September is an exciting month for Singaporeans and motorheads around the world. For the 12th year running, Singapore will be hosting the iconic Singapore F1 night race. Here are many interesting facts that you probably didn’t know about the race:
Although the 5.067km Marina Bay Street Circuit is not the only street race in the F1 season, it was the inaugural night race. This was planned to accommodate to the time zone difference between Western countries and Singapore.
Fitted along the track are 1,600 lighting projectors, each consisting of a projector with internal reflectors that project the light beams at different angles to prevent it from blinding the drivers. As a result, the track is 4 times more brightly lit than a stadium.
The Marina Bay Street Circuit has more corners than any other circuit on the calendar – 23 (14 left handers and 9 right handers). The fact that most of these are fairly tight helps contribute to Singapore having one of the longest average lap times on the calendar, comparable only to Spa-Francorchamps which is 1.939 km greater in length.
The relatively slow nature of the circuit – and the propensity for safety cars – means it takes longer than average to complete the 305 km minimum race distance. As a result, Singapore is almost always the longest race of the season. None of the previous races in Singapore has been completed in under 1 hour 56 minutes.
During its inaugural year, the Marina Bay Street Circuit was revamped with an asphalt surface that uses Polymer Modified Binder (PMB) to withstand forces exerted by the race cars during the F1 race. The high speed generated by the supercar are able to fling manhole covers free. To withstand high speeds, the manholes at the Marina Bay Street Circuit have to be welded shut before each race.
In little over an hour, F1 drivers are exposed to sauna-like conditions in the cockpit, causing them to lose between two to three litres of water during each race. It is no wonder that drivers are required to drink up to 8 litres of water to keep themselves fully hydrated. An F1 driver loses up to 4kg of weight per race, though the weight is regained just as easily.
Singapore has the most number of female race officials worldwide. About 25% of race officials in Singapore are female, the highest number percentage across the Formula One Circuits.
Braking will make drivers cry. At such extreme speeds, an equally strong braking force is required to grind the car to a halt. Even with all the anticipation in the world, each driver will feel as if they are slammed into a brick wall at a speed of nearly 300km/h whenever they brake. The sheer impact is so strong that drivers’ tear ducts squirt water into their visors.
Each lap is approximately 5km long with 21 turns. Drivers change their gears approximately 5,000 times on the Marina Bay Street Circuit during the race.
The total length of carbon fibre microthreads used in a F1 helmet spans almost 16,000km, which in comparison is the distance from Singapore to Brazil.
During a race, F1 drivers experience extreme forces of up to 4.5 – 5.5 times of their gravitational force, which basically means that they are supporting 5 times their body weight just on their necks.
One of the best places to watch the race in Singapore is at the Anderson Bridge, which overlooks Turn 13, the sharpest turn of the circuit.
Stats:
Circuit: Marina Bay Street Circuit
Length: 5.065km
Laps: 61
Race distance: 308.965km
Corners: 23
Races: 11
Wins from pole: 8/72.73%
Number of winners: 4
Most successful team: Mercedes, 3 wins
Most successful driver: Vettel/Hamilton, 4 wins
Lap record: 1:41.905, set by Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in 2018
Lap record average speed: 179kph, 111mph
2018 Stats
Pole: 1:36.015 Lewis Hamilton
Fastest Lap: 1:41.905 Kevin Magnussen (lap record)
Podium: Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel
2017 Stats
Pole: 1:39.491 Sebastian Vettel
Fastest Lap: 1:45.008 Lewis Hamilton
Podium: Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas
2016 Stats
Pole: 1:42.548 Nico Rosberg
Fastest Lap: 147.187 Daniel Ricciardo
Podium: Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton
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