An Introduction to the Singaporean Grand Prix
The 2008 F1 Season marked the addition of a new Grand Prix race in Asia, the Singapore Grand Prix. The race is held on a street circuit called the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and is the only night race on the F1 Grand Prix calendar. The first Singapore Grand Prix was won by Fernando Alonso and marked the first night race in the history of F1. It has now become one of the premier F1 races on the calendar.
A street race is the only option for this small island state, which has no international circuit of its own. The night race makes the Singapore Grand Prix unique and mitigates the heat of the tropics as well as providing a more convenient viewing time for European viewers.
A permanent paddock area was built below the Singapore Flyer complex, while temporary grandstands line the streets among the high-rises and pretty bay scenery of this colonial city. In much the same way that the historic Monaco Grand Prix involves the city, local organisers have created a unique racing atmosphere.
This event, which is contracted for five years, is sponsored by Singtel and places an F1 race at the heart of Southeast Asia to complement the existing event in nearby Kuala Lumpur. It is not the first time F1 has raced in Singapore however, which hosted a Grand Prix race between 1966 and 1973.
In the early 1960s 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 that time Singapore had become an independent state.
Since the inception of the Marina Bay Circuit, the Singapore Grand Prix has been won twice by Fernando Alonso (2008 and 2010) and once each by Lewis Hamilton (2009) and Sebastian Vettel (2011).