TURN IT UP TO 11, SINGAPORE 2023 GP

[Star]

Okay, although @Everso Biggyballies will technically be home for this race, I am guessing he still has some laundry and a lot of other things like mail sorting out to do, plus after a long journey like he will have had, the last thing he's going to feel like doing is jumping into doing a race thread. That is why I'm also doing this race for him too. Sorry I'm all heart



Singapore then, what do we know about the Marina Bay track? Well it's another tight and twisty street circuit and of course a night race. On paper that should suit Perez, but given his form lately I can't see him taking advantage and beating Verstappen here. Besides, with 10 straight consecutive wins behind him, will Max Verstappen be able to turn up the heat on everyone else by making it 11 here? I'd have to say, you probably wouldn't bet against it.

For those playing Guess The Pole: This year’s Singapore Grand Prix will look a little different after it was announced that the Marina Bay Circuit is set to undergo changes to the track layout ahead of the 2023 race.

Redevelopment works in the vicinity of the track mean that the section between Turns 16 and 19 of the 2022 layout will now become one long 397.9m straight, reducing the total number of corners from 23 to 19.

The changes, which are subject to FIA approval and will also require the removal of the Bay Grandstand while the redevelopment is carried out, are expected to see the circuit length reduced from 5.063km to 4.928km, with the number of laps in the Grand Prix likely increased from 61 to 63.



When was the track built?

The Marina Bay Circuit arrived on the scene in 2008. A street track with the city's famous skyline as its spectacular backdrop, the initial circuit plan by Herman Tilke was refined by KBR Inc, while the event has quickly established itself as one of the standouts on the F1 calendar.

When was its first Grand Prix?

In 2008, Singapore had the honour of hosting the first night-time race in F1 history. The Grand Prix – the 15th round of that season – proved a huge hit with the teams and drivers, while Renault’s Fernando Alonso claimed a controversial victory after the infamous crash-gate incident.

What’s the circuit like?

The Marina Bay Circuit is one of the most physically demanding on the calendar, its bumpy street surface coupled with humid conditions giving the drivers plenty to think about. Even with a revised 2023 layout reducing the number of corners from 23 to 19, they are working the wheel a lot, too, around the high-speed lap – the physical stress causing them to lose as much as 3kg in body weight over the course of a race.


First Grand Prix

2008

Number of Laps

63

Circuit Length

4.928km (unconfirmed)

Race Distance

TBC km

Lap Record

N/A (N/A)


What happened last year?

Although the regular 61 laps were scheduled, only 59 were completed due to the two hours time limit being reached. The pole sitter was Charles Leclerc for Ferrari.

The race was on 2 October and due to start at 20:00 local time, before being delayed to 21:05 due to thunderstorms As you'd expect, all the cars were on the intermediate tyres. Sergio Perez took the lead from Charles Leclerc into turn 1, while Carlos Sainz Jr. passed Lewis Hamilton into 3rd place. Unusually for him, Max Verstappen dropped to 12th place on lap 1, before recovering to 9th by lap 7 when a safety car came out thanks to a collision between Nicholas Latifi and Zhou Guanyu, forcing both cars to retire. After the restart, Verstappen moved up to 7th but got stuck behind Fernando Alonso until Alonso retired on lap 21 with an engine failure. This caused a virtual safety car, during which time Mercedes brought George Russell in for slick medium tyres. There were then another two virtual safety car periods, the first when Alexander Albon hit the wall and had to retire his damaged car. The second happened when Esteban Ocon suffered an engine failure. On lap 33, Hamilton went into the wall at turn 7. Luckily for him he was able to re-join the track just behind Lando Norris, defending against Verstappen.

Russell's pace improved and he began setting fastest laps, the rest of the field then switched to slick tyres, Pierre Gasly being the first to do so on lap 34. Due to Hamilton's accident, he had to change his front wing, dropping him back to 9th. Yuki Tsunoda crashed out at turn 10 on lap 36, triggering a second full safety car. Having stayed out of the pits for an additional lap, this allowed the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo to pit for slick tyres with Norris maintaining 4th position and Ricciardo moving up to 6th. At the restart, Perez continued to lead from Leclerc and Sainz. In an attempt to overtake Norris into turn 7, Verstappen locked up, initially falling to 8th, he then came in to pit for fresh soft tyres which dropped him back into last place until a minor collision between Russell and Mick Schumacher, causing both to pit for soft tyres. Perez led most of the race but was then challenged by Leclerc for the lead. Despite having DRS and coming close, Leclerc was unable to retake the lead of the race. After a good recovery drive, Verstappen managed to overtake Sebastian Vettel on the final lap to take 7th. Perez widened his lead late in the race and claimed his fourth career victory, his first in Singapore, with Leclerc in 2nd, and Sainz 3rd. Russell set the fastest lap on lap 54, but finished outside of the point scoring positions.

Perez was then investigated for two separate breaches of the sporting regulations - falling more than ten lengths behind the safety car, receiving a warning for the first offense, and a 5 second time penalty for the second, due to him repeating the offence after being warned not to. This reduced his lead but did not affect his race win. Since both Alonso and Ocon retired during the race, while Norris and Ricciardo finished 4th and 5th, this allowed McLaren to move up to 4th in the Constructors' Championship ahead of Alpine. Vettel finishing in 8th and Stroll finishing in 6th, moved Aston Martin up to 7th in the Constructors' Championship. Latifi received a 5 place grid penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix, for causing the collision with Zhou on lap 7.


Find the race highlights from 2022 here:


As happens in this part of the world, there is a high chance of high humidity and therefore, some showers of rain. We all know that when it comes down here, it usually buckets down, so good luck to all of those playing Guess The Pole


So it's another thrills and spills circuit that is almost guaranteed to bring out at least one safety car, probably more. Let's hope there is plenty of action and it will lead to an exciting race. I know, it doesn't always feel exciting when we already know who is likely to win, but maybe the battles further back will give us something to get excited about. The Ferrari boys had plenty of action in Monza and Charles Leclerc will want to reassert his position as their lead driver I am sure. Carlos Sainz isn't likely to sit back and just let that happen based on recent races and who can blame him?

Enjoy

[Everso Biggyballies]

Thanks Gill, you are a gem!
I must admit the thought of geeting back on Wednesday and the second I got through the door having to write a preview was not the best welcome home thought. I will probably do a bit of sleeping given my body clock will be 8 or 9 hours out of synch for a few days. That and Iam not the best sleeper on planes

Ta muchly.

[Star]

Thanks Gill, you are a gem!
I must admit the thought of geeting back on Wednesday and the second I got through the door having to write a preview was not the best welcome home thought. I will probably do a bit of sleeping given my body clock will be 8 or 9 hours out of synch for a few days. That and Iam not the best sleeper on planes

Ta muchly.

Well I did think it would be a bit much to expect that of you. I was more than happy to help out for a while. I know my write ups pale into insignificance based on your output, but I tried to put in what I felt was the most relevant information. I am happy to hand back to you, the master of these things, for such an iconic race track as Suzuka in Japan

You can relax and get used to being home again before the race next weekend

[Star]

@MonteCristo a sticky for this thread would be very much appreciated please when you have a moment

[XcraigX]

[Everso Biggyballies]

Singapore Grand Prix weather forecast

Friday
Forecast: Warm with a gentle breeze.
Temperature: 31C / 88F
Chance of precipitation: 10%

Saturday
Forecast: Thundery showers and a gentle breeze.
Temperature: 31C / 88F
Chance of precipitation: 30%

Sunday
Forecast: Thundery showers and a light breeze,.
Highest temperature: 31C / 88F
Chance of precipitation: 50%

[erwin greven]

Lap-times are expected to be nearly 20 seconds faster than the usual laps in the mid-to-high 1:50s, with the total race distance increased from 61 to 63 laps as a result of the change.

https://racingnews365.com/the-one-off-t ... grand-prix

[Everso Biggyballies]

New McLaren Livery for Singapore and Japan.

Dubbed ‘Stealth Mode’ by the team, it is a result of the team’s partnership with OKX – just as it did at last year’s Marina Bay event.

“Stealth Mode flips our race car’s colours, bringing something exciting and different to these two great races in Singapore and Japan.

“We hope fans will love it as much as we do and get a chance to enjoy the fan zone to connect with our team.

“OKX are a dedicated supporter of McLaren’s journey, and in turn we’re proud to bring our partnership to life on track through the global platform of Formula 1.”

Fans in Singapore will be able to visit a McLaren-themed zone across the weekend with a show car on display alongside simulators, giveaways, and an appearance by Norris on Thursday evening.

It is the third livery change of the season for McLaren which ran revised paintwork across the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix.

Then the design was created as a tribute livery to the team’s victories at Monaco, the Indianapolis 500, and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In Silverstone, the car had a subtle revision with the addition of more chrome on the airbox, harking back to the design it carried through the late 1990s and 2000s, and in deference to team sponsor Google.

[Everso Biggyballies]

A bit of a take from Autossport on the track and how the changes to the layout will affect qualifying in particular and given the DRS effect and the Red Bull's tendency to not warm their tyres quickly, plus the difficulties the new layout will make for overtaking are suggesting it wont be a strong layout for the Bulls.... Qualifying will be key to race performance with some saying the race winner will come from the front row. Strategy will be the other key factor with the race likely to be a one stopper. Talk is that qualifying will suit Ferrari and that might make it difficult for the Bulls.The plus side for the drivers is that the race will be quicker and thus less of an ordeal for drivers. Cooling of brakes and engines might be an issue though. Oh and as will any rainfall at the wrong time.

Anyway here is the track preview and why it wont suit Red Bull so much, from Autosport

The victory favourite is obviously Red Bull – the team eying a 15th straight triumph in its quest for season-long perfection, with Max Verstappen seeking to extend his new record for consecutive wins to 11. In other statistical milestones at Red Bull, Sergio Perez will celebrate 250 F1 starts this weekend.

Perez will do that in a special helmet livery, joining the colour scheme changes of Williams and McLaren – theirs to suit sponsor whims. But both Perez and Verstappen were notably downbeat on Red Bull’s chances here possibly being reduced when they last faced the media at Monza.

“A little bit more difficult, I think for us,” was Verstappen’s assessment. “We'll do our best and of course we'll try to go in there and try to win it again. But it's not, let's say, going to be the strongest weekend for us.”

“I agree with Max,” Perez added. “I think it's going to be a weekend where basically anything can happen. Hopefully, we are able to have a very strong Saturday, because if you don't start in the front row, it's very unlikely that you will have a shot at the victory. So, hopefully, we can repeat what we did last year.”

For Perez that means taking a second Singapore win. Verstappen still hunts his first, Red Bull having squandered his 2022 chances by under-fuelling his RB18 in Q3. But the pair’s respective travails last season explain exactly what they fear this weekend. That they’ve identified them demonstrates how complacency is not common at Red Bull.

The track changes are, ultimately, a boost for the team’s rivals and at the same time blunt a Red Bull advantage. This is because of how Singapore’s layout has particularly tested driver skill since its game-changing arrival on the F1 calendar – mainly in qualifying.

Then come the race, it also makes overtaking very tough. Not quite like Monaco, but there’s a reason Verstappen joked “in Singapore we need more DRS than the straight allows”, after the overtaking aid had been central to making Monza such an excellent race.

This time, those missing four turns means the rear tyres won’t be under quite the same strain late in a lap. But like the reduced physicality point this year, the plethora of 90-degree corners across the now 3.06-mile layout means rear sliding will still be a massive challenge – this one that can that can ruin a qualifying flier late on with rubber overheating and no longer biting.

But, in theory, that makes it easier for a car such as Ferrari’s SF-23, which warms its tyres easily and then struggles to keep them alive. The RB19’s tendencies mean Verstappen and Perez usually start laps with their rubber still reaching the optimum performance temperatures, but there is now simply less lap distance this time in Singapore for them to put their late-gain advantage in this area to bare.

Overall, Red Bull fears being outqualified by a rival and then unable to repass in what should still be a long, one-stop marathon. Singapore’s big pitlane time loss (nearly 30s total) plus the lack of tyre degradation compared to some tracks adds up to that strategy, with the latter also boosting a team that struggles with tyre life over a stint a la Ferrari.

Verstappen’s uncharacteristic mistake passing Lando Norris’s McLaren here last year demonstrates the overtaking challenge even with a vastly superior car. Plus, Perez had to work to defy Charles Leclerc after he blew the wet start from pole for Ferrari.

Should rain arrive, the events of Monaco back in May show that Red Bull can be beaten
The RB19 has also struggled on bumps and kerbs at certain times this year, while Singapore’s staggering humidity will increase cooling demands – one race on from Verstappen having to back off and cool his engine late on in Italy. Brake cooling here is also a potential pitfall for all teams.

Ferrari is theoretically Red Bull’s biggest threat given its recent Baku poles, but Mercedes and Aston Martin are relieved to have put Monza’s low-drag requirements behind and are looking forward to bolting their maximum downforce wing packages once again.

A wider spread of opposition is as big a boost to Red Bull as a threat, plus all the rest will require perfection to halt its winning march. For Ferrari, that means Leclerc staying error-free, Carlos Sainz continuing his searingly strong post-summer break form streak, and the team nailing the strategy calls. Particularly if forecasted thunderstorms do hit on race day.

Should rain arrive, the events of Monaco back in May show that Red Bull can be beaten even if its biggest fears around qualifying do not come to pass. But the challenge of doing so is as great as even a changed Singapore track remains, overall, for the drivers.

.https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-s ... /10519466/

[DoubleFart]

Red Bull won't win this weekend. This will be that odd race where they just don't have enough.

[Aty]

Prediction:
Max, Sergio, Carlos, Charles, Fernando and Pierre / Lando - all in realistic contention for the podium. I am not sure at all what's going on with Mercedes, so I left them out.

[Aty]

Little chat...

Inevitably Alonso’s longevity in the sport was also brought up because, at the Singapore Grand Prix, he is poised to become the first F1 driver to complete 100,000 km Grand Prix race laps. The incredible milestone will be reached on lap 16 of the race at Marina Bay Circuit on Sunday.

Asked about the achievement, Alonso said: “That’s race kilometres. They never count every practice, qualifying or testing. So I remember the first year of testing in 2002 when I was a test driver, I did 40,000 km in that season alone.

GP247

Those were good times. Not too many drivers can claim the same.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Seeing as this part of Singapore GP history involving Felipe Massa has been dragged out again many years. after the event this photo needs to be posted again.



Hell, here is the video.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Here is a bit of the pre Marina Bay Singapore GPs history.... way before . I posted it in a previous preview I did and thought som might be interested.

SINGAPORE GP HISTORY

The history of the Singapore GP goes far beyond the recent night races
As an event The Singapore Grand Prix ran from 1961 till 1973. It was usually held in
April, during the easter holidays, and was spread over a few days. building up to the main
events - the grand prix for motorcycles and cars.... there were many minor races for the
different categories.

* The first event was called the Orient Year Grand Prix.

* It was renamed the ‘Malaysian Grand Prix’ in 1962.

* When Singapore gained independence in 1965, the race took the name ‘The Singapore GP’.'

From the 1964 Malaysian GP....


The race was run on the Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit, and held on a stretch of Upper
Thomson Road that encompassed the Sembawang Hills Circus and a section of Old Upper
Thomson Road. There wass a series of corners known as The Snakes, leading up to Devil’s
Bend hairpin, where the current entrance to Lower Peirce Reservoir is located, and the Nee
Soon Hairpin. The track was 4.865km long and run in a clockwise direction, and traditionally,
a race would be 60 laps, although it was reduced in the latter years.

The Thompson' Rd Track layout.



Opened 1961
Closed 1973

Length 4.865 km (3.023 mi)
Turns 9
Race lap record 1:54.9 (Leo Geoghegan, Birrana, 1973)


It was a very different age, very far removed from the modern day pinnacle of motorsport
(and its accompanying circus) The SGP was Formula Libre, libre being ‘open’ or ‘free’. So, you
brought whatever you had and you raced. Open-top single-seater cars vs Sports Cars v
regular road cars were the norm in early days.

Safety was nearly non-existent for both drivers and spectators. After 1973, motor racing
was I think banned after extra fatalities occured above the of one or two expected and
accepted. Many reasons have been cited for the discontinuation of the event post-1973,
including an increase in traffic, as Singapore was in a huge period of growth, the
inconvenience of having to close roads for the event, as well as a drastic increase in oil
prices due to the Suez Crisis in the Middle East. The brutal fatalities during the races in
1972 and 1973, of spectators drivers and track workers was also a major contribution to
the race stopping.

It was billed as “the premiere motorsport event in South-East Asia” and apparently
“attendance topped a quarter million”. That’s pretty amazing attendance considering
the population of Singapore in the ’60s was nothing like it is today.

It attracted many international participants, particularly from Australia and New Zealand.
Drivers such as Vern Shuppan, Max Stewart Garrie Cooper. Famous cars such as the
Mildren-Waggot, along with March, Ferrari, Brabham, Elfin and Merlyn.

Two Singaporeans in history have managed to conquer Thomson Road.
They are Lee Han Seng, who won the first Singapore Grand Prix after independence in 1966,
and Rodney Seow, who won it the subsequent year in 1967. Australian and New Zealander
drivers have dominated the track otherwise—Ian Barnwell won the Orient Year Grand Prix in 1961,
Graeme Lawrence won three times consecutively from 1969 and Vern Schupann won the last
Formula Libre Singapore Grand Prix in 1973.

The Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit had many challenging features, including the treacherous
"Circus Hairpin" bends and the "Snakes" section. In particular, the "Murder Mile" feature of this
track derived its name from the fact that many racing accidents occurred along this stretch.
Similarly, "Devil's Bend" got its name because it was the most dangerous part of the circuit.

A total of seven lives were lost due to racing accidents in the 11 years history of the Singapore
Grand Prix. Two lives were lost during the last two consecutive editions of the Grand Prix:
at the 1972 Grand Prix, Lionel Chan, the nephew of local racing champion Chan Lye Choon,
died after falling into a ravine while in the 1973 edition, Swiss competitor Joe Huber died
after crashing his car into a cable pole.

Safety concerns was the official reason cited for the cancellation of the 1974 edition of the Grand
Prix that heralded the end of Singapore Prix until 2008

Australian Vern Schuppan and British-born Hong Kong man John Macdonald both loved it. Never one to mince his words, Macdonald describes the track:

‘Flowing? In places, but hairpins were not exactly flowing. Dangerous? In those days no more so than expected and certainly safer by far than Macau. Monsoon drains? Yes. Bus stops? One after that lovely curve on the straight and a few lamp posts. None of these things got in the way and I did not go looking for them!’

The start-finish line was on the main straight, on a normal day the two lane black-top served as a major trunk road, on the right were fruit plantations and on the left new housing estates and industrial parks.

The bend halfway down the straight was ‘The Hump’, this had a false apex which sat on the turn-in that lifted cars off the road; it was this section that Frank Matich got wrong during 1970 practice, his McLaren M10A Chev F5000 hit a bus stop and was out for the weekend.

After ‘The Hump’ was ‘Sembawang Circus’ or ‘The Hairpin’, dangerous as cars approached it ‘flat’ until it was ‘chicaned’ in 1969 to preserve spectators generally and Singapores Cabinet sitting in VIP stands!

‘The Esses’ comprised several sections; ‘The Snakes’, four bends, then ‘Devils’ a rounded off v-bend which caught many out, then ‘Long Loop’, a right hander.

Then came ‘Peak Bend’, where TV and radio stations located themselves. The circuit then went down right to ‘Range Hairpin’ and then ‘Signal Pits with pit entry after ‘Range Hairpin’.

Then it was left onto ‘The Thomson Mile’ a fast undulating one mile stretch on what was then the start of Nee Soon Road and back to the start/finish line, a lap was circa 24 gear changes dependent upon type of car and ‘box of course.

Garrie Cooper Elfin 600D Ford ahead of Vern Schuppan’s March 722 on ‘the Thomson Mile’, 1972 GP

It was not until 1968 that Australian constructors started to venture to South-East Asia. Garrie Cooper of Elfin Cars won the Grand Prix that year in his very first Elfin 600, powered by a Ford Twin Cam. ‘Nobody had ever heard of Elfins,’ said Aussie racer/constructor Frank Matich.

Cooper had also suggested that the Singapore GP be confined to racing cars, for qualifying times to limit the number of entrants and for a reduction in the number of laps from 60 to 50. Subsequent years saw the main race run as two heats of 20 and 40 laps over different days.

Local racers were increasingly sidelined by foreigners, 1967 the last year a local won the GP. In 1969 Kiwi Graeme Lawrence won in his McLaren-FVA M4A amid some very powerful machinery including Cooper’s Elfin 600C Repco 2.5 V8, which the locals thought was an F1 car.


Mal Ramsay in the Thomson Rd paddock 1970. Elfin 600C Repco 2.5 V8 4th place in the race won by Graeme Lawrence’s Ferrari 246T


EARLY RACE WINNERS


2nd April 1973
Vern Schuppan
March-Ford 722

2nd April 1972
Max Stewart
Mildren-Twin Cam

11th April 1971
Graeme Lawrence
Brabham-Ford BT29

29th March 1970
Graeme Lawrence
Ferrari Dino 246T V6

6th April 1969
Graeme Lawrence
McLaren M4A Cosworth

15th April 1968
Garrie Cooper
Elfin-Ford Twin Cam

27th March 1967
Rodney Seow
Merlyn Lotus-Ford

11th April 1966
Lee Han Seng
Lotus 22

12th April 1965
Albert Poon
Lotus 23B

30th March 1964
Abandoned after 4 laps N/A

15th April 1963
Albert Poon
Lotus 23

23rd April 1962
Yong Nam Kee
Jaguar E-Type

17th Sept 1961
Ian Barnwell
Aston Martin DB3S


1966 Singapore Grand Prix




A great article of old Singapore GPs pre 2008.... particularly 1968,1970, and 1972. And some brilliant pics.
https://primotipo.com/tag/1968-singapore-grand-prix/


Birrana Engineering chief Malcolm Ramsay in his Birrana 273 ‘010’ Ford Hart during the 1973 Singapore Grand Prix, the last until the F1 era commenced in 2008…




Sonny Rajah in the ex Petersen March 712M Euro F2 champ car, 4th in the ’72 Singapore GP

Sonny Rajah raced the ex-Ronnie Peterson March 712M. Rajah was the local hero and looked the part with his long hair and Zapata moustache.

But to gain admittance into a country where long hair was associated with drugs, he had resorted to using a short-hair wig! Rajah was a very popular addition to the 1974 Australian F2 series when he raced the updated March that year.

[erwin greven]