Grapevine: Straw Poll: Friday in Singapore

There's a growing feeling in the paddock that the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix is going to be an absolute stunner of an event.

It has everything that can be expected of a street circuit. Plenty of corners, not a huge amount of run-off (by Formula One standards, that is), the track tunneling under the crowd in the style of a PlayStation game and even a big wheel - the Singapore Flyer - overlooking the paddock and track.

So having been able to take a good look at the circuit both in daylight and the artificial illumination on Thursday, as everyone came into the paddock in the morning it was that, along with the novelty of getting up at two in the afternoon, which kept everyone talking.

Then again, some were more talkative than others. Bernie Ecclestone - someone who can be very good value when it comes to brevity in answers - came up with all manner of short responses when quizzed by autosport.com's Jonathan Noble about the introduction of a summer break.

His answers were all about umbrellas, jerky movements and Iraq before Noble finally got Bernie to play ball and talk about the prospect of a summer break. Then another unfortunate journalist tried his luck, exploring a new line of questioning about the mooted Indian Grand Prix. It's well worth a read!

With Bernie heading off to infuriate another journalist or two with his nonetheless amusing answers, first practice closed in. Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella christened the circuit, Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber christened the wall and Lewis Hamilton christened the top of the timesheets. What's more, everyone seemed relatively happy with the bump-grinding work done at Turn 10.

There were plenty of gasps in the media centre during the sessions too - pretty much every time a car had a moment in fact, suggesting that everyone was getting into the spirit of things. Jarno Trulli, too, provided his share of entertainment, picking up a fine for driving a few metres the wrong way down the track to enter the pitlane after a spin!

Trackside, too, where even general admission spectators could get brilliantly close to the cars, the fans seemed to be enjoying F1's opening night. The lights worked, the walls didn't leap out in front of anyone and the much-vaunted rain that some expected to wash away the cars and render the whole track invisible never happened.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner summed it up.

"The effort that has gone into this circuit in the last 12 months is nothing short of phenomenal," he said. "Hats off to everybody involved - they've just raised the bar for a new circuit."

And the sight of the bar being raised so spectacularly must strike fear into the heart of Valencia Grand Prix organisers. To extend the track and field metaphor, if the record for a new track was 2.45 metres, as is the high jump world record, Singapore is pushing three metres! It's that promising.

But praise for Singapore has thrown the Valencia track, which held its own inaugural Grand Prix last month, a real curve ball. Back in August, most were willing to give the new European Grand Prix venue the benefit of the doubt. A "C minus", must try harder but with the potential to become a cracking event. Singapore's bar-raising has changed that view. Let's see how Valencia responds.

Of course, the one thing it shares with Valencia is that it doesn't look like a great overtaking circuit. So how about a little of that much-promised rain to slick up an already low-grip surface.