Although it doesn’t have the prestige of Spa, Monza and Monaco, the Singapore Grand Prix is fast becoming a renowned event, and a Grand Prix with more than its fair share of celebrities wandering around the grid.
The winding Marina Bay Street Circuit presents its own challenges, none more significant than the sapping heat.
Overtaking isn’t easy, though it isn’t as impossible as the glitzy streets of Monte Carlo. The first corner, as Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon demonstrated last year, is an easy place to lose your front wing.
Coming into the race following his first two Grand Prix victories, Charles Leclerc has begun to deliver on his undoubted potential. Paired with Sebastian Vettel’s struggles, Ferrari’s attentions must be turning to the youngster as their best chance of race victories.
Despite the joy for the Monza faithful two weeks ago, the controversy of Leclerc’s victory might be the biggest impact of the 2019 Italian Grand Prix, such is the precedent it could set.
Let’s take a look ahead to this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, starting with a bit of history…
Singapore Grand Prix: Brief History
The first Singapore Grand Prix took place back in 1961, but it wasn’t a Formula One race until it joined the calendar in 2008.
The naming of the race altered during the 1960s and 1970s, with races held at the Thomson Road Circuit after Singapore gained independence in 1965. Time was called on the event in 1973, though the reasoning was never particularly clear.
Closing roads for the race wasn’t entirely popular, and fatalities in the early 1970s raised safety concerns. The track wasn’t exactly suitable for modern racing.
A five-year deal was announced in 2008 for a Singapore Grand Prix, with the Government of Singapore taking on over half of the cost.
After high-profile planning, the first-ever Formula One night-race took place in the 2008 season with Felipe Massa getting pole before Fernando Alonso claimed victory. Alonso’s victory has since become one of the most controversial in motor racing history.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory in 2009 ahead of surprise package Timo Glock.
In 2010, Singapore hosted one of the greatest ever races as Vettel and Alonso duelled for first-place throughout the race with a special drive from Alonso securing a second Singapore win.
The next three seasons saw Vettel more than make up for that disappointment with three straight wins. A period of Mercedes domination followed with four wins in five years.
Singapore Grand Prix: Marina Bay Street Circuit
Stretching over 3.15 miles, the Marina Bay Street Circuit has a whopping 23 corners. Uneven, and raced in high humidity, the race demands immense physical fitness from the drivers.
The heat in the cockpit can get into the fifties, with drivers losing a lot of weight through the race. It is, in that sense, perhaps unique, though its setting alongside the harbour is similar to the Monaco Grand Prix.
In its 11 Formula One races hosted to date, there have been a remarkable 18 safety cars. It is the only venue in Formula One to have witnessed a safety car in every single race, which leads to a 2/15 price in 888sport’s F1 betting for there to be a safety car this weekend.
While the Singapore skyline, headlined by the world-famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel, is special in its own right, between turns 18 and 19 there is something arguably even more astonishing.
Cars race not just with the imposing metal barriers, but with a grandstand above them, allowing the crowd a bird’s eye view of the race.
Like most street circuits, tweaks have been made to the Marina Bay lap over the years. Drivers complained consistently about the kerbs, which resulted in changes.
The ‘Singapore Sling’ was removed ahead of the 2013 race, though the modification was deemed the ‘worst corner in F1’ by Hamilton. The entry to the pit lane was considered dangerous too and has since been changed.
Singapore Grand Prix: Recent Winners
2018 – Lewis Hamilton
2017 – Lewis Hamilton
2016 – Nico Rosberg
2015 – Sebastian Vettel
2014 – Lewis Hamilton
Singapore Grand Prix: Most Wins
4 – Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel
3 – Graeme Lawrence
2 – Fernando Alonso
Singapore Grand Prix: F1 Betting Tips
Lewis Hamilton is in control of the Drivers’ Championship with a 63-point lead, but the season has had some intrigue injected over the last few races. The Mercedes monopoly of the top two spots through the first few races is a thing of the past.
Leclerc and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel in Austria, Hamilton chased down Verstappen in Hungary, and Leclerc held off the championship leader in Italy and Belgium.
Hamilton is on his way to a sixth title, but we aren’t heading into race weekends with the same certainty of a Mercedes win as earlier in the campaign.
Leclerc is out at 15/2 to make it three in a row – it’s likely that neither Ferrari makes the podium.
Slow corners have been an issue for Leclerc and Vettel all year, and their straight-line speed advantage isn’t going to be noticeable this weekend.
Mercedes have thrived in the slower sectors, but they will be under pressure from Verstappen and, perhaps, Alex Albon. After grid penalties in the last two races, this is Albon’s first opportunity to pit himself against Verstappen.
The rookie looks a good price at 6/4 to notch his first career podium – he could find himself contesting third-place with Valtteri Bottas while Hamilton and Verstappen tussle at the front.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Vincent Thian / AP Photo*
