The 15th race of the season of 19-race season, the Singapore Grand Prix is the only event to run under nighttime conditions for the third time. Even though this is the third time the GP will be in the primetime, local time, it is actually the 11th time a GP will be held in Singapore, dating all the way back to 1966.
This race will mark the first race of a three-race swing in Asia (or two, depending if they get the Korean track done...which they will).
5.073 km (3.15 miles) temporary street circuit
Turns - 22
61 laps/309.087 km (192.066 miles) or two hours (2:00:00), whichever comes first
(The following was copy-pasted from Wikipedia)
OriginsFirst organised in 1961, the race was initially known as the Orient Year Grand Prix. The following year, the race was renamed the Malaysian Grand Prix. 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 inconvenience of having to close roads for the event and fatal accidents during the 1972 and 1973 races. It is also thought that a surge of oil prices stemming from the Suez Crisis might have been to blame (although the 1973 oil crisis would probably be a more plausible reason than the 1956 Suez Crisis).
Formula OneAn agreement for a five-year deal was signed by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, the Singapore Tourism Board and Bernie Ecclestone. In November 2007 it was announced that the telecommunications company Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) would sponsor the event. The official name of the event will be the FORMULA 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. The race was co-funded by the Government of Singapore, footing 60% of the total bill, or $90 million SGD, out of a total tab of $150 million SGD.
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. The event went on to achieve a full sell-out for all of its tickets.
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 Formula One history. The timing of the night event meant that it could be broadcast live at a convenient time for European TV audiences. The track was also illuminated by a series of projectors which adapt their output to match the shape of the course. 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 curbs caused many accidents in 2008.
About the trackOn the day of confirmation of the Singapore Grand Prix in the 2008 Formula One season, a routemap was published. The pit area of the circuit is located in an empty plot of land off Republic Boulevard and beside the Singapore Flyer. A temporary track leads from the pit area and under the Benjamin Sheares Bridge to Republic Boulevard and turns onto Raffles Boulevard. It then proceeds along Nicoll Highway, Stamford Road and Saint Andrew's Road around the Padang, past the City Hall.
The track then goes onto the Anderson Bridge, past the Fullerton Hotel and make a tight left turn to Esplanade Drive beside the Merlion Park. It joins Raffles Avenue and cut right after the Esplanade to the front of The Float at Marina Bay and return to the pit area via another temporary road around the Singapore Flyer. The track layout is unique in that in between turns 18 and 19, the cars race underneath a section of grandstand of the Floating Platform.
The track was widely criticised by F1 drivers to be excessively bumpy, resulting in a very unforgiving circuit, especially given the hot and humid conditions of the Singapore climate. World championship leader Lewis Hamilton commented that it was twice as hard to negotiate as the more famous Monaco street circuit, and unexpectedly physical - requiring double the amount of energy over a single lap as compared to the Monaco circuit.
Several drivers, including Sébastien Bourdais and Fernando Alonso, expressed their concern about the high and harsh kerbs at the turn 13 hairpin and the chicane at turn 10 of the street circuit. Ferrari's Felipe Massa compared the kerbs akin to "little tortises that would wreck the car if you get something wrong". The drivers were worried that hitting the bumps could cause suspension damage or even damage a tub. They also raised concerns that the bumps would pitch them into the wall on the outside of the corner. Responding to the drivers' feedback, FIA race director and safety delegate Charlie Whiting ordered the high kerbs at Singapore's turn 10 hairpin be modified ahead of Friday's free practice. The kerbs were further reduced in height for Saturday and Sunday's night race.
The entry of the pit lane, which begins at the penultimate corner of the 23-turn layout, was deemed to be "difficult and incredibly dangerous" by several drivers due to the fast nature of the corners where they were situated. The controversial pit entry at Singapore was then modified ahead of Saturday's official Qualifying round by extending the pit entry line away from the pits. This change compelled drivers to commit to the pit entry earlier, providing additional warning to those following behind.
In March 2009, three of the circuit's corners were given names after a competition amongst local F1 fans to submit ideas. Turn 1 was named Sheares after Benjamin Henry Sheares, the second president of Singapore; Turn 7 was named Memorial due to its proximity to a Second World War civilian memorial; and Turn 10 was named Singapore Sling.
In January 2010, it was reported that race organisers were considering changes to the circuit for the 2011 season. These changes would see the extension of the long back straight so that the circuit goes around the outside of the War Memorial instead of inside it, and a complete re-design of the waterfront section to remove the sequence of chicanes near the site of Nelson Piquet's 2008 crash.
(The following was copy-pasted from the official Singapore GP site)
Timetable(All times SGT)Friday 24th September
15:35 - 16:001 Formula BMW Pacific Practice Session
16:30 - 17:00 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Practice Session
18:00 - 19:30 Formula One First Practice Session
20:00 - 20:25 Formula BMW Pacific Qualifying Session
21:30 - 23:00 Formula One Second Practice Session
Saturday 25th September
15:45 - 16:00 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Qualifying Session
16:30* - 17:00 Formula BMW First Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins)
17:40 - 18:15 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia First Race (12 Laps or 30 Mins)
19:00 - 20:00 Formula One Third Practice Session
22:00 - 23:00 Formula One Qualifying Session
Sunday 26th September
15:30* - 16:00 Formula BMW Pacific Second Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins)
17:00* - 17:35 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Second Race (12 Laps or 30 Mins)
18:30 Formula One Drivers' Track Parade
20:00* Formula One Singapore Grand Prix (61 Laps or 120 Mins)
Note: Please be advised that this timetable is subject to change.
*These times refer to the start of the formation lap ¹ Fixed Time Session
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