Singapore is an incredible place for a race. It’s really unique in every way, and as a driver it’s a privilege to be part of such an amazing night show under the spotlights. It’s a grand prix that many people look forward to and I’m really excited to go back there. The heat and humidity make it tough for the drivers and everyone in the garage. It’s a very challenging race physically, so it’s important that we train properly and prepare effectively to keep ourselves on top form all weekend. It’s a really fun circuit to drive, so I’m looking forward to getting to Marina Bay and soaking up the amazing atmosphere. I’ve won twice in Singapore and I love racing there, so with my engineers we’ll be focussing on setting up the car as best we can for this circuit as soon as we arrive. It’ll be interesting to see how our car responds to the high-downforce setup there and I hope we can have a more positive weekend.

Singapore is always such a special race. It’s quickly become one of the most famous races on the calendar and it’s easy to see why. The whole setup is really special and racing under lights creates an amazing atmosphere that’s totally different from any other grand prix. There’s a real buzz about the place from the moment you step off the plane. There’s always a lot of anticipation in the build-up to this race, and for us it’s no different. We’ve had a couple of really challenging races, but we’ve said for a while that some of the circuits we go to towards the end of the season should be a bit better-suited to the stronger elements of our package. There’s no denying it’ll be hard work, and we aren’t expecting miracles overnight. But, Singapore is a fantastic circuit, it’s one of the longest races of the season in terms of time, and we quite often we see a Safety Car there. So, anything can happen; we’re hoping to learn a lot about how our car works in this configuration, and take as many positives from the weekend as we can.

Singapore marks the start of the final ‘fly-away’ leg of the season, and a set of new and different challenges for the whole team. It’s a relentless time of year which demands a lot from every team member, but we’re focussed on the challenge and working hard to complete the last third of the season on a more positive note. There is no denying that Spa and Monza were incredibly tough races for McLaren-Honda. We expected it, and it was no surprise when the results came, but it doesn’t make it any easier to bear. Saying that, we are entering a phase of the season where the circuits rely less on pure power and more on balance, characteristics that tend to suit our package better. Together, McLaren and Honda are constantly striving to improve our package and we have faith in our collective abilities to analyse our weaker areas and continue pushing forward. We won’t make any promises or predictions, but we love this circuit and hope to put on the best show possible under the incredible floodlights of Singapore. It is truly a spectacular location to host a grand prix and fully deserves its status as one of the flagship races on the Formula 1 calendar.

From Singapore, we now start our second round of fly-away races. After the classic circuits of Europe, a night race on the complex street circuit of Singapore will be a big change for the team, in both the preparation for the race and adjusting our body clocks. Our engineers are preparing to reach the ideal power unit set-up for the track's slippery and tight corners. The car's overall balance between power unit and chassis will be the key to a good weekend, so we hope to provide a good package for the drivers for the race.