more than 15 different F1 cars in hotel foyers and shopping malls. You can imagine their delight when the cars started to race past the high rises.

Most of the track was easily accessible with the stands relatively close to the action; I found the first corner incredibly good. By Saturday, the local audience increased - one must bear in mind that motor sport culture was non-existent here before this grand prix. However in Singapore, the standard of living is impressively high and high spec motors on the road are numerous.

On race day, people took their time to arrive on the stand. It is a rather strange feeling. On race days, I normally rise at 5.30 a.m to prepare to head for the track. Here it was different: there was ample time for a late breakfast, a visit to one of Singapore's exciting shopping malls, before setting off for the circuit at 3.30 p.m. A 10-minute walk and I was in the paddock area.

The race was another story. The crowds were on their feet once the screaming cars headed for the first corner. This became a ritual and every time a car passed, everyone stood up. Entertainment was abundant, not only on the track but also behind the grandstands where a stage was set up and local bands played till the early hours. There was even an Elvis Presley impersonator singing You are always on my mind.

On Monday evening, I returned to the circuit and much had changed within the last 24 hours. I boarded the Singapore Flyer, their answer to the London Eye, which is situated just before the last corner.

Here I could see the empty paddock area, the empty stands, workers trying to get part of the city back to normal. Most of the track was still lit up but instead of Formula 1 cars, there were trucks dismantling the grandstands and removing the circuit barriers. I imagined it was quite a feat as these had to be neatly stored away for next year. All was numbered because besides the barriers and the catch fencing, there were all the lights and the cabling.

There were mixed feelings about the race: the build-up was well organised with a variety of activities lined up: from art and photo exhibitions to sculpture displays, all with an F1 theme.

I visited a Tag Heurer watch exhibition, which was situated in one of the luxurious shopping malls: the exhibition illustrated the origin of the brand, all neatly coinciding with Formula 1, including the long relationship with Aryton Senna.

Even in restaurants, there was F1 fever: anything from menus to bread rolls came shaped like an F1 car.