2012 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - 21-23 SEPTEMBER 2012

Following an incident-packed Italian Grand Prix, Formula One leaves Europe behind and embarks on a championship end-game that will see the teams and drivers take on seven long-haul ‘flyaway’ races in 10 action-packed weeks. And first on that list is the Singapore Grand Prix – the sport’s only true night race. 
 
Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit is the antithesis of high-speed, low downforce Monza. Here, on the winding roads of the Lion City, average speeds are some of the lowest in Formula One and the teams employ their highest downforce settings in an effort to ensure maximum grip around the 23 corners of the floodlit track. 
 
In keeping with its street-circuit nature, grip is at a premium in the early practice sessions. The bumpy surface does ‘rubber in’ over the course of the event but, as the track is constantly evolving, teams are often left chasing the perfect set-up across the race weekend.
 
The night-race schedule presents its own challenges too, and in a bid to keep personnel at optimum performance levels at the right times, teams opt to keep everyone, including their drivers, on European time to cope with the demands of racing at 8pm. It’s also a long and demanding race, with all four of the races staged so far stretching to within five minutes of the two-hour mark. With temperatures and humidity still high despite the late start, it all adds up to one the toughest races of the year.
 
As the 2012 Formula One season heads into its final third, Fernando Alonso still leads the Drivers’ Championship. The Ferrari driver now has 179 points, 37 clear of Italian GP winner Lewis Hamilton, who has 142. Meanwhile, dark horse Kimi Raikkonen has snuck up on the rails and sits in third place, just a point behind Hamilton. In the Constructors’ battle, leaders Red Bull Racing, on 272 points, go to Singapore just 29 points clear of McLaren, while Ferrari have 226 points, nine ahead of Lotus.

 
CIRCUIT DATA
 

MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT

Length of lap: 

5.073km

Lap record:

1:45.599

(Kimi Raikkonen,

Ferrari, 2008)

Start line/finish line offset:
0.137km
Total number of race laps:
61
Total race distance:

309.316km
Pitlane speed limits:
60km/h during practice, qualifying and the race

Changes to the circuit since 2011

► The track has been resurfaced on the approach to, and at the apex of, Turn 13. 
► The outer pit lane has been resurfaced. 
► All rubber kerbs have been replaced by fabricated steel sections anchored securely to the ground with 24mm diamter bolts.
DRS Zone
► The single DRS zone here remains unchanged from 2011. The detection point is at Turn 4 and the activation point is after Turn 5.

► Singapore’s 23 corners mean that the twisting layout is very hard on brakes. It doesn’t do gearboxes any favours either with drivers changing gear around 80 times per lap.
► Fernando Alonso is the most successful driver at the Singapore Grand Prix with two wins from the four events held so far, in 2008 and 2010. Lewis Hamilton won the 2009 edition and Sebastian Vettel won last year’s race.
► Prior to the inaugural edition of the Formula One race here in 2008, a Singapore Grand Prix had been run regularly from 1966-1973. The race was a Formula Libre event in which drivers raced a variety of car types. The winner of the final event in 1973 was Vern Schuppan, who also racked up 14 F1 races during his career. He made his Formula One race weekend debut in Belgium in 1972, but did not start as his car was raced instead by Helmut Marko. Schuppan’s first start came two years later at the 1974 Belgian GP and his final race was at the Dutch Grand Prix of 1977. 

► The 2008 race was a memorable one for David Coulthard. His seventh place for Red Bull Racing netted him the final points of his F1 career. DC bowed out of F1 following that season’s final event in Brazil. 
► Nick Heidfeld returned to racing here in 2010, having lost his F1 drive at the end of 2009 following the withdrawal of BMW from the sport. Nick spent the first part of 2010 as Mercedes test driver, then had a stint as Pirelli’s test driver. However, at the Singapore GP he was drafted in by Sauber to replace Pedro de la Rosa for the final five races of the season, thus rejoining a team he had raced for from 2001-2003, and, as BMW-Sauber, from 2006 until 2009. In Singapore, though, he retired following a collision with Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi.
► The Singapore GP is usually packed with incident and the safety car has intervened here at least once in every race since 2008.

ALLAN MCNISH 
EX-FORMULA ONE, LE MANS WINNER AND FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER

Singapore GP
Formula One Timetable
& FIA Media Schedule

THURSDAY
Press Conference

FRIDAY
Practice Session 1
Practice Session 2
Press Conference

SATURDAY
Practice Session 3
Qualifying
Followed by unilateral and 
press conference

SUNDAY
Drivers' Parade
Race 
Followed by unilateral and 
press conference

QUALIFYING
All drivers eliminated in Q1 or Q2 are available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session, as are drivers who participated in Q3, but who are not required for the post-qualifying press conference. The TV pen interview area will be located in the paddock in front of the staircase leading to the media centre.

  
RACE 
Any driver retiring before the end of the race will be made available at each team’s garage/hospitality.
In addition, during the race every team will make available at least one senior spokesperson for interview by officially accredited TV crews. A list of those nominated will be made available in the media centre.