An Introduction to the Singaporean Grand Prix
2008 marks an addition on the F1 circuit, with Singapore becoming the latest Asian city to join the racing world and will host the fifteenth event of the season on the last weekend of September.
A street race is planned for this tiny island state which has no international circuit of its own and will be staged around the Marina Bay area. What’s unique about this race is it becomes the first F1 event staged at night, which will mitigate the heat of the tropics and provide a more convenient viewing time for European viewers. This will include practice and qualifying sessions.
A permanent paddock area will be built below the Singapore Flyer complex, while temporary grandstands will line the streets among the high-rises and pretty bay scenery of this colonial city. In much the same way as the historic Monaco Grand Prix involves the city, local organisers are hoping for a unique atmosphere.
This event, which is contracted for five years, will be sponsored by Singtel and places an F1 race at the heart of Southeast Asia, to add to the existing event in nearby Kuala Lumpur. It is not the first time F1 has raced in Singapore however.
In the early sixties the ‘Malaysian Grand Prix’ was hosted here while Singapore was still part of the Malaya Federation. Back then it was run on the ‘Thompson Road’ circuit which also incorporated street roads, but was discontinued after 1973, by which time Singapore had become an independent state.
In all, five official F1 events were held here and Graeme Lawrence won three of them in three different cars.