Singapore Grand Prix preview

Character counts for a lot in Formula One, and for any new circuit on the F1 calendar, the establishment of a recognizable identity is half the battle in attracting a fan base and holding on to your slot on the schedule. We’ll spare the blushes of those that have fallen by the wayside and instead point to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina and Austin’s COTA as two places that have done a decent job of building a good identity – one as high tech, the other down home, over the past few years.

However, when it comes to nailing an identity from the off, we reckon few can compete with the Singaporeans, whose glittering night race is surely the biggest spectacle of the season.

Indeed, ever since it arrived on the calendar in 2008, Singapore has firmly established itself as one of F1’s must-visit venues, blending glamor, exotic spice and several million candle power with a punishing harbor side street circuit that’s sort of like a more macho Monaco.

And in that are the big pluses of the Singapore GP. Under floodlights and against the city’s amazing skyline, this is one of the most visually stunning races you’ll ever see.

Attending it is dead easy. Fly into Changi airport, take a 20-minute taxi ride downtown, install yourself in a decent hotel, walk, take the subway or a taxi to the race every day for not much cash, and that’s it. Singapore actually might be the most fan friendly race of the whole season.

The Marina Bay Street Circuit itself is situated in the heart of the city center, with the Colonial District to the North and the Raffles City/Citylink/Marina Square complex of malls to the South. It’s also fairly close to Clarke Quay with its plethora of bars and restaurants.

It can be a little bit tricky navigating the closed streets on race weekend and hard to get a cab due to the closures, but with the aid of a decent map you’ll soon figure it out, and most of the places you’ll want to get to are no more than a 15-minute cab ride away.

In terms of where to watch from, well, it’s a city so whatever grandstand you opt for will afford a limited view thanks to the buildings all around. It’s no big deal, though, as most grandstands have jumbo screens opposite so you can always keep in touch with the action. If it were up to us we’d opt for the grandstands at Turn 2, Turn 3 and the Stamford Grandstand at Turn 7. The Bay grandstand may be cheaper than others, but it does afford great views across, yes, you guessed it, the bay.

The Track
It’s not the longest in terms of distance at just 5.065 km, but it is definitely the longest of the season in terms of duration. With 23 corners, it’s a stop-start affair and that means a lap is time-consuming. In the six editions of the race to date, every single one has gone to within four-minutes of the two-hour cut-off point. In the case of the 2012 race won by Seb, the race lasted two hours, 26 seconds and was ended two laps shy of the 61-lap total due to several stoppages during the grand prix.

Given its duration, the race is tough on the drivers and the cars. The lap is full of braking events, and those brakes can deteriorate quite badly as the race unfolds, making all those corners even more taxing especially when you’re trying to engage fading brakes over the bumpy street surface.

The stop-start nature of the track also means drivers are up and down the gears all the time. On average there are about 80 gear changes per lap here, about 50 percent more that most races. Add all that to the fact that even with an 8:00 p.m. (local time) start, the temperature still regularly hits 30˚C and it becomes apparent that despite the slow speeds this is a punishing ride.

Powerplants haven’t taken a real beating here in the past, with about 46 percent of the lap run at full throttle with the last generation of cars, but that could all change this year. The long race and high temperatures and humidity could stress the new hybrid power units severely. Due to its stop-start nature, Singapore is also one of the most fuel inefficient circuits of the year, and with strict fuel usage regulations in force this season, race management and strategy will be interesting.

Five Odd Singapore Facts

• Singapore is one of the 20 smallest countries in the world, at 426 square miles.
• The government has its own matchmaking department for citizens, which was originally called the Social Development Unit (SDU). However, locals gave it the slightly disparaging nickname of ‘Single, Desperate and Ugly’, so the Unit was changed to Network.
• The world’s highest man-made waterfall, standing at 30 meters, is located at the Jurong BirdPark.
• The famous Singapore Sling cocktail was first served in 1915 at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel by Hainanese bartender by Ngiam Tong Boon. The Times described the “original recipe” as mixing two measures of gin with one of cherry brandy and one of orange, pineapple and lime juice.
• Finally, a Singapore Grand Prix existed between 1966 and 1973. The event was a Formula Libre race, essentially meaning that racers were invited to ‘run what you brung’. The last winner of the pre-F1 Singapore GP was Australian Vern Schuppan, driving a March 722. During the race Schuppan was leading fellow Aussie Malcolm Ramsay when Schuppan’s car kicked up some stones. Ramsay’s petrol tank was punctured and he was covered in fuel. Ramsay manfully raced on until, in the words of his mechanic Angus Lamont, “the pain of the petrol burning his balls forced him to retire”!