'Night race will be no different'

Kimi Raikkonen believes it will be business at usual at Singapore this weekend despite the country hosting the first night race in Formula One history.

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ABU DHABI // Kimi Raikkonen believes it will be business at usual at Singapore this weekend despite the country hosting the first night race in Formula One history. The Ferrari driver says he has made no special preparations for the race and is confident that the floodlights around the track will make it feel like a normal event. Speaking during his day visit to Abu Dhabi, the Finn said: "We talk about a night race, but once we get there they put on all the lights and everything is on then I am pretty sure it will be the same [as other races]."

The world champion needs to win at Singapore to keep his receding title hopes alive - he trails the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton by 21 points and teammate Felipe Massa by 20 with only four races left of the season. As to what has gone wrong after a strong start to the campaign where he led by nine points after four races, he explained: "We started off well but after that we had a few bad races. "We have had a few difficulties with the car but we have sorted them out and it just seems to be difficult to get back to where we need to be."

Raikkonen and Massa will both race for Ferrari again next season when the sport makes it's debut in Abu Dhabi in November at Yas Island. The racing may look different by then as new regulations for next season will see the cars race on slick tyres. Raikkonen does approve of the move away from the grooved compounds, but admits it will be difficult to tell how it will change the spectacle until testing begins in the winter.

"Hopefully it will improve it," he said of the new rules. "The idea behind the changes is good - to try to make it easier to follow the car [in front] and create more overtaking chances. "But nobody knows exactly how easy it will be before we get the cars on the track." @Email:gcaygill@thenational.ae