2024 Singapore GP: F1 facts, stats, records and key info from Marina Bay Street Circuit
09/17/2024 03:18 PM
Singapore Grand Prix Facts
| Circuit Name | Marina Bay Street Circuit |
| Race first held | 2008 |
| Track length | 4.940km (19 turns) |
| Race distance | 62 laps (306.143 km) |
| Lap record | 1:35.867, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2023 |
| 2023 Result | 1st Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 1:46:37.418 |
| 2nd Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.812s | |
| 3rd Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +1.269s |
Unforgettable Moments from the Singapore Grand Prix
2008: the controversy
The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in 2008 is most famously remembered for the ‘Crashgate’ scandal involving Nelson Piquet Jr. Piquet deliberately crashed his Renault, aiding his teammate Fernando Alonso to a controversial victory. After his dismissal from the team the following year, Piquet revealed that he had followed team orders to cause the crash. The FIA’s subsequent race-fixing investigation led to Renault receiving a suspended two-year ban, while team officials Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds faced multi-year bans from Formula 1.
2010: A Nail-Biting Finish
The 2010 Singapore Grand Prix featured the closest finish of the decade, with Sebastian Vettel narrowly missing out on victory against Fernando Alonso. The intense 2010 title race meant that any of the top five drivers in the standings could have taken the championship lead based on the Singapore race outcome. Alonso, starting from pole, led the entire race, but Vettel closed the gap to within a second with ten laps remaining. Alonso ultimately clinched the win by just 0.293 seconds, moving up to second in the championship. The race also included a dramatic fire on Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus in the closing laps.
2017: First Corner Chaos
The 2017 Singapore Grand Prix was marked by chaos in the first corner under wet conditions, a first for the Marina Bay Circuit. Sebastian Vettel started from the front row alongside Max Verstappen, with Kimi Raikkonen in fourth. At the start, Vettel and Raikkonen squeezed Verstappen, resulting in a collision that took out Verstappen and Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso’s McLaren was also caught in the melee, and Vettel spun out on his own oil before the next corner, leading to a rare double DNF for Ferrari. This cleared the path for Lewis Hamilton, who cruised to a relatively easy victory.
Singapore Grand Prix: Fascinating Facts
Since the Singapore Grand Prix debuted in 2008, six drivers have claimed victories across the 14 races held. Sebastian Vettel leads with five wins (2011-2013, 2015, 2019), followed by Lewis Hamilton with four (2009, 2014, 2017-2018). Fernando Alonso has won twice (2008, 2010), while Nico Rosberg (2016), Sergio Perez (2022), and Carlos Sainz (2023) have each secured a single victory.
The Safety Car has made an appearance in every Singapore Grand Prix to date, contributing to the race’s reputation for unpredictability and frequent disruptions. This has led to several races pushing the two-hour time limit, with five events exceeding that duration.
Drivers face extreme conditions during the Singapore Grand Prix, often losing up to 3kg of fluid due to the intense heat and humidity. The Marina Bay Circuit, featuring a bumpy surface and 21 challenging turns, is one of the most physically demanding tracks on the F1 calendar.
The 5.075km circuit is illuminated by approximately 1600 custom-made floodlights, which are four times brighter than those in a typical sports stadium. These lights are designed to minimize glare and reflections, ensuring optimal visibility for drivers and compliance with F1's TV broadcasting standards.
No driver has retired more than three times at the Marina Bay Circuit, though several, including Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, have hit this mark. The 2017 race was notably the first night race to occur under wet conditions, and heavy rain delayed the start of the 2022 race by over an hour.
The Austrian side Red Bull holds the record for the most podium finishes at Singapore, achieving top-three results 14 times. However, 2023 marked the first year since 2009 that Red Bull failed to finish on the podium at this circuit.
Carlos Sainz’s win for Ferrari last year ended Red Bull’s historic 15-race winning streak, the longest consecutive win streak in F1 history.
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