The toughest race of the year awaits Jenson Button this weekend. The Singapore Grand Prix – Formula One's only night race – is more physically gruelling than any other.
"This is the grand prix we train for," says Jenson. "It's almost too tough: you're totally drained by the end. If you look at pictures of the podium, you can tell that the drivers are not completely with it, due to the heat and dehydration. Anyone who says anything different is lying!"
The 61-lap race runs close to the two-hour time limit imposed by the sport's governing body, the FIA. It lasts 20 minutes longer than the Malaysian Grand Prix, which is staged just 200 miles to the north of the city state, and that extra effort takes its toll.
"The Singapore Grand Prix is much tougher than the race in Malaysia," says Jenson. "There are long straights at Sepang, along which you can take a breather, and that's not the case in Singapore. The layout of the Marina Bay circuit is very unforgiving and it's very, very bumpy. Even on the straights you're having to work because of the bumps.
"At the end of the race all the drivers sit in their cars for a few moments before getting out. You have to; if you get out too quickly you feel light-headed and dizzy."
Adding to the physical demands of the Singapore Grand Prix is the timetable. The race doesn't start until 8pm, which means the drivers, engineers and mechanics become nocturnal to ensure they're at peak performance late in the day.
Jenson adopts what he calls a "half-local, half-European" time zone. He gets out of bed later than normal, but doesn't remain on European time, like so many people in the paddock. Part of the reason for that is down to him spending time in Japan en route to the race, so his body is partly adjusted to the time zone.
"For the next month," says Jenson, "I rent an apartment in Tokyo with my girlfriend Jessica. I pretty much live there when I'm not at each of these next three races in Singapore, Japan and Korea, and it's a bit of a treat. I never spend as many days in one place during the year as I do in Japan during September and October."
Japan is very humid at this time of year, so it's a good place for Jenson to train ahead of some of the hottest and most humid races on the calendar.
"It's very humid in Singapore," says Jenson, "and it's pretty humid in Japan and Korea. So you're better off preparing for these races in Japan than you are in Europe. You also need to watch your hydration levels and sitting on long haul flights the whole time wouldn't be the best preparation."
As for the performance of the MP4-26, Jenson hopes it will be competitive in Singapore. He's finished on the podium in the last three races, one of which was his win in Hungary.
"The car should be good in Singapore," says Jenson. "It's been quick on all different types of circuit and the downforce levels used this weekend are quite similar to the Hungaroring. We were quick in Monaco this year as well, but you can't really compare Singapore to the other street tracks on the calendar because it's so much more bumpy. I've never finished on the podium in Singapore and it would be nice to achieve that next weekend."
With Sebastian Vettel 112 points clear at the top of the drivers' championship, Jenson isn't focusing on the world title. He's taking one race at a time and hopes for a strong end to the year.
"Sebastian is a long way ahead," he says, "and it's going to be very difficult for anyone to beat him now. He's going to need a long period of bad luck for us to stand a chance of taking the title. My goal for the rest of the year is to win as many races as I can. That will at least give the team a good springboard into 2012."