The circuit has responded by improving drainage at a number of corners, and moving the crane at turn seven, where Bianchi crashed. But the accident has left a scar.
At 10am local time on Friday morning, the drivers had to put all those awful memories to the back of their minds and get on with the job at hand.
The fanatical Japanese fans had to wait for a little while in the rain before the cars tentatively emerged. The Williams had a few hairy moments on intermediate tyres while everyone else proceeded cautiously with the full wets.
Valtteri Bottas had a particularly heart-in-your-mouth incident going through the famous 130R, taken at 200mph in the dry. His Williams wobbled violently and the Finn took to the run-off area.
In the end only 12 drivers set a time. The forecast varies but most expect it to be dry for the next two days, so there was little to be gained by trundling around in the wet.
Sebastian Vettel celebrates victory at Singapore
Carlos Sainz ended the session fastest, half a second quicker than Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, one place behind Vettel.
Afternoon practice was more of the same. Kvyat topped the early running from Rosberg and Hamilton, before the rain worsened. Fernando Alonso, who had to sit out the first hour while McLaren changed his engine – for about the umpteenth time this season – was the only one to brave the conditions.
Rosberg went out again with 15 minutes to go but did not improve. The teams were left hoping for some dry weather in final practice on Saturday morning.