The Singapore Grand Prix preview

Formula 1 waved goodbye to Europe for another season, signing off on the flat-out blasts of Monza. Two weeks on, the teams are preparing for the second slowest race of the season on the streets of Singapore.

Only Monaco has a lower average speed than Formula 1's only full-on night race, and the key difference between here and the principality is that the Singapore Grand Prix is still run to the full distance of more than 300 kilometres (Monaco is down at 260).

Monaco had to be shortened because the full distance would never be finished inside the two hour time limit for grands prix. But the Marina Bay circuit is just quick enough that the 61 laps can be completed inside the required time. There's not a lot in it though - after three editions of the race it is yet to be completed in under one hour and 56 minutes.

That, combined with the high temperatures and humidity (running the event during the day at this time of the year would be asking far too much of those involved) makes this one of the most physical races of the year, despite the fact that only four of its 22 corners are taken above second gear.

A quick glance at last year's result would suggest that Ferrari and Fernando Alonso will fancy their chances of stealing a win from Red Bull this weekend. But it is easy to forget that Sebastian Vettel hunted him throughout the race, while Mark Webber came through a turbulent evening of his own to make it two Red Bulls on the podium.

In fact, had Alonso not chopped Vettel at the start, he might not have ever been in a position to get some real momentum behind his late charge in last year's title race.

Despite Red Bull's form here last time, there is a little too much 'conventional wisdom' out there suggesting that it will be a tough weekend for those from Milton Keynes. Given the 2010 double championship-winning team's record for de-bunking common theories at Spa and Monza over the last month, making up for Alonso's win last year would complete a nice hat trick.

With little at stake in the world championship, attention in team factories is inevitably turning to next year. This is a more common theme at the front of the grid, often giving midfield runners the chance to cause an upset if they keep developing to the end of the current season.

While September is a little early to expect that to make a difference to the running order, we could start to see a shake-up developing between the top teams. Ferrari was the first to nail its colours to the 2012 mast, while McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has vowed that his team will not divert too many resources away from its current car because he can't bring himself to give up on races that are still there to be won. There's also the seemingly forgotten logic that what you learn on this car can be applied to the next one, although that hasn't passed Ross Brawn by at Mercedes GP.

But regardless of what the chasers are up to, the most significant noises on this topic have come from design genius Adrian Newey this week. With the drivers' and constructors' titles almost in the bag, even the most cautious of those at Red Bull are aware that it can ease off on the 2011 development and shift its focus to next year's car.

That could mean that the RB7's already slender race day advantage could be eroded between now and the end of the season, with a relentlessly-developing McLaren seemingly the best placed pursuer to capitalise. And Lewis Hamilton, in need of a good day to brighten up a frustrating season, already has a Singapore victory to his name.

Strategy

The super soft and soft tyre compound double act returns for the low-speed streets of Singapore. While the tyres will never be under huge lateral load because of a lack of high speed corners, the sheer number of twists and turns means that traction will be at a premium on this traditionally bumpy circuit.

Looking after rear tyres is going to be the aim of the day (or evening), and with two hours of racing on the cards those who don't get it right could be forced into a very high number of stops.

With the DRS zone on the run to Memorial corner (where Hamilton and Webber clashed last year), passing will not be a given due to the kink that is halfway down the long run to the tight left hander. That means teams will have to be more careful than usual when it comes to dropping their cars into some clear track after pitstops, as there won't always be room for those on new tyres to just drive around slower cars after a stop.

Weather