AT&T Williams F1

2008 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix

About Singapore

Singapore’s all new street circuit weaves through the Marina Bay area of the city in an anti-clockwise direction. Similar to Monaco in its layout, the 5.067km lap of Singapore is dominated by slow speed corners (24 in total, 14 left and 10 right) and has only a handful of higher speed connecting stretches, the highest of which being Raffles Boulevard on which the drivers will reach 190mph. Despite so many braking events, the average lap speed is still expected to be around the 110mph mark with 50% of the lap spent at full throttle.

Over and above the clear demands provided by a night race, Singapore’s creative layout will bring its own challenge in that four fifths of the track takes in the city’s streets, while the remaining one fifth has been built specifically for the Grand Prix. The combination of cambers and bumps characteristic of a street track and the smooth asphalt of a designated racing circuit could therefore complicate set-up direction over the weekend. With the region notoriously humid, rain is expected most evenings which will further exaggerate the set-up conundrum this weekend. Despite the obvious challenges, expectation surrounding the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix will surely be met with such a dramatic new destination for Formula One.

Singapore

28 September 2008