Hitting the Apex: Marina Bay Street Circuit

It’s Singapore Race Week! Read on for everything you need to know about the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Written by Mees Drijgers

September 14, 2023

The Marina Bay Street Circuit, also known as the Singapore Street Circuit, is a street circuit located in the Marina Bay area of Singapore. The track passes prominent landmark locations such as the Singapore Flyer, the Supreme Court, and Parliament, while incorporating locations such as the Esplanada Drive and the Andersen Bridge. Hermann Tilke came up with the initial layout design, but the plan was later modified and refined by KBR Inc.

Marina Bay Street Circuit (Photo via @mclaren on Instagram)

 

Singapore joined the calendar in 2008, and it became the first ever F1 race to be held at night, making use of artificial lighting to mimic daytime conditions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the track was absent from the calendar in both 2020 and 2021, but it was able to return after a 2-year absence in 2022. 

 

A new layout will be used for the 2023 Grand Prix. These track changes include alterations to Turns 16-19, these corners will be bypassed due to construction work and will instead create an extra straight. The total number of corners will therefore drop from 23 to 19.

Cars on track (Photo via @scuderiaferrari on Instagram)

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Track distance: 4.94 km / 3.07 miles
  • DRS zones: 3
  • Corners: 19
  • Elevation: 5.3 metres
  • Laps: 62
  • Race lap record: N/A (New Track Layout)
  • Direction: anti-clockwise
  • Night race

According to F1.com, Singapore configuration for this year is as follows:

 

PREVIOUS TYRE COMPOUNDS

  • Selected compounds in 2022: C5 (soft) C4 (medium) C3 (hard)

Sebastian Vettel is the most successful driver at the circuit, having won the Grand Prix 5 times. The most successful constructors at the track are Mercedes and Red Bull with 4 wins each. The pole position record at Singapore belongs to both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who have scored 4 poles a piece at the track. Out of the 14 events held in the country, 8 of those have been won from pole position.

Singapore and Marina Bay Street Circuit (Photo via @redbullracing on Instagram)

The track is one of the most physically demanding race tracks on the F1 calendar due to the bumpy track surface in combination with the very humid conditions. Though the revised 2023 layout reduced the number of corners, drivers still have to work the wheel a lot, and it does not change the high-speed nature of the laps around Singapore.

 

PREVIOUS WINNERS

  • 2022 Sergio Perez
  • 2019 Sebastian Vettel
  • 2018 Lewis Hamilton
  • 2017 Lewis Hamilton
  • 2016 Nico Rosberg

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mees was introduced to the world of F1 by one of her friends in July 2020 and hasn’t missed a race weekend since. Her favourite drivers are Alex Albon, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, and George Russell; outside of F1, she also actively supports Liam Lawson and Callum Ilott. She specialises in writing about F2, but is looking to specialise in FE and IndyCar as well, after starting to watch both series in 2022. After getting her Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture, she is currently getting MA degrees in Translation and English Literature & Culture. When she’s not watching motorsport, she’s either watching football matches (preferably Real Madrid), reading a book, or watching streams on Twitch.

Related Articles

Hitting the Apex: Circuit of the Americas

Hitting the Apex: Circuit of the Americas

It's Austin Race Week! Read on for everything you need to know about the Circuit of the Americas.The Circuit of the Americas, often referred to as COTA, is a motor racing circuit located near Austin, Texas, the United States. Initial plans to build a new circuit were...

Liam Lawson: An Unusual Path to Formula One

Liam Lawson: An Unusual Path to Formula One

With the departure of Daniel Ricciardo from the Formula 1 grid, Liam Lawson has a full-time seat in Formula 1. ATRL’s Sam Yanis recounts his career so far. After an uncertain year for the Red Bull family, Visa Cash App RB has made a decision on their driver line-up...

Stay Up to Date With The Latest News & Updates

Interested in Writing for ATRL?

Contact us now! Fill out the form below and wait for an email from us to get started.

Join Our Newsletter

Subscribe to updates when we post a new article! 

 

COMING SOON!

 

 

Follow Us

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ATRacingLine