Singapore Grand Prix

Taming the streets of Lion CityTaming the streets of Lion City

On the floodlit streets of Marina Bay, Fernando and Lance finished Formula One's original night race in P8 and P13 respectively. Read on for full coverage of our weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix, and get the thoughts of the team.

Our drivers opted for similar tyre strategies, both starting on the Soft compound. Fernando began from P10, and following penalties for other drivers, Lance lined up on the grid in P15.
During the opening stages of the race, our drivers worked on understanding where the track's grip was following rain earlier in the day.
Lance and Fernando both gained positions during the opening laps, with Fernando up to P8 and Lance P14 by Lap 5.
At the end of Lap 28, Fernando pitted from P5. An unfortunate slow pitstop meant he returned to the track in P15 on the Medium compound.
After 38 laps on the Soft tyre, Lance came in for his pitstop and switched to Mediums.
Throughout the second half of the race, Fernando worked on regaining positions. An excellent recovery saw him climb to P7 and claim six points.
The United States Grand Prix takes place 17-19 October.

THE LATEST FROM THE TRACK

Welcome to F1's original night race

When F1 first came to Singapore, the Marina Bay Street Circuit, usually first seen from the highway over the track, looked absolutely incredible: something not of this Earth. 17 years on, the sparkling street scene is still jaw-dropping, but the success of F1's original night race lies in its many imitators, and a quarter of the calendar now takes place after dark.

Singapore, however, is still special. The atmosphere is electric, the race usually delivers something dramatic, and the drivers – and teams – are pushed to the limit by a demanding circuit in an unforgiving climate.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix a fortnight ago was challenging, with both Fernando and Lance eliminated in Q2 and unable to conjure a point, but Marina Bay is a very different sort of street circuit and much more likely to suit the AMR25.

There's no Formula 2 this weekend, and Formula 3 has concluded for the year, but F1 ACADEMY is back in action for its penultimate 2025 event. Aston Martin Aramco F1 ACADEMY driver Tina Hausmann sits eighth in the table, but a good run of form has seen her make up ground on her rivals in front. There's plenty of drama in store on the streets of the Lion City.

TRACK INSIGHTS

Marina Bay Street CircuitMarina Bay Street Circuit

It's one of the most challenging races, especially in terms of physicality, and usually the longest race, with extreme heat and at night, so we require ultimate concentration.

Stoffel Vandoorne – Test & Reserve Driver

Toggle below to highlight parts of the track.

Sectors
Turns
DRS

Circuit length (km)
4.940
Number of corners
19
Race distance (km)
306.143

NEED TO KNOW: SINGAPORE GP

The essential Singapore travel guide with Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Mastering Marina Bay

The magic of racing in Marina Bay

Strategy insights from Singapore

Ultimate Singapore Grand Prix facts

Last time out

The essential Singapore travel guide with Regent Seven Seas Cruises

When F1 first came to Singapore in 2008, there was a lot of talk about the schedule, choosing hotels with blackout blinds, convincing them to serve breakfast at two in the afternoon, the teams all staying on 'European time', and so on. It's become less of an issue over the intervening two decades, partially through familiarity and partially through the novelty of a night race having long since worn off, but the hours of the race do make for an unusual weekend away from the track.

The Grand Prix isn't the only event that happens in the evening in Singapore, with Singapore Zoo offering its fabled Night Safari. Set out in the tropical rainforest, the safari is accessed by foot or tram, and is designed to showcase traditionally nocturnal animals in a natural habitat. The Safari has over 100 species on show… though you really want to see the tigers.

Contrary to the image of hustle and bustle, Singapore isn't really a 24-hour city, which came as something of a surprise to race crews keen to find somewhere for dinner after getting out of the track at 03:00. Fortunately, the city has a plethora of street food and hawker markets that are open late and serve quick, phenomenal meals. It's a cliché, but the city really is a melting pot, which is why you can find excellent Malaysian, Indian, and Chinese food at all hours. The décor will be basic, but for fresh seafood, these places can't be beat.

If you want something a little more upmarket, the restaurants that line Boat Quay and Clarke Quay will still be serving after the chequered flag. Alternatively, if you're up early and fancy lunch before heading to the track, Liao Fan Fawker Chan is probably the only place in the world you'll find Michelin-starred cuisine coming in at less than the price of a cup of coffee.

The city, first and foremost, is the world's port, and most of the shipping today is done from the modern dockyards, but this just frees up the Singapore River for tourist traffic. The river cruises take in the sights and sounds of the city – and even cross under the track at the Anderson Bridge.

Finally, we would be remiss not to mention the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. You can have a genuine Singapore Sling, toss your peanut shells on the floor, and tick off one of the world's best-known tourist traps. The hotel is rightly famous, but if the Long Bar is a bit raucous for your tastes, there are plenty of other places within its environs to have a quieter drink and an early dinner before the track action begins.

Mastering Marina Bay

Despite a relatively short history, we're already onto the fifth iteration of the Marina Bay Street Circuit. While the first four versions altered the track a grand total of 10 metres via the judicious reprofiling of various kerbs, the temporary changes instituted in 2023 to accommodate construction work are more radical, replacing four low-speed corners with a straight, introducing a fourth DRS zone, and knocking around seven seconds off the lap-time. The hope was that the changes might induce a little more overtaking. It's tough to say if this has been successful, from a sample size of two: the average number of overtakes has increased, but there have been races in the past with more passing than in 2023 or 2024.

The track remains a difficult place to overtake and also contains the other street circuit staples of being bumpy and slippery, with rapid evolution as the cars sweep clean the racing line and lay down rubber. The ubiquity of the barriers and the absence of run-off make for a circuit that frequently features red flag stoppages while cars and/or debris are removed – and that's before monitor lizards stage a sit-in.

The middle sector, from Turn Seven through to the Turn 13 Hairpin, is very technical with a lot of time to be gained or lost. This section features most of the track's remaining 90-degree corners (created where roads intersect), and pushes downforce levels towards the maximum. Though this isn't quite Monaco, the straights are of significant length, and teams have to decide carefully if they're prepared to give up all of their straight-line speed in pursuit of cornering performance.

The magic of racing in Marina Bay

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is… big. It isn't really a circuit where you're going to wander around and see everything, but that's OK because everything generally comes to you, with activities and merchandising areas spread around the 5km length. In very broad terms, the track is split into East and West zones, each with its own fan village, stages, and – crucially – metro stations.

The Eastern zone has the pitlane and main straight, the classic car display, and the Singapore Flyer. It is served by the Promenade and Nicoll Highway stations. The T1-T3 complex tends to be where the brunt of the action takes place, with T1 being the prime DRS-assisted overtaking spot, but also with the pitlane feeding out into T2, where all the drama of an undercut unfolds. There's also a new grandstand this year at the final corner.

The western zone is centred on the Padang, with the track going around the perimeter of the playing fields and cricket ground. It is served by the Esplanade and City Hall stations – also Raffles Place station if you want to see the Merlion and don't mind a walk. While the Eastern zone features the Wharf and Sail stages, the Western zone has the main Padang Stage.

Some races make an effort to provide an all-round entertainment package, others just focus on the racing. Singapore tends to be the former and has pulled out all the stops this year with a line-up to make Glastonbury blush. The Wharf stage has Crowded House (Saturday) and The Smashing Pumpkins (Sunday); while the Padang features CL and G-Dragon (Friday), DJ Alan Walker and the Foo Fighters (Saturday) and Elton John on Sunday.

The Wombats, Hanna, Tom Grennan, The Lathums, Babymetal, Le Twins, Indo Warehouse, Oakë, and Putri Ariani, are also playing at various times over the weekend, which means the beautiful music of an F1 V6 isn't the only thing you'll hear.

Strategy insights from Singapore

Last year's Singapore Grand Prix was a one-stop affair, and with the same tyres in play for 2025, there's no reason to suspect it will be any different this time around. Overtaking is very difficult in Singapore, and usually requires a substantial tyre delta. For this reason, there are relatively few moves in the first half of the race, which has a tendency towards the processional with everyone on the same age of tyre, but more action towards the end.

What early action there is tends to centre around undercuts, but going long was a more profitable strategy last year – thus in the early laps there tends to be a concerted effort to look after the tyres and keep them in good shape for a long stint.

The favoured strategy last year was the Medium-Hard race, with the top five and nine of the top 10 all using that approach. The outlier was Lewis Hamilton, who ran a Soft-Hard race. The bulk of the pitstops were around the half-distance mark in the 62-lap race, but Carlos Sainz, who started P10, out of position after a Qualifying crash, went as early as lap 13, and successfully undercut his way to P7. Conversely, Oscar Piastri started P5 and went very long, pitting on lap 38, returning to P5 but passing both Mercedes with fresher tyres, to finish on the podium.

Those who went long on a Medium start tyre had the option of finishing the race on a Soft tyre. Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly took that route, but neither scored. Nor did any of the Hard starters. They could have used a little help from a Safety Car, but 2024 was a rare Singapore Grand Prix that ran without incident.

Ultimate Singapore Grand Prix facts

1 | This is the 16th FIA Formula One World Championship Singapore Grand Prix. The race made its debut in 2008 and missed 2020 and 2021 during the global pandemic. All races have been held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

2 | Fernando is a two-time winner of the Singapore Grand Prix. In 2010, he won from pole position, led every lap of the race and set the fastest lap – the only time he has ever achieved the rare 'grand slam'.

3 | Fernando's 2008 Singapore Grand Prix victory came from 15th on the grid. It is the only time a driver has won from that starting position in F1 history.

4 | Fernando started his 250th race here in 2022 and became the first driver in history to complete 100,000 kilometres raced in a Grand Prix career during the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, the equivalent of racing two and a half times around the world.

5 | Lance has shown notable performances at the Singapore Grand Prix in varying conditions. In his 2017 rookie season, he qualified 18th but delivered a strong drive to finish eighth. In wet conditions at the 2022 Singapore GP, he qualified an impressive 12th and went on to secure sixth place, earning eight points.

6 | The Singapore Grand Prix often ends on the time limit, rather than distance. The scheduled 61-lap race has breached the two-hour race time limit in 2012 (59 laps), 2014 (60), 2017 (58), and 2022 (59). The 2015 race also went beyond two hours but made the full race distance. The current, temporary, 62-lap race is much less at risk, running at a higher average speed.

7 | The 2024 race is the first time the race has been completed without a Safety Car intervention.

8 | Between 1961 and 1973, a non-championship Singapore (or Malaysian) Grand Prix was held on a temporary street circuit. The first of these was won by Ian Barnwell, driving an Aston Martin DB3S.

Last time out

Our debut in Singapore is also our best race to date in the City-State. A proper chaos race with rain at the start, two Safety Cars and two Virtual Safety Cars saw Lance and Sebastian Vettel rise from humble starting positions to finish sixth and eighth respectively, in a race where only 13 cars saw the chequered flag.

2023 was a race to forget. Lance didn't start after a huge crash in Qualifying. He went over the kerbs at the final turn, the car snapped around, and he went hard into the wall. He walked away unaided but, bruised and sore, on the advice of the medical team, he sat out the race to focus on recovery for the Japanese Grand Prix the following week. Fernando fared little better. He started seventh but a series of mishaps saw him finish 15th – the first time in 2023 he failed to score points. He had a slow stop with a rear jack problem, a five-second penalty for crossing the pitlane line, and the car generally lacked pace. Fernando called it a 'race to forget', but also argued it was better to get all of the calamities out of the way in one weekend.

Fernando came back strongly in 2024, finishing P8 after a dogged drive in which he held back the tide with lap after lap of precision car placement.

Session Times

FP1

Fri3OCT

10:30-11:30 BST

FP2

Fri3OCT

14:00-15:00 BST

FP3

Sat4OCT

10:30-11:30 BST

Quali

Sat4OCT

14:00-15:00 BST

Race

Sun5OCT

13:00 BST

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