NICO Rosberg isn't just shooting his mouth off when he says that the Sing -Tel Singapore Grand Prix has the potential to become a street circuit classic on the Formula One calendar.
Rosberg, 23, who finished second in the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday night for his best finish so far in F1, resides in Monaco.
The street circuit there has long been considered classic and unbeatable, for its fame, tradition and unrivalled glamour.
But Rosberg, a German whose father is 1982 F1's Finnish champion Keke Rosberg, said he regrets not spending more time discovering Singapore in his earlier visits here.
"I used to hole myself up in a hotel here on the way while travelling around, but now that we've come here for the GP, I'll say that Singapore's a really cool place.
"It's not instantly glamorous like Monaco. But that needs time to build on, you know, with the celebrities around
and all that.
"But it has the same race weekend atmosphere and the enthusiasm has really infected all of us drivers.
"You can't deny there was a buzz around the city area, before and after the race.
"I received 57 SMSes from friends and family, and many of them want to come to Singapore next year.
"I'm sure many people, who missed out this time, will want to visit next year."
Racing-wise, Rosberg said Singapore's street track has all the ingredients to make it a classic in its own
way.
"The corners are different from Monaco, and there are so many different types of challenges here, which you don't find in Monaco.
"I'm not even comparing to other street races in the world. I'm comparing Singapore to Monaco.
"From a driving perspective, it was nice for us to race at night in Asia as it's not so hot.
"And I'm sure Singaporean fans loved that too, because I know they don't like the heat themselves."
On improvements for the Singapore Grand Prix next year, Rosberg said: "Resurfacing of the bumps is
definitely needed.
"Maybe a few more run-off areas for safety. Perhaps extra layers of barriers at Turn 10 (after the Padang
stretch and past the Singapore Cricket Club). Those pimply chicanes there were weird.
"I think they need to re-configure the entry to the pit lane to make it safer, but otherwise, the Singapore race and experience has been amazing for me."
Hardworking Arguably the hardest-working Formula One driver in his entire week in Singapore - when it came
to making public or sponsor-related appearances - Rosberg was very visible in the public and in the media.
And yesterday, by 3pm, he was already ready for his last sponsor- related appearance at Philips in Toa Payoh, meeting The New Paper.
To groom that handsome face of his,he uses a Philips Arcitec shaver when he's at work, but shaves every other day when he's on holiday.
Clearly, from the way he styles and carries himself, Rosberg is never one to shy away from hard work.
He quipped: "I guess since I was so hardworking in the past week in Singapore, hardworking Singapore decided to reward me with that second place in the GrandPrix."
This article was first published in The New Paper on Sept 30, 2008.
