Formula 1 teams agree that while the high-load nature of the Marina Bay track in Singapore will remain unchanged, the changes to the layout planned for this season will have a certain impact, especially on tires and brakes. Tires will have to deal with fewer traction zones, reducing the risk of overheating in the latter part of the lap, while brakes will have more recovery time and will be less stressed.
The spectacle of the event, the fact that it takes place at night with the city skyline in the background, the challenges of avoiding the barriers make the Singapore Grand Prix one of the most anticipated races on the calendar. Since 2008, it has been the quintessential night race in Formula 1.
Over the years, the layout has undergone several changes, starting with the removal of the famous “Singapore Sling” chicane in 2013, replaced by a left-hand turn. Due to construction work in the Marina Bay area, the track layout has been revisited for this year’s race, eliminating the sequence of four nearly 90-degree corners in the third sector that passed under the grandstand.
The part of the track that previously consisted of turns 16-19 is now a single straight of almost 400 meters, starting from where the old turn 15 was located and extending to the chicane where last year’s turn 20 was, which is now called turn 16. This change will make the track faster, primarily because the total lap length is now less than five kilometers, and secondly because the track has become much smoother.
This will also mean that teams will have less time to evaluate a strategy in the event of a possible undercut or a potential Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car entry, which is quite common in Singapore.
In addition to making lap times much faster, the changes will reduce the efforts required on the brake system, which will now have more time to cool down, and on the tires, which will no longer have to deal with the slow section that, until last season, was one of the most demanding in terms of traction.
“I think it will be easier for the tires because all the braking and traction zones and the wear that comes with it should be a bit simpler,” said Aston Martin Performance Director Tom McCullough in an interview for Motorsport Italy.
“Normally, what happened was that at the end of the lap, as there wasn’t much recovery time for the tires, especially the rears, they were very hot with the old layout. This way, the tires will cool down a bit before the final corners. However, probably, thanks to everything else [on the lap], the circuit’s demand will always be at its maximum and won’t change much.”
Williams’ Head of Vehicle Performance, Dave Robson, suggested that the track changes will benefit cars that prefer high-speed sections, like the FW45: “The track change probably helps us because four corners have been removed. So, it’s probably helpful.”
“But I think more seriously, the nature of the circuit will change quite a bit. Not so much in terms of the load level but in the braking phase, which is always difficult. The energy that the brakes have to manage, the degradation of the rear tires, it’s always very challenging when you get to the final sector. So, having removed those corners from that part of the circuit changes the circuit’s characteristics for everyone, of course. Hopefully, this will play more into the strengths of our car.”
However, there are contrasting opinions within Alpine. On one hand, Pierre Gasly expressed his regret because he was sure that the low-speed sections would have played into the hands of the A523, while Esteban Ocon highlighted that at least this new section would help create new overtaking opportunities: “It was very, very good news. On the track you don’t enjoy driving so much, the fact that they changed it is excellent news. We hope it helps with overtaking, which was impossible before. I’m quite sure we’ll be able to get closer, and this will change a lot of things.”
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