Red Bull Motorsports
F1
F1: the ultimate guide to the Singapore circuit
The Marina Bay circuit and its 23 bends await the drivers in a literally boiling atmosphere. Find out more.
- Built: 2007
- First F1 race: 2008
- Location: Singapore
- Length: 4.928 kilometres
- Race distance: 305 kilometres
- DRS zones: 1
- Number of laps : 63
- Number of corners: 19
- Winners in the last ten editions: Sergio Pérez (2022), Sebastian Vettel (2019, 2015, 2013), Lewis Hamilton (2018,2017,2014), Nico Rosberg (2016)
- Most wins: Sebastian Vettel (5)
- Race lap record: Kevin Magnussen (1'41"905) in 2018
Max Verstappen in Singapore
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
On 28 September 2008, the 1,600 spotlights on the Marina Bay circuit (four times more powerful than those used to light a football pitch, for example) were switched on for the first time on 20 single-seaters which, for the first time in the history of F1, contested a Grand Prix at night.
The idea? To enable Europeans to follow the race without having to get up at 7am on a Sunday, and to allow the drivers to do their job in the best possible conditions, given the tropical climate. Sebastian Vettel will be able to do this better than the others, as the former Red Bull Racing driver remains the holder of the greatest number of victories in Singapore, where he even came close to clinching a second world title in 2011 (he was just one point short at the end of the GP).
But while it is spectacular and jumps from one local landmark to another (like Anderson Bridge or the Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel), the first-generation circuit designed by Hermann Tilke and subsequently modified by KBR is not perfect.
The Singapore skyline
© [unknown]
01
F1's worst corner
During the first editions, the drivers complained in particular about the state of the track, which was excessively bumpy (and still is, to a certain extent). But that wasn't all: for many of them, the vibrators at chicane 10 were too high, threatening to destroy their cars at the slightest mistake. In 2010, the chicane was revised, but Lewis Hamilton found the new curve even more dangerous and called it "the worst corner in F1". The result? It was purely and simply removed from 2013. Other, more marginal modifications followed, but the highly technical Marina Bay layout remained largely unchanged from then on.
02
A hot circuit in every sense of the word
While the circuit is not technically the longest on the calendar, its large number of laps (63) and 21 corners negotiated in the crazy heat make it a real challenge for the drivers. And its straights, mechanically, are not very long (the longest being that of Raffles Boulevard, which stretches over 800 metres).
Marina Bay, Singapore
© DPPI
"The track is very demanding - it's hot, it's physical and you sweat a lot, but it's one of my favourites," explains Max Verstappen. "You have a lot of corners that mix high and low speeds, but also some medium corners with very little clearance. It's a very varied circuit and I can't wait to get back to it."
03
A faster track in 2023
This year, the circuit will undergo a number of changes to make it shorter and faster. Four corners will be removed (from 16 to 19) and a new straight will be added. The aim is to reduce the race time, which approaches two hours every year, and to offer spectators even more of a spectacle. Rendezvous on 17 September 2023 to see the result.
