Another race, another street track, but this time under the bright lights of Singapore.

This weekend’s Grand Prix is arguably the most eye-catching of the season. Rivalling Monaco and Las Vegas for the title of F1’s most glamourous event, the Marina Bay Circuit takes cars on a tour around stunning skyscrapers, the famous Anderson Bridge and the towering Singapore Flyer observation wheel in downtown Singapore. A section of the circuit even goes underneath a grandstand – it makes for quite the spectacle. The stunning surroundings are complemented by the city’s lively and vibrant atmosphere, with a festival-like feeling around the city.

On their way from Azerbaijan to Singapore, we caught up with Lando, Oscar and Team Principal Andrea Stella, who talked us through what we can expect. We’ve also got your usual guide to the circuit, F1 Icebreaker and some tips on what to wear.

“It feels good going into this race knowing we’re currently first in the Constructors’ Championship. The team have done and keep doing an excellent job. We know we now need to keep working hard and delivering consistent results.

“I’m excited for this weekend in Singapore. It’s a great country to visit and it’s cool to race under the lights. This circuit can be quite challenging with the humidity, but I’ve done well here in the past and I'm feeling prepared, so it should be another fun race.”

“After an incredible weekend securing my second Grand Prix win, I’m ready to go for it again in Singapore. It’s a shorter circuit but an incredibly demanding one for the drivers. We have a good rhythm going in the team, and we now have to keep adding as many points as possible.

“We got some decent points from Singapore last year. With a stronger car, we should be in a position to challenge. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going.”

“After a successful weekend in Baku, we now head to Singapore and another street circuit. This is one of the more physically demanding races due to the high humidity. The team are prepared for such tricky conditions and will aim for another good weekend of points.

“We go into this weekend leading the Constructors’ Championship, but we must now work hard to keep hold of this position. We are encouraged by our performance, and ready for the next seven races.”

Track insights

The Singapore Grand Prix is one of F1’s most spectacular races, but drivers don’t get any time to take in the stunning scenery in what is amongst our sport’s most physically demanding races.

The Marina Bay Circuit received a makeover ahead of 2023, shaving off around eight seconds a lap with a new 397.9m straight replacing Turns 16 to 19. The removal of corners hasn’t made it any less punishing, though. Temperatures inside the car can hit 60 degrees Celsius with up to 80% humidity, causing drivers to lose as much as 3kg in body weight during a race.

Although it’s no longer amongst F1’s longer laps, it fits in plenty of challenges. The Marina Bay Circuit is full of bumps and heavy braking zones and features multiple overtaking opportunities, despite being a street circuit. Turn 7 is your best chance, following on from a DRS zone and two flat-out corners. For 2024, a new DRS zone has been added between Turns 14 and 16, giving drivers another opportunity to make a move.

There’s also the challenge of having to do all of this in the middle of the night, with drivers sleeping during the day, eating breaking in the afternoon and then dinner in the morning as they attempt to remain on European time.

The season so far

Oscar secured our fourth victory of the season in a hugely entertaining Azerbaijan Grand Prix, pulling off one of the overtakes of the season on Charles Leclerc. Despite starting from 15th, Lando only narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth in an overtake-filled performance.

Finishing as the highest-scoring team for the fourth time in five races, Lando and Oscar’s 38-point haul moves us to first in the Constructors’ Championship, our highest placing for a decade.

F1 translations: Dirty air

F1 is full of specialist slang and complicated jargon that can stump even the most avid of fans, which is why we’ll be explaining common F1 terminology ahead of each grand prix this season. This week, it’s dirty air.

Dirty air is similar to slipstreaming, in that it occurs when one car is following another and is caused by air passing over the car’s surface, which impacts the aerodynamics.

Down a straight, this has a positive impact, known as slipstreaming, because it reduces drag over the car by punching a hole in the air, meaning there’s less air resistance to drive against.

However, when taking a corner, it has a negative effect, referred to as ‘dirty air’. Going into a turn, the disrupted airflow reduces downforce. This gives the car less grip and control when taking a corner, forcing the driver to brake sooner and take the corner at a slower speed.  

If a circuit has lots of long straights and very few heavy braking zones, then following a car will make you faster over the course of a lap, leading to more overtakes. However, if a track has short straights and a lot of tight turns, then dirty air will slow you down and make it difficult to pass the car in front.  

F1 icebreaker

Stuck for conversation with your F1-loving friends? Spark up a discussion with our F1 icebreaker…

The Singapore Grand Prix was F1’s first night race and is lit up by 1,600 specifically made lights around the Marina Bay Circuit.  

The fit: Lights out

Our brand-new Singapore range, of course. Inspired by this weekend’s stunning night race, this stylish all black range features a bright pop of colour on the front, which will help you to stand out under the Marina Bay Circuit’s lights. There’s two hoodies and two T-shirts to choose from, both of which are best paired with black Levi’s and the matching K-Swiss trainers. You can then complete the look with one of two bold New Era Lights Out caps.