All info you need to see before the 2024 Singapore F1 GP starts
The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix will be the 18th race of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship season, and things continue to heat up among the top teams, with McLaren coming off a brilliant win in Azerbaijan.
Can Norris close the gap further to Verstappen?
Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc put on a show at Baku, with the McLaren driver eventually claiming the win. Although a fight for the World Drivers' Championship still has Max Verstappen with a healthy lead at the top, this competitive stage of the 2024 campaign, since Miami, has been an absolute joy.
Verstappen (313 points) leads McLaren's Lando Norris (254) in the WDC. The Dutchman had a 69-point lead when he won in Spain, right before his current seven-race drought of wins. Despite McLaren's efforts, Norris has only cut that deficit to 59 points in those seven rounds.
Leclerc (235 points) and Piastri (222) have been taking lots of points off of Verstappen's lead in the last couple of races, with wins at Monza and Azerbaijan, respectively.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, battles with Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38 during the Dutch GP at Circuit Zandvoort
In the World Constructors' Championship, McLaren (476 points) usurped Red Bull (456) at the top and seems marching to a first WCC title since 1999, when Finnish legend Mikka Hakkinen won his second title.
Ferrari is third with 425 points from Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Mercedes (309 points with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell) and Aston Martin (82 - Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll) are lonely in fourth and fifth, respectively.
RB is sixth with Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo (34 points), with Haas (Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg and Oliver Bearman) close with 29 points.
Williams (Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto) took 10 points in Azerbaijan and overtook Alpine (13 - Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon) for eighth in the WCC.
Sauber (Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas) remains scoreless through 17 rounds.
2024 Singapore GP Facts & Figures
The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix will be the 15th event of Formula 1's original night race, which started in the 2008 F1 World Championship season.
Before the 2008 race, the Singapore Grand Prix existed from 1966 to 1973 in the Formula Libre class. As part of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Singapore round has been successful, with intriguing races, a difficult, physical track, and solid attendance figures according to track info.
The first winner around Singapore was Fernando Alonso, driving for Renault in the 2008 race, which was one of Formula 1's worst moments, given the race was manipulated by the Renault team with second driver Nelson Piquet Jr. asked to crash purposely to create a Safety Car period that would perfectly suit Alonso's strategy.
In 2009, Sir Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren, while Alonso took arguably his greatest win in the 2010 event, winning with Ferrari and keeping Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull behind for the entire race. Vettel won each race from 2011 to 2013, while Hamilton won again in 2014 in a tough strategic battle against the German.
Vettel won with Ferrari in 2015 before Mercedes struck back with Nico Rosberg in 2016. The 2017 event was pivotal for the title fight between Vettel and Hamilton, as the German started from Pole Position and Hamilton was in fifth place, with the Mercedes being the clear third-fastest car.
When it rained on Sunday, a disaster happened at the start, with Vettel crashing with Red Bull's Max Verstappen and his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton had a three-point gap over Vettel in the WDC entering the 14th round of the year. With Hamilton's eventual win, he extended the gap to 28 points and managed to keep Vettel behind for the rest of the year.
The 2018 event was similar to 2017 in the pecking order, with Ferrari and Red Bull having cars that adapted better to the twisty, bumpy track. However, Hamilton produced arguably the greatest qualifying lap ever and then controlled Sunday's race to extend his gap over Vettel in the title fight.
Vettel took his final Formula 1 win in the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix after a brilliant undercut against his teammate Charles Leclerc and Hamilton. The race was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to problems created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vettel, a four-time F1 champion, is the all-time leader in wins around Singapore, with five (three with Red Bull and a couple with Ferrari). The Singapore Grand Prix had been won only by World Champions (Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Nico Rosberg) until Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz won the last two events.
Rosberg wasn't a champion when he won the 2016 event, but he would win his only WDC at the end of that season.
In 2023, the Singapore round was the only event in which Red Bull did not win. Out of the 22 races of the 2023 season, Red Bull won 21. On his side, Max Verstappen won a record 19 Grands Prix.
Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are the most successful teams in Singapore, with four wins each.
Marina Bay Street Circuit Info
The first street F1 circuit in Asia, the Marina Bay Street Circuit has become an important part of the Formula 1 World Championship, as it has provided some great moments and brought the first night race to a series that now has more than a couple of races under the floodlights.
The circuit had 23 corners and was 5.063 km long. Given the long lap in terms of distance and time, the Singapore Grand Prix has even ended due to the two-hour limit, thus failing to complete the established race distance.
The track had some small changes since 2008, with the main one before 2023 coming in what originally was the Singapore Sling, an awkward chicane in Turn 10, changed in 2013 and converted into a simple left-hander.
For the 2023 event, the circuit had 19 corners, as construction work on the site of the old Turns 16-19 has formed a straight of roughly 400 meters and a lap distance of 4.928km.
The change isn't permanent, though, as F1 announced that it's for the "redevelopment of the Float at Marina Bay into ‘NS Square’, a new community and events venue". The announcement stated that the work would end in 2026.
In that zone, F1 added a fourth Drag Reduction Zone for the 2024 event, between turns 14 and 16.
The records in the new layout are the following.
Outright record: 1:30,984 min by Carlos Sainz, driving the Ferrari SF-23.
Fastest Lap during a race: 1:35,867 min by Lewis Hamilton, driving the Mercedes F1 W14.
2024 Singapore Grand Prix - Tyres
The dry tyres for the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix will be the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft.
A press release showed the Pirelli crew's views: "Here on the Equator, the dry weather compounds chosen for the 15th running of the Singapore Grand Prix are the same as last year’s and in fact the same as at the past two races at Monza and Baku, on tracks each with very different characteristics: C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft.
The circuit was modified last year with the aim of making it flow better, but it is still one of the twistiest of the season. Its length is now down to 4.940 kilometres so that the number of laps has been increased to 62. In the final sector, between what used to include turns 16 to 19, a 400 metre straight has replaced them so that the number of corners has been reduced from 23 to 19.
Last year, the work of resurfacing the track began and this year the sections between turns 3 and 9, 10 and 12 and 14 and 17 have also been resurfaced. The bitumen should be similar to that used on public roads generally open to city traffic, but with new asphalt one can expect a smoother surface. One does not usually learn much from the first free practice session, but this time it will give everyone the opportunity to acquire important data relating to tyre behaviour.
As with all street circuits, the slightest mistake in Singapore comes at a high price, given there are very few run-off areas and running a fraction off-line can see you in the barriers. Therefore the Safety Car is a common sight here, especially as it takes quite a while to remove a stricken car from the track.
There are a couple of factors that make the one-stop the only valid strategy: firstly, the time lost for a tyre change pit stop is around 28 seconds, partly because the pit lane speed limit is reduced to 60 km/h and secondly, overtaking on this track is definitely complicated. A two-stop need only be considered in the event of the race being neutralised.
Usually, the Soft is purely a qualifying tyre, with the race laps split between the Medium and the Hard. However, last year the C5 played its part on Sunday, especially in the first stint with drivers wanting to make the most of its extra grip at the start. Degradation at this track is mainly down to thermal stress, not so much on the surface of the tyre, but within it, something one does not see that often and that varies a lot depending on car set-up and the aerodynamic load the cars generate.
At the Marina Bay circuit we have often seen first stints where the drivers are trying to go as long as they can, managing their tyres with the aim of balancing the two stints as much as possible. This often leads to the formation of a train of cars, all running nose to tail, unable to overtake because there is not enough of a performance difference, this despite the track having three DRS zones.
Therefore, in an effort to produce more on-track action, the FIA has decided to introduce a fourth DRS zone for this weekend, between turns 14 and 16 and we will have to wait until Sunday to see if it produces the desired result.
Adding to the unpredictable nature of this race is the weather. Sitting astride the Equator, Singapore’s climate does not vary, with high humidity, rarely below 70%, with the chance of rain showers, some very heavy, at any time of the day or night.
This was the first ever Grand Prix to be run at night under floodlights and, visually, it has always provided a great show. As usual on a tight track, qualifying is almost the most important factor when it comes to the race result, which explains why nine of the 14 races held to date have been won from pole position."
The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 22.0 PSI (front) and 20.0 PSI (rear).
2024 Singapore Grand Prix Weather Forecast
Friday, Sep 20th - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Clouds breaking
Max. temperature: 27°C
Chance of rain: 31%
Saturday, Sep 21st - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Max. temperature: 27°C
Chance of rain: 30%
Sunday, Sep 22nd - Race
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Max. temperature: 27°C
Chance of rain: 31%
Who will be on the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix Podium?
2024 Singapore Podium: Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 1st, Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 3rd
Red Bull is desperate for a great result, even more so after Sergio Pérez's crash with Carlos Sainz after a solid race for the Mexican in Baku. However, Singapore might not be the precise place for a recovery from the Austrian team.
Moreover, McLaren has looked great with its MCL38 car in almost every layout recently, but especially in twisty circuits or sections. Also, Ferrari could be a contender as the team won in Singapore last year and also looked great this year in Monaco, another twisty, bumpy street track.
The battle for the win could be thrilling in Singapore and the weather could simply add to the spectacle. Can Mercedes and Red Bull truly contend for the win against Ferrari and McLaren? They have the drivers to do it, but the machines have to respond.
Though in the lead of the WCC, McLaren also needs to take a big tally of points from Verstappen quickly in the WDC, and Singapore is not a place to be tentative on strategy or precise calls.
The prediction for the top three of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix is 1. Charles Leclerc, 2. Oscar Piastri, 3. Lando Norris.
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I predict another victory for Piastri, followed by Sainz & Norris this time around, with the latter starting on pole position but yet again failing to lead through the opening lap.
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