Formula One is headed to the Lion City’s Marina Bay Street Circuit to compete under the twinkling stars and lights for the Singapore Grand Prix. It’s a young track by F1 standards, but one already with some notoriety.
The Singapore GP debuted in 2008 as the sport’s first race under floodlights, but the race was quickly tainted by the “Crashgate” scandal (which returned to the news last year). The Marina Bay track layout is tight and twisty, leaving little room for error as the 20 drivers zip through the streets. It’s fairly hard on the brakes, and changes were made ahead of the 2023 edition of the race, cutting the number of corners down from 23 to 19.
More alterations have been made ahead of the 2024 grand prix. To help address the trickiness of overtaking, a fourth DRS zone has been added between Turns 14 and 16. Resurfacing continues in multiple areas of the circuit. Marina Bay Street circuit uses public roads, so the question is how bumpy it will be after the resurfacing.
Initially designed by the renowned Hermann Tilke (whose CV includes circuits in Jeddah, Baku, Austin and Abu Dhabi) and refined by KBR Inc., the track presents a physical challenge for the drivers and teams because of Singapore’s hot and humid tropical climate. And though the race is held in Asia, the paddock operates on European time — meaning inverted sleep schedules.
“You need to put a lot of work into the car to get a good lap,” Lewis Hamilton said in 2008. “I’d say it requires double the energy of Monaco over a single lap. One lap around here is like two laps of Monaco.”
Before F1 hops into the thick of the sticky Singapore night, here’s what you need to know about the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Specs
Making the night race happen
“If you survive Singapore, you’re fit for anything else in Formula One.”
Sainz isn’t wrong. The Singapore Grand Prix is one of F1’s most physically and mentally challenging races — all happening under the floodlights. Lighting systems are used all around the streets to mimic daytime conditions, and in turn, the paddock operates on European time. Trackside personnel (drivers, team, media, etc.) will go to bed at around dawn and wake up in the early afternoon. It’s odd that the paddock is out of sync with the local community, but the timing is ideal for the global audience.
This ‘in limbo’ aspect isn’t the only quirky part about making this grand prix happen; it’s also navigating the hot and humid conditions. Many fans have seen drivers using stationary bikes in saunas to prepare for the heat, though not every driver does this. Because of the sweltering weather, drivers lose up to three kilograms (6.6 pounds) in body weight during the race, and the physical demand makes it that much more difficult, all components challenging their focus.
“You have to stay super alert because you have to drive full speed between the walls, need to be extremely precise where you put the car, and that’s usually where it gets tough, where you’ve got to be still at the limit of the car playing with centimeters having lost quite a few pounds or liters inside your body,” Pierre Gasly said in 2022. “So that’s definitely the biggest challenge of the year.”
The Singapore GP is known as F1s most demanding race.
Our drivers are put to the test but always with support from our friends at @Myprotein.#DrivenByMyprotein pic.twitter.com/cCr5GibBqw
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 18, 2024
And the obstacles don’t stop there. The Singapore Grand Prix is one of the longest races on the calendar by time, given the low average speeds, and can become processional on Sundays because of the track’s tight nature. There are a few overtaking opportunities, like Turn 1 (though it’s still difficult there), but the slightest mistake can send a driver into the wall.
“It just drains you a lot mentally and physically, and not making any mistakes, performing at the level you’ve got to perform at, is where it becomes a bigger challenge,” Lando Norris said in 2023. “Also, from that point, one of the coolest tracks I would say to race, to put everything together, the curves, the bumps, it’s a very fun track to drive. I’ve always loved it, that’s why I look forward to it so much.”
Tinkering with the layout
The Marina Bay Street Circuit layout underwent a significant change last year.
Near the end of the lap, Turns 16-19 used to run under a grandstand. They were re-aligned ahead of the 2023 race to form a longer straight, decreasing the number of corners from 23 to 19. With the circuit length decreasing, the Singapore Grand Prix increased the number of laps by one.
“I feel it’s definitely a bit less intense,” Nico Hülkenberg said in 2023. “It’s a few seconds in a straight line rather than grip-limited zones and walls where you really tip-toe with the car and the walls. It could change a little bit, but it still isn’t going to be a walk in the park.”
Swapping the nearly 90-degree turns for a straight should make things a tad easier on the brake systems and the tires. Pirelli sent the softest compounds of tires (C3 for the hard tire, C4 for medium, and C5 for the softs), which degrade quicker than the harder range, and it opted to do so again in 2024.
As long as a race isn’t neutralized, the one-stop strategy is the best option because of the amount of time a driver loses with a tire change (roughly 28 seconds, assuming it’s a well-executed stop) and overtaking has been quite difficult. Drivers try to extend their first stint, and DRS trains do emerge. A fourth DRS zone between Turns 14 and 16 was added ahead of the 2024 race to help facilitate overtaking.
Speaking of DRS, who can forget how Carlos Sainz used it to secure the only non-Red Bull win of the 2023 season?
A debut to remember
The championship battle between McLaren and Ferrari was tense heading into the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
Given the hype around the historic weekend and the ongoing battle, Singapore looked poised to succeed as the race weekend progressed. Racing under the floodlights didn’t seem as big of a factor as many fans may expect, and the track was a hit for the paddock. But the landmark grand prix soon became known for Crashgate.
To simplify a complicated controversy: Renault’s Fernando Alonso secured the first victory despite qualifying 15th after his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed and shuffled the grid order.
Piquet Jr. later revealed that he had purposely crashed, on team orders, and a subsequent investigation led to punishments for multiple Renault team personnel. The race impacted the championship battle, which Massa eventually lost to Hamilton by one point.
Massa filed a lawsuit in March, naming Formula One Management (FOM), former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) as the defendants. It is an unprecedented legal move within the world of F1; however, there are legal precedents from other cases. Massa’s lawsuit seeks more than $80 million in damages and, among other things, “a declaration that the FIA acted in breach of its own regulations in failing to investigate the circumstances of the Crash promptly in 2008.”
Halving its energy emissions by 2028
F1’s push to be net zero by 2030 presents unique challenges for each circuit as different markets vary in resources and what is actually possible for that community.
Take the Singapore Grand Prix, a race under the lights and stars, for example. Race organizers conducted their first carbon footprint report and discovered that energy made up 96.1% of the 2022 emissions, while 3.9% came from water, transport and waste. Based on the results, changes are being made, starting with the 2023 race.
A feasibility trial occurred during the 2023 grand prix where diesel fuel was substituted with renewable fuel options, like Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). The use of R100 HVO was increased, specifically with power generators in Zone 1, and according to F1, there was an impact. Scope 1 emissions from combustion fuels dropped 40.97 percent.
Other sustainability-focused measures were taken ahead of the 2023 grand prix. Solar panels were installed on top of the pit building by the Singapore Tourism Board earlier in 2023, and the track lights have been replaced with “energy-efficient LED lights.” According to F1, the track light change reduced energy use by at least 30 percent. Over 100 water-efficient solar-powered toilets were used, saving roughly 129,600 liters of water throughout the 2023 race weekend.
Circuit Curiosities
- The older, iconic Singapore Sling chicane — which Hamilton described in 2010 as the “worst corner I’ve ever driven in Formula One” — was removed in 2013 due to safety concerns. There was a fear that if a car was out of control and hit the curbs just right, the vehicle would go airborne. Though the curbs were lowered numerous times, race organizers eventually changed the corner entirely.
- Sebastian Vettel has won the most Singapore Grands Prix (five). Hamilton has the most wins (four) among active drivers.
- Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are tied for the most wins here by a constructor (four each).
This is an updated version of a story that first ran in September 2023.
(Lead image: Mario Renzi – Formula 1, Bryn Lennon – Formula 1, Clive Mason / Getty Images; Design: Drew Jordan, The Athletic)
