Night rider Hamilton sets blistering pace on the roads of Singapore

They still knock back Singapore Slings in the Long Bar at Raffles hotel and side by side with the historical splendour are the skyscrapers hinting at the money and ambition which prompted the city state to enter the grand prix calendar

.And what a job they have done.

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in practice for the forthcoming Singapore Grand Prix

The lights, all 1,500 of them, have illuminated this 3.15-mile track to a level matching an average winter’s day back home.

Everything from the stands and the paddock to the flower beds and the smiling staff is at least the equal of any such venue in the world.

Hamilton, the McLaren driver who leads Ferrari’s Felipe Massa by a single point going into the closing four races, went as far as comparing the new addition to the signature track which runs through Monte Carlo.

‘One lap here is like two laps of Monaco,’ he said.

‘It takes double the energy.

'I was surprised how bumpy certain sections are.

'Through certain corners there was lots of bottoming and when you hit a bump it would throw the car around.

But the lights were not a distraction.

‘On my first proper run, I managed to find a half-decent line.

'I was gradually able to get more comfortable with the car.

'On first impressions, there seems to be quite a lot of grip, so you can brake quite late into the slower corners.

'It’s a very physical circuit, more than I expected.

'You need to put a lot of work in to get a good lap.

'Being the first time in Singapore, the city we’re in is beautiful and so to come here and win the first night race ever would be spectacular.

'A great experience. 

Hamilton sets the pace on the streets of Singapore

'It’s not the same as winning your home grand prix, obviously, but I think it could be special for any of us.’

A Singapore sting lies around the most English part of the city.

The Singapore Cricket Club, founded in 1852, stands next to two chicanes — Turns10 and 11.

They are narrow and challenging, before the track wends the combatants over one side of Anderson Bridge.

During practice, Mark Webber’s Red Bull came to grief at Turn 18, his smoking machine rendered unusable after he parked it int he barriers.

There were other spinners — Massa leading a roll-call including Jarno Trulli, Nelson Piquet and Ruben Barrichello.

Hamilton had no scares, emerging fractionally ahead of his rivals before qualifying in the dark.

Bernie Ecclestone, F1’s ringmaster, wore a satisfied smile.

Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull, captured the appreciative mood, saying:‘The effort here over the las tfew months is phenomenal.

'It’s a great spectacle and a great circuit.

'It’s raised the bar. Hats off to everyone involved.'

While the technology is a wonder, 52 years after the first Football League match was played under lights at Fratton Park, Singapore is providing a wonderful tonic to motor racing after a difficult week which started in a Paris courtroom.

It now seems a long time ago that McLaren were appealing Hamilton’s demotion at the Belgian Grand Prix.

But will Sunday’s nocturnal race be any more exciting than at the last new circuit at Valencia?

Expectations there were high, but the race was a bore.

Here the opportunities to overtake are few.

The best bet is apparently presented at Turn 7, a sharp left-hander coming at the end of a 185mph straight.

Hamilton’s compatriot Jenson Button , who is expected to sign a new deal to stay at Honda in the next few weeks, described it as ‘one of the hottest Fridays that we’ve ever had and it’s just so humid.'

Practice done, the drivers were off to their hotels at gone midnight.

Off to prepare for a couple of days of sporting history.