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After racing on
the shores of the Caspian Sea, Formula 1 again tackles a street circuit,
this time in the City-State of Singapore, just 140 kilometres North of the
equator, the imaginary line that separates the northern and southern
hemispheres.
The shift a long way south from Baku means a big change
in two elements of the weather, namely humidity and temperature. The former
is usually above 70%, while the temperature which remains more or less the
same in winter and summer, fluctuates between 24 and 31°C. This makes the
Singapore weekend one of the most physically demanding for the drivers, who
can lose up to three kilos in weight during the race, aggravated by the
twisty nature of the track which offers little respite when at the wheel.
The Singapore Grand Prix was the very first to be run entirely at night
since its inception in 2008, with the race starting at 8pm local time. This
means that everyone involved can effectively stay on European time, thus at
least eliminating the problem of jetlag.
Once again for this round,
there’s a special edition of the Pirelli Podium Cap, produced by Pirelli
Design with the creative contribution of designer Denis Dekovic. It is
magenta in colour, capturing the intensity and vitality for which this race
in Asia is famous. The Podium Cap is already available for purchase on the
dedicated e-commerce platform (https://store.pirelli.com/).
The compounds
Pirelli has made no changes since last year for the dry weather compounds at
the Marina Bay circuit, with the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as
Soft. Although there exists the softer still C6, when the compounds for the
second part of the season were announced during the Hungarian Grand Prix
weekend, evaluations carried out before the summer break ruled out the
softest tyre in the 2025 range, because the forces exerted on the tyres and
the high temperatures at this event might have created some overheating
issues. In fact, in this race, thermal stress is the main cause of tyre
performance degradation.
Medium and Hard will clearly be the
compounds of choice for the race, but the Soft could come into play for any
driver wanting to make the most of its extra grip at the start, or if
there’s a Safety Car period towards the end of the race. Modifications made
to the track layout a couple of years ago mean overtaking is a bit easier,
although obviously, it is still rather complicated to get past another car.
Therefore, being able to call on the big performance difference between
relatively new Softs and Mediums or Hards that have done many laps, could be
a factor to bear in mind.
In 2024
The Medium was the most popular choice for the start with 14 drivers going
for the C4, while four went with the Hard and two the Soft. The flexibility
of the Medium meant there were several possibilities in terms of when to
make the only tyre change, as the one-stop strategy was, as usual, clearly
the fastest choice. Traffic and tyre management allowed drivers to extend
the opening stint, in the most extreme case to 49 laps. Last year’s race was
one of the very few at this track not to have required the Safety Car to put
in an appearance.
The
track
Marina Bay is one of the twistiest circuits on the calendar, its 4.940
kilometres featuring 19 corners since modifications made in 2023 reduced the
number from 23. This was done by putting a 400 metre-long straight into the
section after turn 16. The track surface has the same characteristics as the
neighbouring city streets, with very low roughness, while the many road
markings can pose an additional hazard in the rain. There is not much in the
way of run-off areas and the barriers are very close, even though, in parts
the track is actually quite wide.
There are four DRS zones, but as
mentioned, overtaking is generally a rarity. The increase in the pit lane
speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h should have a significant effect on strategy,
with a one-stop almost obligatory.
Variables that are hard to predict
include neutralisations and the weather, which at the Equator is highly
changeable. Thunderstorms are far from uncommon and the rain can wash away
the rubber laid down, which resets track conditions, thus influencing tyre
performance.
Keyword: Darkness
The Singapore Grand Prix was
Formula 1’s first night race, a feature later imitated by a few other
events, the most recent addition to the calendar being Las Vegas. The Marina
Bay circuit therefore had to pioneer the significant technology required to
light up the track and ensure the best possible visibility for drivers on
track. The particular challenge is dealing with light reflecting off the
track surface and onto visors, thus making it difficult to pinpoint exact
braking points. Usually with night races, the temperature during the actual
race is lower than that seen in other sessions held earlier in the day.
However, in Singapore this is hardly the case because the latitude here
means the difference in temperature from day to night is almost negligible.
Whereas in other night races such as those in the deserts of Abu Dhabi and
Jeddah the difference is much more pronounced.
Statistics Corner
There have been 15 editions of the Singapore Grand Prix to date and in ten
of them, or two thirds, the winner has started from pole position. It shows
just how important is qualifying, especially if a comparison is made with
Monaco where 46.48% of the races have been won from pole. Only in the very
first year in 2008, has the winner come from a position lower than fifth.
Fernando Alonso started from 15th, but that race featured a completely
chaotic sequence of events.
The most successful driver in Singapore
is Sebastian Vettel with five wins, followed by Lewis Hamilton on four.
Seven drivers have shared all the wins here and four of them will be on
track this weekend. Unusually, Max Verstappen is not one of them, as he is
yet to break his duck at Marina Bay. Not only has he never won, he has never
taken pole, although he has made it to the podium on three occasions. Of the
teams, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull lead the way on four wins apiece. When
it comes to pole positions, Vettel and Hamilton top the table on four, with
Ferrari the clear leader among the teams with seven. The German driver also
has the most podium finishes on eight, ahead of Hamilton on seven and Alonso
on five. Red Bull leads the teams with 15 ahead of Ferrari on 11, while
Mercedes and McLaren are third equal on seven. |
