Daniel, it’s traditional for a driver to start the Singapore preview by saying it’s a bit hot and quite humid... Well it is hot! And very humid! I think it’s all those tall buildings downtown – the heat doesn’t have anywhere to go. It’s the most physical challenge of the year. It’s the only race of the season where you crack open your visor to let in some cool air and instantly wish you hadn’t because it’s hotter outside. By the warm-up lap your chilled drinks bottle is the temperature of a freshly-poured cup of tea. It’s a tough place to race – but I love the challenge. I think most of the drivers do. You’re usually a happy camper in Singapore – do you like the buzz? I do. Firstly I like the track. Street circuits are fun: you’re bouncing off the kerbs, kissing the walls, it’s cool. And the city’s great. Good restaurants, good atmosphere, great nightlife. Yeah, my kind of place... Do you have time to see any of it? Most days the team are leaving the track at 4am... Maybe not on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s a pretty crazy schedule. I’ll end up chilling by the pool perhaps, when we get back at 4am before going to bed – but it’s not as if we’d have any action on those nights if it were an afternoon race. Sunday’s pretty good in Singapore though. The longer the race has been there, the more familiar the city has become with our schedule and more restaurants and bars are staying open later. It’s surprising what you can do at 4am in Singapore!

The Singapore Grand Prix is regularly the longest race of the season in terms of duration and two of the last three races at Marina Bay have been ended by the clock rather than distance. How tough is such a long race for the drivers? It’s definitely one of the most challenging races of the championship. It’s the longest, one of the hottest, one of the most physically demanding races we face but having said that I do like the track, because although it’s a street circuit, it’s quite a bit quicker than Monaco. As grands prix go, it tends to have more atmosphere than the average... What does it feel like to get out of the car at the end of the race? Last year it was extremely tough because my water bottle didn’t work, so it was a very difficult race. But this year I think I’m much better prepared from a physical point of view, so it should be fine. For example, Malaysia this year felt a lot more comfortable than last year and it’s similar, so I think I will be OK. Do you enjoy the feel of the night race and the city? The weekend has its own pace. We obviously try to stay on European time, so you’re up later, but it’s fine, I don’t have a problem with switching on to night racing and the schedule. As for the city, it’s difficult to find the time to go out in Singapore. When you arrive you do get to go out a bit, to go to the malls and have a look around, but to be honest it’s not something you get much of an opportunity to do because once the race weekend starts the schedule makes it pretty difficult.