Singapore Grand Prix

Singapore Grand Prix

Marina Bay Street Circuit
Race information
Number of times held	16
First held	1966
Most wins (drivers)	Sebastian Vettel (4)
Most wins (constructors)	Red Bull (3)
Circuit length	5.065 km (3.147 mi)
Race length	308.828 km (191.897 mi)
Laps	61
Last race (2015)
Pole position
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:43.885
Podium
1. S. Vettel Ferrari 2:01:22.118 2. D. Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault +1.478s 3. K. Räikkönen Ferrari +17.154s
Fastest lap
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1:50.041

The Singapore Grand Prix is a motor race on the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The event takes place in Singapore on the Marina Bay Street Circuit and was the inaugural F1 night race^[1][2] and the first street circuit in Asia.^[3] Spaniard Fernando Alonso won the first Formula One edition of the Grand Prix, driving for the Renault team amid controversial circumstances, when a year later it had emerged that his team mate Nelson Piquet Jr. had been ordered to crash on purpose by senior team management to bring out the safety car at a timely moment to catapult Alonso to the head of the line. The Singapore Grand Prix will remain on the F1 calendar until at least 2017, after race organizers signed a contract extension with Formula One Management on the eve of the 2012 event.^[4] Every running of the race has featured at least one safety car, a total of 12 safety car deployments since 2008.^[5] The running of the race under artificial lights sees the race start at 2 pm CET (8 pm local time), which is the standard time for European Grands Prix, as well as moderating the extreme daytime apparent temperature seen in the tropical climate. Even so, given the race is held just about 172 km from the equator,^[6] the cockpit temperature can reach 60 °C (140 °F).^[7]

History

Origins

First organised in 1961, the race was initially known as the Orient Year Grand Prix.^[8] The following year, the race was renamed the Malaysian Grand Prix.^[8] After Singapore attained its independence in 1965, the race at the Thomson Road circuit was renamed to the Singapore Grand Prix. The event was discontinued after 1973 and a variety of reasons have been suggested, including an increase in traffic, the very high danger and unsuitability of the track for racing, the inconvenience of having to close roads for the event and fatal accidents during the 1972 and 1973 races.^[9]

Formula One

An agreement for a five-year deal was signed by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, the Singapore Tourism Board and Bernie Ecclestone.^[1] In November 2007 it was announced that the telecommunications company SingTel would sponsor the event, and also they televised the show on Channel 5 called SingTel Grid Girls. The official name of the event became the Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.^[3] The race was co-funded by the Government of Singapore, footing 60% of the total bill, or S$90 million, out of a total tab of S$150 million.^[10]

Around 110,000 tickets were made available for the country's first Formula One race. Corporate hospitality suites and packages went on sale at the end November 2007, three-day passes to the public went on sale in February 2008. Single-day passes went on sale a month later.^[11] The event went on to achieve a full sell-out for all of its tickets.^[12]

The 2008 race hosted the famous Amber Lounge after party and in 2010 Singapore became the second location to host the Amber Lounge Fashion show.

The first race held at the new Marina Bay Street Circuit was the 15th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, and was also the first night-time event in Formula One history.^[2] The timing of the night event meant that it could be broadcast live at a convenient time for European TV audiences.^[1] The track was also illuminated by a series of projectors which adapt their output to match the shape of the course.^[13] The race was won by Fernando Alonso driving for the Renault team, however that result has since been tarnished by controversy.

For the 2009 race, the circuit was reprofiled slightly, including modifications to turns 1, 2 and 3 to aid overtaking, and also at turn 10 where high kerbs caused many accidents in 2008.^[14]

On 22 September 2012, the AP reported that Bernie Ecclestone and the Singapore Grand Prix agreed that the Grand Prix will remain on the Formula One calendar through the year of 2017.^[15]

For the 2013 race, it was announced that the 10th turn of the track, the "Singapore Sling" chicane, will be reconfigured so the cars will have to navigate a flowing left-hander before accelerating towards the Anderson Bridge.^[16]

On 15 April 2014, it was announced that Singapore Airlines would sponsor the Singapore Grand Prix, starting from that year.^[17]

During the 2015 race a spectator entered the track on the straight after Anderson Bridge, as leaders Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo sped by. Given that he crossed the track, the accident probability was high, but he climbed over the fencing himself when the safety car was deployed. Eventual race winner Vettel described the man as 'crazy' in his post-race interview.^[18] The 27-year-old man was arrested by Singapore police after the incident. CCTV footage showed he had sneaked through a gap in the fencing.^[19] Considering Tom Pryce had lost his life at Kyalami in 1977 after being hit in the head by a stricken marshals' fire extinguisher, such collisions also pose tremendous dangers to drivers. Therefore, the glitch that allowed the trespassing was regarded with great concern.

Track description

Although the track has seen some minor changes as seen above, the basic layout has in many aspects remained unchanged. It is a twisty circuit that is the slowest in Formula One running at normal race distance above 305 kilometres (190 mi), which combined with its features of proximity to walls leads to frequent safety cars, further extending the running to nearing the race time limit of two hours.^[20] The bumpiness, the heavy braking zones, the lack of daylight and the humidity makes the race very testing for both drivers and cars. It has some 90-degree turns, but is pretty variable in that aspect, featuring technical sections with quick direction changes as well. Overtaking is primarily done at the end of the first sector, where top speeds are at their highest. Runoff areas exist at the end of the long straightaways, but are very short by Formula One standards. At most parts of the track, cars run very close to the walls. At the end of the race, fountains light up the night and with the winner in a fireworks picture.

Winners

Multiple winners (drivers)

Embolded drivers are still competing in the Formula One championship.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Number of wins	Driver	Years won
4	Sebastian Vettel	2011, 2012, 2013, 2015
3	Graeme Lawrence	1969, 1970, 1971
2	Fernando Alonso	2008, 2010
	Lewis Hamilton	2009, 2014

Multiple winners (constructors)

Embolded teams are still competing in the Formula One championship.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Number of wins	Constructor	Years won
3	Red Bull	2011, 2012, 2013
	Ferrari	1970, 2010, 2015
2	McLaren	1969, 2009

By year

Events which were not part of the Formula One World Championship are indicated by a pink background.

Year	Driver	Constructor	Class	Location	Report
2015	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Formula One	Marina Bay	Report
2014	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Formula One		Report
2013	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	Formula One		Report
2012	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	Formula One		Report
2011	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	Formula One		Report
2010	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Formula One		Report
2009	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	Formula One		Report
2008	Fernando Alonso	Renault	Formula One		Report
2007 – 1974	Not held
1973	Vern Schuppan	March-Hart	Formula Libre	Thomson Road	Report
1972	Max Stewart	Mildren–Waggott	Formula Libre		Report
1971	Graeme Lawrence	Brabham-Ford	Formula Libre		Report
1970	Graeme Lawrence	Ferrari	Formula Libre		Report
1969	Graeme Lawrence	McLaren-Ford	Formula Libre		Report
1968	Garrie Cooper	Elfin–Ford	Formula Libre		Report
1967	Rodney Seow	Merlyn–Ford	Formula Libre		Report
1966	Lee Han Seng	Lotus-Ford	Formula Libre		Report

Sponsors

• 2008–2013: Singapore Telecom Singapore Grand Prix
• 2014–2017: Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix

Concerns

Before the first modern race took place, Malaysian Sports Minister Azalina Othman Said said that the proximity of the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, which hosts the Malaysian Grand Prix and is about 300 kilometres from Singapore, would create unhealthy competition.^[21] The Malaysian Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Liow Tiong Lai stated that the Malaysian Government is unconcerned about possible competition from Singapore.^[22]

Gallery

• 

  Bird's eye view of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with construction of the Integrated Resort in the background

• 

  Same view of the circuit, circa 2012

• 

  Esplanade stretch of the Marina Bay Street Circuit

• 

  Kimi Räikkönen driving for Ferrari

• 

  Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen of Renault and McLaren respectively

Track layouts

• 

  The Original Marina Bay circuit with the "Singapore Sling" chicane (used 2008-2012).

• 

  Revised circuit with the "Singapore Sling" chicane removed (used 2013-2014).

Further reading

• Solomon, Eli (2008). Snakes & Devils: A History of the Singapore Grand Prix (Hard cover). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-981-261-584-8. 
• De Cotta, Ian (2008). The Singapore Grand Prix – 50 Years in the Making. Singapore: MediaCorp Pte Ltd. ISBN 978-981-08-1341-3. 
• Davison, Julian (September 2008). "Gambling For Matchsticks" (PDF). The Expat. pp. 49–58. 

See also

• Marina Bay Street Circuit
• Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Singapore Grand Prix.

• Singapore Grand Prix Official Website