OK, before we go any further, let's get a few facts out of the way.

Firstly, on the previous four occasions this race has been held the Safety Car has made at least one appearance, not least for the Renault debacle that was to become Crash-gate.

As it happens, unlike some circuits there haven't been any startline crashes here that necessitated the appearance of the Safety Car. Liuzzi and Heidfeld crashed in 2010, bringing out the Safety Car, but that was at the end of the first lap. While though there was first corner contact last year, with Ricciardo needing a new front wing, but nothing serious and no Safety Car. Same goes for 2009 when Alonso and Webber ran wide at Turn 1, the Australian subsequently picking up a penalty.

Secondly, two of F1's biggest hot-heads, Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean start from the front end of the grid, the Frenchman fresh back from his one race ban following his stupidity in Belgium. Furthermore, the last time Maldonado started from the front row he went on to win. That said, he benefited greatly from Lewis Hamilton's massive grid penalty.

Talking of Hamilton and Maldonado, the pair have history, and while the Williams driver assures us that he has learned from his past mistakes - not that we're saying that every clash was his fault - once the visor is down the lights go out…

Thirdly, in terms of tyre strategy most teams, especially those at the front, face a wild gamble today. There is a difference of up to 1.7s between the two compounds (soft and super-soft) however, when the option (super-softs) go off they go off quickly, in some cases after just two laps. However, other than deciding how many stops, the teams at the front need to decide exactly how far they can go into the race before stopping. Too early and they risk rejoining in the midfield, too late and they risk being passed by the midfield. What to do, what to do?

After the "majesty" of Spa and the "passion" and "history" of Monza, those masters of hyperbole that the Marina Bay circuit will soon be up there and is already one of the true highlights on the calendar. Patting aside the gimmick of racing at night - which if Bernie has his way will become the norm - this race does at least see the drivers being kept on their toes. Two hours in length, in exhausting temperatures, bodyclocks still uncertain and on a traffic which punishes mistakes, it is a circuit that demands respect, if only from those twenty-four guys sitting in the cars.

Now, putting aside the possibility of a first corner incident - and that's a mighty big stretch of the imagination today - Lewis Hamilton is clearly on a roll. With two wins from the last three races the Stevenage Rocket is looking might good. Sebastian Vettel might have dominated all three practice session but when he really needed it wasn't there.

His money having assured him of the Williams seat again in 2013, Maldonado doesn't have to win today, though a good podium result might help push his 'bad boy' reputation to the back of people's minds.