F1: six things you need to know about this weekend's Singapore GP

This weekend sees F1 is back in Asia for the second night race of the season, and the drivers are beginning to feel the heat.

Not only because there are only seven races left, but because it's really bloody hot in Singapore. Temperatures are expected to break 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday, with scattered thunderstorms also set to bring showers prior to the grand prix.

Lewis Hamilton is looking comfortable at the top of the championship table, leading teammate Nico Rosberg by a whopping 53 points after victory at Monza a fortnight ago. With the final race in Abu Dhabi now only a couple of months away, the wheels would surely have to fall off Hamilton's campaign (quite literally) for anyone to close the gap...

Putting the near-certainty of the title’s destination to one side, here are six things you need to know before the weekend.

Make that very smoggy.

Concerns about the quality of the air in Singapore have grown in recent days as pollution levels continue to fluctuate, sometimes peaking in the ‘very unhealthy’ region of the scale authorities use to measure the severity of the haze.

The situation changes from hour to hour, which makes predicting what the conditions will be like at the weekend a difficult task. Officials don’t expect the grand prix to be disrupted as things stand, although a number of other sporting events were called off last weekend.

Fans will be able to buy face masks at the circuit for a quid or so, and anyone going to the race can check for smog updates here.

His name is Alexander Rossi, and he will be taking the seat of Manor driver Roberto Merhi for five of this season’s remaining seven grands prix. The 23-year-old American will make his first appearance this weekend in Singapore, and will also feature in Japan, the US, Mexico and Brazil.

Merhi is still set to race in Russia and Abu Dhabi, while Will Stevens’ position remains unchanged.

After securing the drive, Rossi said: "Singapore is a circuit I really enjoy and the timing of my debut could not be more perfect. There's a lot of work ahead and I'm looking forward to a busy end to the 2015 season."

Financial factors are likely to be behind the change in driver line-up, with Manor the smallest outfit on the grid in Formula One.

The partially axed Merhi confirmed that he was given the news after getting off the plane on Monday. "I want to say thank you to the team,” continued the Spaniard. “They have taken the decision which is better for them in the long run.”

The Venezuelan has declared that he wants to finish every remaining lap of 2015 after yet another non-finish in Monza last time out.

“It was another race I watched from our motor home,” grumbled the Lotus driver. “And that’s not how I want to spend my races.

“Looking to the future, the Italian Grand Prix was the last one of the European season so the last one with our motor home. Hopefully I enjoy the remaining seven races of the season for every lap behind the wheel of my race car.”

While not all of Pastor’s retirements have been entirely his fault, his record for the year currently looks like this: DNF, DNF, DNF, 15^th, DNF, DNF, 7^th, 7^th, DNF, 14^th, DNF, DNF.

Maldonado’s words come a week after former Red Bull driver Mark Webber heavily criticised him, saying that there were too many drivers paying to be in F1: "Pastor, for example, saying 'I haven't made my decision yet where I'm going'. What other sports work like that?” slammed Webber. “If you're not performing, mate, on your bike, get out of here.”

Burn.

In the promotional push for his new book Aussie Grit, Mark Webber also said that closed cockpits in F1 are now “inevitable” in the aftermath of Jules Bianchi’s death earlier this year.

"I am a purist but I'd like to see them closed,” said the 39-year-old. "In 10 years it probably will be there so let's just bring it forward and find a way that is elegant and safe for extraction. There's enough experts to make that happen."

Webber was teammates with Justin Wilson – the IndyCar driver who lost his life after being struck by debris last month – at Jaguar in the last five races of the 2003 F1 season.

Williams’ Rob Smedley is also in favour of the change, provided that drivers are still “able to exit from the car in all cases.”

“That probably is the biggest engineering challenge,” he said. “But that shouldn't stop us doing it.”

Well, maybe.

The world champ – who is no stranger to a recording studio – has been filmed in a night club in New York, letting loose on the microphone with a few vocals of his own. Any good? Judge for yourself.

A place where Lewis’s talents are not in dispute is out on the track, where the championship leader is one victory away from exactly matching Ayrton Senna’s record of 41 wins from 161 race starts.

Hamilton said he “honestly couldn't believe it,” when he was informed of the stat. “I didn't know that the whole nine years what course I was on.

"Naturally it feels pretty amazing. That was my goal as a kid. It may or may not happen and there is still a serious challenge ahead of me but I'm just grateful to have the opportunity."

They are behind the scenes anyway.

After a close (and albeit trivial) battle at the rear of the pack, Fernando Alonso has said that he would prefer to have Jenson Button as his teammate again next season, as McLaren prepare to decide who will partner the Spaniard in 2016.

“I think Jenson has been quite good all season and we have been working together very closely to help the team,” says Fernando. “The experience Jenson comes with has been very important for the upgrades that we have brought to the car, so if Jenson stays I think it will be a good thing for the team.”

Reserve driver Kevin Magnussen said last month that there was “no way in hell” he’d accept another year without full-time racing, claiming he’d “move on and do something else” if nothing came his way.

With rookies Stoffel Vandoorne and Oliver Turvey also on McLaren’s radar, Magnussen could pursue a drive at the new Haas F1 team next year. Eric Boullier has confirmed that they “would never stop him from racing somewhere else" if the 22-year-old wanted to leave.

They could always do a Sauber and sign all five of them...