Everything you need to know about the coming 2023 Singapore F1 GP

The 15th round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship will be the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen and Red Bull looking to extend the dominant run of the Austrian team, which has won 15 consecutive races, and the Dutchman has won the last 10 in a row.

Can Verstappen win at last in Singapore GP?

The Singapore GP was won by the other Red Bull driver, Sergio Pérez, in the 2022 edition, followed by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. It seems difficult for any team to challenge Red Bull's dominance in the upcoming twisty circuit, as the RB19 has looked dominant in all conditions and in the many different layouts.

Verstappen has 12 wins in 14 races in 2023 and leads the World Drivers' Championship with 364 points, followed by his teammate Pérez, who has two victories and 219 points scored. There's a fight for third in the WDC between two World Champions, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton, with the Spanish driver leading by six points (170 to 164).

Alonso and Hamilton have separated themselves from their respective teammates and other drivers in cars of similar performance, although the Aston Martin has looked like the second-best car in the field in most races of the 2023 season, as opposed to the Mercedes W14.

In the World Constructors' Championship, Red Bull is clearly leading with 583 points, ahead of Mercedes (273) and the Scuderia Ferrari (228). Aston Martin is only fourth and has paid the price for Lance Stroll's performance in 2023. Of course, Stroll was affected by a wrist injury early in the season, but hasn't been able to extract the maximum of a solid race car.

There will be 353 points available after the Singapore round (seven races and three Sprints) and Red Bull currently enjoys a 310-point gap in the WCC. The Austrian team could seal the Constructors' title this Sunday if they reach a 1-2 with the Fastest Lap and Mercedes scores only one point. The other alternative would be a Red Bull 1-2 with Mercedes falling to score points.

Although it is unlikely, it shows how incredibly dominant Red Bull has been in 2023, winning every race and possibly closing out the WCC with seven rounds to spare.

2023 Singapore GP Facts & Figures

The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix will be the 14th event of Formula 1's original night race, which started in the 2008 Formula 1 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 in order 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 own teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton then had a three-point gap over Vettel in the WDC entering the 14th round of the year. With Hamilton's 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). He is followed by Lewis Hamilton, who won four times with two teams (McLaren and Mercedes). The Singapore Grand Prix had been won only by World Champions (Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Nico Rosberg) until Sergio Pérez won in mixed weather conditions for Red Bull in 2022.

Rosberg wasn't a champion when he won the 2016 event, but he would win his only WDC at the end of that season.

Among teams, Mercedes and Red Bull are the most successful in Singapore, with four wins each.

Marina Bay Street Track 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 throughout the calendar.

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 now has 19 corners, as construction work on the site of the old Turns 16-19 has now formed a straight of roughly 400 meters and a lap distance of 4.928km.

"The works around the Singapore circuit – which held its first Grand Prix in 2008 – are for redevelopment of the Float at Marina Bay into ‘NS Square’, a new community and events venue. They are set to start in March and expected to be completed by the end of 2026", F1 announced last year.

The old layout records are the following:

Outright record: 1:36,015 min by Lewis Hamilton in 2018, driving the Mercedes W09 at an average speed of 183,273 km/h.

Fastest Lap during a race: 1:41,905 min by Kevin Magnussen in 2018, driving the Haas VF-18 at an average speed of 178.782 km/h.

2023 Singapore Grand Prix - Tyres

The dry tyres for the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix will be the Pirelli C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft.

Pirelli's Head of Motorsport, Mario Isola, explained the choice: “The closing stages of this long season, taking Formula 1 to three continents and 16 different time zones, kicks off in Singapore this weekend. This was the first race to take place under artificial light: an idea that was later followed, in varying degrees, by other venues. From a technical point of view, Marina Bay is a typical street circuit: very twisty (with 19 corners, many of them 90-degree) and little run off.

As a result, even a small mistake can be costly, while the track layout also means that the cars run a high level of downforce. This year, the lap takes on a new look due to some building work in the Marina Bay area: the part of the track that was previously turns 16 to 19 is now just a single straight, which is nearly 400 metres long.

This change will make the track faster; firstly because the total lap length is now less than five kilometres and secondly because the layout has become a lot more flowing. We’ll wait to see if this change has an effect on strategies, because in theory at least it could create an overtaking opportunity – with passing notoriously difficult unless you have a much faster car.

This track doesn’t place particular stress on the tyres in terms of loading, but the rear tyres need to be carefully managed during the traction phase when exiting slow corners. Temperatures are usually consistently high, as Singapore is only about 150 kilometres from the equator. This increases the risk of overheating: not just for tyres but also everything else, including the mechanicals and of course the driver!”

The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 22.0 PSI (front) and 19.0 PSI (rear).

2023 Singapore Grand Prix Weather Forecast

Friday, Sep 15th - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Max. temperature: 32°C
Chance of rain: 14%

Saturday, Sep 16th - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Scattered thunderstorms
Max. temperature: 32°C
Chance of rain: 24%

Sunday, Sep 17th - Race
Conditions: Scattered thunderstorms
Max. temperature: 31°C
Chance of rain: 25%

Who will be on the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix Podium?

Max Verstappen has finished on the podium in Singapore twice in his career, second in 2018 and third in 2019. The Dutchman will be looking for his first win around the physically demanding circuit this upcoming Sunday, and he is the clear favorite to do so, eyeing his unprecedented 11th win in a row to extend the all-time record, which has been desperately hailed by many in the media in recent weeks.

The last Formula 1 race that wasn't won by Verstappen was the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, back on April 30th. At the time of the start of the 2023 Singapore GP, it will be four months and 19 days since someone other than the Dutchman won a Grand Prix, which only sounds crazy because it is.

The Dutchman should be easily headed to his 11th consecutive win and the 16th for Red Bull, dating back to the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. BEhind the Austrian team, there could be a good fight between Aston Martin, McLaren, Ferrari and, possibly, Mercedes.

The prediction for the top three of the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix is 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Fernando Alonso, 3. Lando Norris.

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