Origins
First 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 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.

Formula One
An 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 SingTel would sponsor the event, and also they televised the show on Channel 5 called SingTel Grid Girls. 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 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. 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 kerbs caused many accidents in 2008.

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.

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.

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