When Formula 1 was preparing for the first Singapore Grand Prix 16 years ago, many working within the sport were not convinced that a night race on a city track would ever work.
“When people see this, they will realize it wasn’t a stupid idea,” Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula 1 at the time, said in 2008.
Now, one quarter of the 24-race Formula 1 calendar takes place under lights. And many Formula 1 races have added elements Singapore included from its beginning. Some even drew direct inspiration from this event.
“We have a lot of respect for what the Singaporeans do,” Martin Whitaker, the chief executive of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another night race, said on Sunday. “They run a fantastic event. They’re a very good benchmark on which to aim at. We very much appreciate what they do and, in many ways, are envious of what they can achieve.”
In 2008, Singapore was one of two new Formula 1 races. The other was held in Valencia, Spain, but that event did not last. Singapore, however, became a Formula 1 classic.
Much of that had to do with its night schedule. The Singapore race was Formula 1’s first to take place in darkness. This meant the Marina Bay track’s designers had to illuminate its three-mile lap length so that drivers could race as safely as they would during a daytime race. In 2024, this is achieved with 1,618 light projectors, using almost 70 miles of power cables, arranged above the concrete blocks that line the track’s edges. All of this takes five months to install and two more to remove.
“When it was first suggested that Singapore should host the world’s first F1 night race, we knew that we faced an immense challenge,” said Jonathan Hallett, the board director of Singapore GP Pte, the race promoter. “The event was unprecedented.”
In one way it was not. A Grand Prix in Singapore had been held from 1966 to 1973, but it was not a Formula 1 event. But the first race in the Formula 1 championship in 2008 was controversial and is the subject of a lawsuit now.
Nelson Piquet Jr., a driver for Renault, said a year after the race that his team told him to crash deliberately. That brought out the safety car, a move that forbids passing.
That benefited Piquet’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, (now racing for Aston Martin), who went on to win, but it hurt Felipe Massa of Ferrari, the early race leader who was in a close fight for the drivers’ championship.
Massa also had a botched pit stop, finished 13th and earned no points, which indirectly cost him the championship, losing to Lewis Hamilton of McLaren by one point at the season finale.
Massa is suing Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Ecclestone and the F.I.A., the sport’s governing body, over the issue.
The Singapore event is intense for drivers. They must complete 62 frantic laps of a technical street course featuring 19 corners, all while their cockpit temperatures in the city-state just 85 miles north of the Equator start off above 120 degrees and then rise.
Therefore, when a Formula 1 driver is pounding up a mountain or hitting the gym during winter training, Singapore in September is firmly in mind.
“We’re pretty much training for the two or three races in the calendar that really take it out of you,” said Alex Albon, a driver for Williams.
Singapore also has high humidity, which affects the drivers. They can lose eight pounds in fluid weight during the race, while dehydration affects them mentally.
“It’s definitely a standout race in terms of the physicality,” said Martin Poole, the personal trainer for Nico Hülkenberg, a German driver for Haas.
The race also challenges team staff members, especially mechanics, who must work with the hot cars directly. To keep them from suffering dehydration, it is common for teams to log exactly how many bottles of water or electrolyte-laden drinks they consume.
“It’s a spreadsheet,” said Faith Atack-Martin, the physio for Haas. “Just to tell me what they’ve had or not. It’s very normal for them to start to feel unwell if things aren’t managed right.”
Singapore’s seven-hour time difference from Formula 1 team factories in England means the race is held with a unique sleep schedule for many staff members. Those traveling from Europe simply wake and sleep as if they are still living on their previous time zone to help beat jet lag. This often means sleeping between dawn and the early afternoon.
“It can really impact people’s general mood,” said Atack-Martin. “We only usually get a few hours before we get to work and it gets dark.”
This situation requires careful planning for the drivers, too.
“Making sure that he sleeps well actually really helps with how well he’s able to replenish his energy after burning so many more calories every time he’s out on the track during Singapore,” Poole said of Hülkenberg’s critical sleep routine for this event.
Drivers get specific training plans for acclimatizing to Singapore’s heat, too. In the weeks before traveling there, this includes spending time in heat chambers or exercising in the heat of the day, often combined with doing cognitive tests that replicate how drivers’ brains must function when racing.
They also do more intense activities that elevate heart rates, which for drivers are usually around 140 beats per minute in standard races, but in Singapore the average rises to 165. To stay as cool in their cockpits, drivers consume more chilled drinks, eat more overall to overcome the appetite suppression of the hot conditions and jump in ice baths before and after driving.
In 2024, the track has four fewer corners compared with the previous design. This offers some respite for drivers, but it is temporary. In 2027, nearby construction work will be completed and the previous layout will return.
The race’s organizers and city government claim the event has contributed $1.5 billion to Singapore’s economy through the race’s history.
“The ability to transform our city streets into a racetrack reinforces our reputation as a trusted, efficient and forward-thinking city,” Ong Ling Lee, the executive director for sports and wellness on the Singapore Tourism Board, said.
However, Atack-Martin feels Singapore is no longer “out of the ordinary” because Formula 1 now has six night races. The Singapore event organizers have even welcomed other race coordinators to see how it is done.
“We have been visited by several other circuits, keen to find out what they really needed to know in order to follow suit,” Hallett of Singapore GP Pte said.
Formula 1’s other night races are in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas. There are also seven street courses, including Singapore.
There are advantages to holding night races in hot climates, especially in the Middle East. It’s much cooler then, which helps crews and drivers, and also encourages more local fans to attend.
“That’s one of the most important and attractive elements that we have in terms of running a race at night,” Whitaker said of the Saudi event.
Starting later also means races can get larger TV audiences in Europe and in the United States.
“A lot of circuits are very conscious of that,” Whitaker said.
The Jeddah and Las Vegas races are, like Singapore, on circuits run on city streets. For Jeddah, which Whitaker said gave “consideration to the light system that they have” in Singapore, high lamp poles were erected to hold most of the lights. The projectors used in Singapore sit much closer to the track.
Singapore has a deal with Formula 1 to stay on the calendar until 2028. But Ong said “a decision has not been reached” on whether one of the championship’s most famous races will continue beyond that point.
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