| Marina Bay Street Circuit | |
 | |
| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Number of times held | 24 |
| First held | 1966 |
| Most wins (drivers) |  Sebastian Vettel (5) |
| Most wins (constructors) |  FerrariMercedes (5) |
| Circuit length | 4.927 km (3.061 miles) |
| Race length | 305.337 km (189.727 miles) |
| Laps | 62 |
| Last race (2025) | |
| Pole position | |
| |
| Podium | |
| |
| Fastest lap | |
| |
TheSingapore Grand Prix[a] is a motor racing event which forms part of theFormula One World Championship. The event takes place on theMarina Bay Street Circuit and was the inaugural night race and first street circuit inAsia designed forFormula One races.[1][2][3]
The original Singapore Grand Prix was held at Thomson Road from 1966 to 1973, before returning to the calendar in 2008 at Marina Bay.Fernando Alonso won the inauguralFormula One edition of the renewed Grand Prix, driving for theRenault team amid controversial circumstances, when it emerged a year later that his teammateNelson Piquet Jr. had been ordered tocrash on purpose by senior team management to bring out thesafety car at a time chosen to benefit Alonso. The race was the 800thFormula One World Championship race since its inception in 1950, and the first everFormula One race held at night.
Until the2024 race, Marina Bay had featured at least one safety car in every race edition, with a total of 24 safety car deployments.[4][5][6] The Singapore Grand Prix has been considered to be one of the most challenging and unique tracks on the Formula One calendar.Sebastian Vettel has the most wins on the track, with five victories. In 2022, a contract extension was announced to put the race on the Formula One calendar until at least 2028.[7]
First organised in 1961, the race was initially known as theOrient Year Grand Prix, located at theThomson Road Grand Prix circuit.[8]
It was renamed to the Singapore Grand Prix in 1966, shortly after Singapore became a sovereign country in 1965. 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]
Announced in 2008, an agreement for a five-year deal was signed by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, theSingapore Tourism Board andBernie Ecclestone.[2] In November 2007, it was announced that thetelecommunications companySingtel would be the title sponsor of the event. The official name of the event became the Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.[1] The race was co-funded by theGovernment 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 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 newMarina Bay Street Circuit was the 15th round of the 2008FIAFormula One World Championship, and was also the first night-time event inFormula One history.[3] The timing of the night event also meant that it could be broadcast live at a convenient time for TV audiences outside of the Asia-Pacific.[2] The track was also illuminated by a series of projectors which adapt their output to match the shape of the course.[13] On track,Felipe Massa was the first man to sit on the Singapore pole in his Ferrari, and dominated the race until he was released early at a pit stop, breaking his fuel rig and dropping him to last place. The race was won byFernando Alonso driving for theRenault team, though that result has since been tarnished bycontroversy. Renault were found to have orderedNelson Piquet Jr. to crash, as the ensuing safety car would strongly benefit Alonso.
For the2009 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 in2008.[14]McLaren driver and reigning World ChampionLewis Hamilton took pole position and sprinted away to win.Timo Glock finished second forToyota, andFernando Alonso was third in the first race for Renault after they received a suspended disqualification from the sport for manipulating the previous year's race.
Fernando Alonso became the first man to win twice in Singapore. Now at Ferrari, he took pole and resistedRed Bull'sSebastian Vettel on his way to the 25th victory of his F1 career.Michael Schumacher, making his F1comeback in2010, struggled in his Mercedes and was 13th, whileHeikki Kovalainen leapt from his burningLotus T127, borrowed a fire extinguisher and put the fire out himself.
Sebastian Vettel, an eight-time winner in 2011 before Marina Bay, led the drivers' championship by over 100 points. He won the race from his 11th pole of the season. Vettel, Button, Webber, Alonso and Hamilton filled the top five places.Michael Schumacher again struggled as he slammed into theSauber ofSergio Pérez.
On 22 September 2012, the AP reported that Bernie Ecclestone and the Singapore Grand Prix had agreed that the Grand Prix would remain on the Formula One calendar until 2017.[15]Lewis Hamilton claimed his fifth pole of the season forMcLaren and his second in Singapore. A surprise visitor to the front row alongside him was theWilliams ofPastor Maldonado, but it wasSebastian Vettel's Red Bull that inherited the race lead when Hamilton pulled out with gearbox problems. Vettel then dedicated his 23rd Grand Prix win toSid Watkins, who had died shortly before the race.
For the 2013 race, it was announced that the 10th turn of the track, the "Singapore Sling" chicane, would be reconfigured so the cars would have to navigate a flowing left-hander before accelerating towards the Anderson Bridge.[16]
Sebastian Vettel took his third successive win in Singapore withRed Bull and the 33rd of his career as a fourth straight title also loomed. He did it from his second Singapore pole, recovering from the surprise of seeingNico Rosberg'sMercedes briefly ahead at race start to take victory by over half a minute.Fernando Alonso was on the podium yet again before stopping his Ferrari to pick upMark Webber, whose Red Bull was in flames at Turn 7.
On 15 April 2014, it was announced thatSingapore Airlines would sponsor the Singapore Grand Prix, starting from that year.[17]
F1's new-generation turbo-charged, hybrid-powered cars brought a new look to the track, ending the reign of the 2.4-litre power unit, but a controversial ban on radio communications dominated pre-race proceedings.Mercedes'sLewis Hamilton sailed to his seventh win of the year, becoming Singapore's third multiple winner in the process as teammateNico Rosberg retired with technical problems.Sebastian Vettel, bound forFerrari in 2015, finished second ahead of newRed Bull partnerDaniel Ricciardo.
Lewis Hamilton arrived in Singapore one pole position shy of his idolAyrton Senna's record run of eight in a row. Another win would also put Hamilton on 41 – the same number as Senna.Sebastian Vettel took his first Ferrari pole, then made it four wins at Marina Bay as Hamilton retired with a loss of electrical power just after half-distance.Daniel Ricciardo split the twoFerraris in second place, whileFormula One rookieMax Verstappen shouted 'No!' when told to move over forToro Rosso teammateCarlos Sainz.
During the2015 race a spectator entered the track on the straight after Anderson Bridge, as leadersSebastian Vettel andDaniel Ricciardo sped by. He climbed over the fencing 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]
Nico Rosberg was making his 200th Grand Prix start. He was locked in a two-man tussle for the title withMercedes teammateLewis Hamilton. Rosberg took pole position, and held offDaniel Ricciardo to win while Hamilton finished third. Rosberg went on to win the title.
On 19 June 2017, the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Geneva released its provisional 2018 calendar, in which the Singapore Grand Prix was given a tentative date of 16 September. At the time, the race (as well as the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai) were subject to confirmation by the commercial rights holders.[20] On the eve of the 2017 race, the track and F1 announced an extension for the race through 2021.[21] This race was a critical event in the season as polesitter and title contender, Sebastian Vettel, was involved in a first corner collision with Ferrari teammateKimi Räikkönen and Red Bull'sMax Verstappen, which led to the retirement of all three drivers. Vettel's title rival, Mercedes'sLewis Hamilton, took full advantage and won the race from 5th on the grid to extend his championship lead over Vettel from 3 points to 28.[22]
After a disappointing weekend inMonza,Ferrari arrived in Singapore with high hopes of a victory. However,Lewis Hamilton took pole position, ahead ofMax Verstappen and the Ferrari ofVettel. At the start, the twoRacing Point Force India drivers,Sergio Pérez andEsteban Ocon had an incident which resulted in Ocon retiring. Vettel overtook Verstappen right before the Safety Car was deployed. Vettel was the first of the front runners to pit, on lap 15. He was put on ultrasofttyres, while most other people who pitted during that time went for the softs. He exited behind Pérez but overtook him a lap later. Verstappen pitted for soft tyres on lap 18, and exited just in front of Vettel. Vettel, being on the higher wear ultrasofts, did not attack in order to make it to the end. On lap 34, Pérez had a clash withSergey Sirotkin which resulted in him getting a drive-through penalty. Sirotkin himself got a 5-second time penalty after forcingBrendon Hartley off the track.[23] Later on in the race, he was battling withRomain Grosjean as Hamilton and Verstappen approached to lap them. Instead of letting the leaders pass, Grosjean continued to attack Sirotkin, which allowed Verstappen to close the gap to Hamilton and nearly overtake him. The Frenchman was handed a 5-second penalty and 2 penalty points on his licence.[24] In the end Hamilton won, with Verstappen second and Vettel third,[25] increasing his championship lead over the German to 40 points.
Coming off a second consecutive victory for Ferrari under rising starCharles Leclerc, Ferrari was on course to continue their rise in form; after an early trip back to pit lane during FP1, Leclerc powered through to take pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. After making a pit stop, Leclerc lost the lead to his teammate Vettel and eventually Hamilton, who had gambled on an extended running time on the soft tyres and later came out behind both Ferrari drivers. For a brief moment, Antonio Giovinazzi led the race for the Alfa Romeo-Sauber team before being overtaken four laps later by Vettel. After Giovinazzi was passed by faster cars, three safety cars were called for the retirements ofGeorge Russell,Sergio Pérez andKimi Räikkönen. Ultimately, the podium consisted of Sebastian Vettel, who took his last career race win, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. This was Ferrari's first 1–2 finish since the2017 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Both the 2020 and 2021 iterations of the event were cancelled due to the globalCOVID-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions then-imposed by the Government of Singapore, on arriving foreign tourists.[26][27]
On 27 January 2022, the Singapore Grand Prix's contract was extended up to 2028.[28][29][30]
The Grand Prix had major changes in the layout, with turns 16–19 removed to facilitate the construction ofNS Square. Instead, there was a new flat-out section until turn 16, former turn 20, with number of laps increased from 61 to 62 and lap times decreased by approximately ten seconds. Race distance was expected to be covered by an hour and a half unlike previous editions usually lasting until the two hours time limit.[31]
The Grand Prix had a fourthDRS zone added to the circuit between turns 14 and 16 to increase overtaking, making it the second track inFormula One history, along with theAlbert Park Circuit, to feature as many as four DRS zones.[32]Lando Norris took pole position and won the race as he led every lap. He missed out on a first careergrand slam asDaniel Ricciardo took the fastest lap of the race.Max Verstappen finished in second andOscar Piastri rounded off the podium.George Russell came fourth forMercedes, whileCharles Leclerc recovered to fifth forFerrari.Lewis Hamilton finished in sixth place as he started on a different tyre strategy.Carlos Sainz Jr. took seventh place as he started in tenth place after crashing in qualifying.Fernando Alonso,Nico Hülkenberg andSergio Pérez rounded off the scoring positions. It was the then fastest Singapore Grand Prix, as well as the first not to feature at least onesafety car.[33]
The Grand Prix saw the increase in the pit lane speed limit from 60 km/h (37 mph) to 80 km/h (50 mph).[34] It was the fastest Singapore Grand Prix and the first without retirements, as well as the second in a row not to feature at least onesafety car.[35]
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.[36]
The race tests the limits for both drivers and cars. It has some 90-degree turns, but with a high degree of variability, featuring technical sections and quick direction changes. 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 straights, but are short by Formula One standards. At most parts of the track, cars run very close to the walls. In general, victory is dependent on a drivers' experience and skills.[37]
The Singapore Grand Prix has been frequently described by drivers as being the “toughest race of theFormula 1 calendar”; the endurance of drivers is heavily strained due to various factors such ashigh heat, high humidity, high amount of sweat and bodily fluid loss, high number of corners (19 in total), little margin for error (due to the lack of run-off area within a street circuit) and race finishes always completing near to the 2-hour allocated time limit (with 4 races being time-limited, instead of completing the allotted laps).[38][39]
| Year | Average Daily Attendance | Total attendance (Three-Day) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 100,000 | 300,000 | [40] |
| 2009 | 83,000 | 249,000 | [41] |
| 2010 | 81,350 | 244,050 | [42] |
| 2011 | 82,500 | 247,500 | [43] |
| 2012 | 84,317 | 252,951 | [44] |
| 2013 | 87,509 | 262,527 | [45] |
| 2014 | 84,454 | 253,362 | [46] |
| 2015 | 86,970 | 260,912 | [47] |
| 2016 | 73,000 | 218,824 | [48] |
| 2017 | 86,800 | 260,400 | [48] |
| 2018 | 87,666 | 263,000 | [49] |
| 2019 | 89,333 | 268,000 | [50] |
| 2022 | 100,667 | 302,000 | [51] |
| 2023 | 88,036 | 264,108 | [52] |
| 2024 | 89,690 | 269,072 | [53] |
| 2025 | 100,213 | 300,641 | [54] |
Driversin bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
| Wins | Driver | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | 2011,2012,2013,2015,2019 |
| 4 |  Lewis Hamilton | 2009,2014,2017,2018 |
| 3 |  Graeme Lawrence | 1969,1970,1971 |
| 2 |  Fernando Alonso | 2008,2010 |
| Sources:[55][56][57] | ||
Teamsin bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
| Wins | Constructor | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Ferrari | 1970,2010,2015,2019,2023 |
| Mercedes | 2014,2016,2017,2018,2025 | |
| 4 |  Red Bull | 2011,2012,2013,2022 |
| 3 | McLaren | 1969,2009,2024 |
| Sources:[55][56][57] | ||
Manufacturersin bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
| Wins | Manufacturer | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Mercedes | 2009,2014,2016,2017,2018,2024,2025 |
| 5 |  Ford * | 1966,1967,1968,1969,1971 |
| Ferrari | 1970,2010,2015,2019,2023 | |
| 4 |  Renault | 2008,2011,2012,2013 |
| Sources:[55][56][57] | ||
* Built byCosworth
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
