This is a low grip street race run at night, and track temperature is the whole story. Cold asphalt makes tyres slow to switch on, which turns out laps, restarts and opening corners into the most error prone moments of the weekend. Long straights and heavy braking keep overtaking genuinely possible, so track position matters less than at most street circuits, while walls and debris keep the probability of a safety car high.
The event is a round of the Formula 1 world championship, run to the usual weekend pattern of practice, qualifying and the grand prix, with points for drivers and constructors. It falls among the final rounds of the year, so championship permutations and the constructors' prize money are usually still open.
Running is scheduled very late in local terms, and the air keeps cooling through each session, so data gathered early in the evening has aged by the time the race starts. The surface is ordinary public road outside the event, so it improves quickly once cars rubber it in and the quickest laps usually come at the end of a session. Teams also trim downforce for the straights and then pay for it in the slower corners, where brakes and tyres cool on the way there.