Button wants grand prix shortened

Jenson Button says the drivers are "shattered" by the end of the race in Singapore © Sutton Images

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Jenson Button says the Singapore Grand Prix is too demanding for the drivers and that they would like to see it shortened.

A grand prix distance is 300km plus one lap, which equates to 61 laps of the 5.073km Marina Bay track. However, last year's race was won by Fernando Alonso in 1 hour 57 minutes and 52 seconds, and the drivers are made to work hard due to the stop-start nature of the street circuit. With the race so close to the two-hour time limit and run in high humidity, Button says it really takes its toll.

"It's a very tough race because it's long, the longest on the calendar, normally about two hours," Button told Sporting Life. "Mentally it's very tiring because it's low speed, like Monaco in a way with the barriers so close to the circuit, very bumpy, dark, so it's very demanding for the drivers. We find it very, very tough, and after the race you are shattered, in pieces.

"It's one of the races we actually think is a little too long, that they need to maybe shorten. We do as much as we can physically, but you can't train for the bumpiness of the circuit, so it's tough for us. I do a lot of work in a hot climate beforehand. This year I was in Japan where it's very humid at the moment, which is great, perfect for Singapore."

The only current race to receive special dispensation to run under 300km is the Monaco Grand Prix, which is run to a distance of just over 260km.

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