Rivals disagree over Singapore success

Sep.30 (GMM) Sunday's first ever F1 night race beat the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony to become Singapore's most watched television spectacle, it has emerged.

Local reports say an average of 789,000 locals were tuned into Singapore's Channel 5 as Fernando Alonso took the chequered flag, compared with the 765,000 for the Olympics last month.

"In terms of ambience, facility and backdrop it was just fantastic," McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh heralded on Tuesday.

But the British team's championship rival, Ferrari, does not agree. The Italian marque's president Luca di Montezemolo slammed the event as a "circus" track at which only the appearance of the safety car lottery could spice up.

"All this is humiliating for F1 and it is an aspect I want to talk about with the other teams in the next few weeks," Montezemolo, the chairman of the formula one teams' alliance FOTA, told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

After weeks of speculation, he also confirmed that world champion Kimi Raikkonen will take a supportive role to Felipe Massa's title charge at the final three races of 2008.

"I expect Raikkonen to show he is world champion in the remaining races, to help Massa, to race for the good of the team and to finish in front of the McLarens," Montezemolo said.