F1: China's Ma Qinghua eyes Singapore challenge

BEIJING (AFP) - China's Ma Qinghua said he was looking forward to the "new challenge" of Singapore after making history as his country's first driver to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix weekend.

Ma, from Shanghai, said Singapore's street circuit and night racing was a very different proposition from Italy's Monza track, where he drove a practice session for the HRT team earlier this month.

"Monza is rather traditional and currently the fastest F1 circuit in the world, but Singapore is a new challenge for me because I've never driven on a street circuit, or at night," he told the China Daily.

"Singapore's road conditions will be completely different from those in Monza - there will be more curves and less buffer zones. The circuit is surrounded by walls, so if there's any mistake you will just get hit," he added.