Singapore – The delights of a starry night

« Singapore presents many unique challenges, including being a night race »

Williams’ technical director, Pat Symonds, is setting the tone well for this Grand Prix. Leaving the European stages and the temple of Monza to enter the final part of the season starting with the Marina Bay circuit, we are not just making a big geographical leap. Indeed, where the Italian Grand Prix demands speed and very little downforce, the Grand Prix of the Malaysian peninsula requires much more downforce and mechanical grip. The transition is therefore one of extremes, he adds, between these two weekends, complicating the task for teams and drivers to achieve a competitive car.

Singapore, a passion for automobile racing since its inception.

Southeast Asian island, wedged between Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south, the Republic of Singapore officially began its romance with Formula 1 in November 2007, when Bernie Ecclestone himself announced the signing of a first contract for the organization of a Grand Prix, held entirely at night.

However, Singapore did not wait until that year to distinguish itself in the world of motorsport. As early as 1961, the Lion City (as it is sometimes nicknamed) organized a race known as the Grand Prix d’Orient. At the time under Malaysian control, the competition was held on a temporary track near a nature reserve located in the city center. After gaining independence in 1965, the race was renamed the Singapore Grand Prix; it enjoyed great success, with more than 100,000 spectators gathering behind the barriers to witness the feats of various champions, mostly Asian or Australian. In 1972, it even set a participation record with 430 drivers spread over 15 different races!

This event will disappear the following year, due to various dramatic accidents and an inability to meet safety requirements along the “Thomson Road Circuit,” the details of which you can discover alongside.

An innovative contemporary design but terribly demanding

After many years of prohibition, the rise of the neighboring Grand Prix in Sepang from 1999 inspired the idea of a new race, marked this time by the seal of Formula 1. The first race in history was therefore held on September 28, 2008, at the Marina Bay site, at the southern tip of the island this time. From the very first edition, the drivers raced entirely at night, which pleased the various European broadcasters, as the start was given at 2 PM, Paris time (8 PM, local time).

For this, the circuit was illuminated by a multitude of powerful projectors: 1,600 in total, with an estimated total power of over 3 million watts!

In the wake of the first edition, the track was successively modified. The curbs, like at the tenth turn, had to be planed down to prevent accidents. This same turn was completely reconfigured in 2013. From a tight chicane, drivers now go through a much faster left curve, just before taking the very narrow Anderson Bridge.

Spanning 5.065 kilometers, the Singapore street circuit still holds the record for the number of corners on the calendar, with a staggering 23 turns! It is very intense, both for the machines and the drivers (with high humidity and a temperature reaching around 60 degrees inside the cockpit!), and it’s the second slowest of the entire season behind Monaco. Raced on a bumpy surface, the Singapore track is full of traps, like the white lines drawn for daily road traffic, but which can easily catch drivers off guard when braking! Nevertheless, it has a beautiful mix of 90-degree corners and faster curves that leave no room for doubt. There are very few run-off areas, and like on the famous Côte d’Azur circuit, the walls are never too far away! It often comes very close to the two-hour race limit: out of the eight races held, three have officially reached the 120-minute duration (2012, 2014 & 2015), with the overall average being just under 1 hour and 59 minutes!

Consequently, the race can delight strategists along the pit wall. But one must always consider the extreme length of the pit lane: 404 meters!

A union that began with controversy.

Due to Renault and its controversial director at the time, Flavio Briatore, Singapore made a sensational entry into the Formula 1 world! And for good reason: back at the top, Fernando Alonso benefited from a suspiciously timed crash by his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr., allowing for a well-timed pit stop. Starting 15th, the double world champion seized an unexpected victory in his car, which was in poor condition at the time. Fired by Renault in mid-2009, Piquet revealed the scheme, and his former team was brought before the international authority of Formula 1 to answer for cheating. Found guilty, the Renault team was fined and received a suspended ban from the premier discipline! With its reputation tarnished for a long time, this act led to the departures of the former Benetton director as well as the director of the engine department, the equally famous Pat Symonds.

Subsequently, pure and simple sport resumed its rights in Singapore, notably with a new victory for Fernando Alonso in 2010, this time driving a Ferrari. But the master of the venue remains Sebastian Vettel, who climbed to the highest step of the podium 4 times, three times for Red Bull (2011, 2012, and 2013) and once in 2015, for his last victory to date driving a Ferrari. The most recent edition was marked by the unusual entry of a spectator during the race on Sunday. Crossing the track at the Anderson Bridge, this caused the Safety Car to be deployed for several laps.

Mercedes in a position of weakness?

Dominant for the rest of the season, the W07 is certainly not the ideal car for the technical urban circuits. This was evident at the last Monaco Grand Prix where the pole position went to Daniel Ricciardo, before he lost a likely victory during the race due to a mistake by his team during the tire change. The only race the German team did not win in /f1/actualite/21303-italie-course-la-bonne-affaire-de-rosberg-.html was in Barcelona due to the drivers’ self-elimination. It was Red Bull’s error in Monaco that handed the victory to Lewis Hamilton. Expectations are that this weekend, the Mercedes may not be the most complete car for the Marina Bay circuit. The 2015 edition raised significant doubts within the team, as Hamilton and Rosberg were respectively relegated 1″415 and “1”530 from Vettel’s pole position and started only in 5th and 6th place. The situation worsened during the race on Sunday, with Nico Rosberg finishing seven seconds behind Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire due to an accelerator problem. However, rivals of the benchmark team can rest assured, as it seems Toto Wolff has understood what went wrong last year, even though the issue has never really been publicly addressed.

No favorites but many contenders

If doubt hovers over the Mercedes, they should not be quickly dismissed given the audacity with which they dominated all the teams in Italy. But for Lewis Hamilton himself: *”Ferrari and Red Bull will be in the mix, I’m sure, we will have to fight if we are at the front.”* Although not the favorites for this Grand Prix, the Silver Arrows will be contenders in the battle for victory, perhaps with less carbon broken than in Barcelona or Spielberg, the only times the Briton and the German have crossed paths in a race this season. It should be noted here that Nico Rosberg has caught up with Lewis Hamilton after his last victory [at Monza](#), as shown in the overall driver standings [here](#).

As the defending champion in Singapore, Sebastian Vettel will attempt to replicate the 2015 feat at the wheel of his Ferrari. Even though Scuderia has not achieved the results it hoped for this season and even though Red Bull leads the Constructors’ standings, the Reds are giving their Austrian rival a hard time and closing the gap between the teams in the championship since the resumption. However, Ferrari’s Achilles’ heel is tire management, and the Singapore Grand Prix precisely hinges on the exploitation and management of this parameter.

Moreover, Red Bull logically completes the triangle of contenders for victory. The Austrian car seems to be the most flexible and agile on urban tracks, which is essential to tackle the 23 corners of the Marina Bay circuit. After nearly making a good deal in Monaco, Daniel Ricciardo in particular will be eager to impose himself decisively to forget Red Bull’s mistake. Max Verstappen should join the fight, hopefully, because despite his lively race in Belgium, his results have not matched those from the first part of the season. The discussion he had with Charlie Whiting on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix seems to have affected him more than all the declarations directed at him from the paddock actors. The Belgian storm should be over now, and seeing him return to business smoothly can only delight the spectators of the premier discipline.

100% safety car intervention

Astonishing statistic: at every edition of the Singapore Grand Prix since its return to the calendar in 2008, the safety car has had to be deployed following a race incident. This weekend should be no exception. The most attentive and reactive drivers can gain an advantage, much like Hamilton and Alonso did at Spa-Francorchamps, starting from the last row and finishing third and fifth, respectively. Just like in Monaco, the urban layout, which is quite narrow in some areas, leaves little room for the drivers and also limits the marshals’ intervention for clearing the track.

To (really) know everything…

61 Grand Prix contested between 1991 and 1995, the former McLaren driver Mark Blundell will be the chief steward of this night race. A recognized driver, the Englishman distinguished himself with the trifle of three podiums, including two in 1993 for the Ligier team, at Hockenheim and on the former South African circuit of Kyalami.

But also in Endurance, with a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1992, still for a French team: Peugeot Sport. Since then, English spectators have had the opportunity to see him behind the microphone, as a presenter for the ITV channel, which broadcast Formula 1 until 2008.

Regarding the DRS zones, two are as usual on the program. The first detection point will be placed at the exit of the fourth corner, for activation between turns 5 and 7, a straight line interrupted by a slight curve from left to right, usually very bumpy. The second detection point, meanwhile, will be positioned just before the final sequence, starting at the 22nd corner. Drivers will thus be able to open the DRS once more, this time on the start/finish line of this street circuit.

On the tire front, Pirelli will provide the ultra-softs this weekend, as well as the super-softs and softs. You can find the individual choices made by the drivers to navigate the track at night in the list provided by the Italian manufacturer.

What tyre did #F1 teams order for the #F1NightRace? https://t.co/dQmIGZwBat #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/VYqDn9OmZH

— Pirelli Motorsport (@Pirellisport) September 6

172 kilometers south of the Equator, Singapore does not escape the tropical climate! Often spared by the rain, weather forecasts indicate a risk of showers induced by the monsoon, which is gradually starting to hit Southeast Asia at this time of year. However, since the rains mostly fall in the middle of the day, the different sessions, taking place in the second part of the day, might not be penalized.

Don’t forget the TV schedule!

As is customary in Singapore, the various sessions take place at an almost classic time for European viewers.

For this weekend, non-subscribers will note that Canal+ will broadcast the Formula One show unencrypted for 25 minutes this Sunday evening. Tune in for this from 6:50 PM to 7:15 PM, before a second part is broadcast encrypted on Canal+Sport.

Note: As for the reruns, watch the qualifications again on Saturday afternoon at 7:15 PM on Canal + Sport.

As for the race, watch its replay on Monday at 11:05 am on Canal + Sport.