The Singapore GP layout is known as the Marina Bay Street Circuit, which hosts the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix night race every year. From 2023 onwards the Singapore circuit layout will be changing slightly.
The Singapore F1 route runs on a number of closed roads around downtown Singapore and the Marina Bay area.
This article provides a map of the street circuit, information on the different corners and shows the route the circuit takes around the streets of Singapore. Plus we details the track changes for 2023.
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Singapore GP layout changes for 2023
After the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix had been completed its organisers announced that the circuit would be changed in 2023. It’s anticipated the circuit won’t revert back to its original pre-2023 layout until around 2026.
Singapore GP Circuit - Old Layout
Below is the pre-2023 layout of the Marina Bay street circuit for the Singapore Grand Prix. This layout had 23 turns and was 5.063km / 3.146 miles long. It was used from the very first Singapore GP in 2008 up to and including the 2022 Grand Prix.
There were a couple of small tweaks to the layout of the old circuit in the earlier years of the Singapore Grand Prix. The most notable of these were the changes made to the ‘Singapore Sling’ chicane at Turn 10.
After a number of crashes and suspension failures thanks to the big kerbs, the chicane was removed entirely for the 2013 race and was never reinstated.
Singapore GP Circuit - New Layout
The new Singapore GP layout will be used from 2023 onwards. It consists of just 19 turns and is shorter than the previous configuration at 4.928km / 3.062 miles.
For 2023 the Singapore Grand Prix will be increased from 61 to 63 laps to accomodate the slightly shorter circuit.
The 2023 changes to the Singapore GP circuit layout include the removal of the old corners 16, 17, 18 and 19. These corners led the circuit on to a short straight that ran right along the edge of Marina Bay, next to the Bay Grandstand and in front of The Float. The image below shows this section of track.
The Float is now undergoing re-development so this part of the circuit and the grandstand won’t be in use for the next few years.
“Singapore Bay Grandstand” by Flair Candy is licensed under CC BY 2.0
For 2023 onwards there will be a straight between turns 15 and 16 that’s almost 400 metres long. Combined with the flat-out kink of Turn 15, the F1 cars will be at full throttle all the way from Turn 14 until the braking zone for Turn 16.
Check out our guide to buying Singapore F1 tickets if you want to see the cars in action around Marina Bay first hand.
🚨 The Marina Bay Street Circuit will be updated from 2023 due to the redevelopment of The Float at Marina Bay into "NS Square". The #F1 #SingaporeGP track will be reduced to 4.928km with Turns 16 to 19 re-aligned into a straight. More info at https://t.co/b54sENWDYu pic.twitter.com/YUpqwL6MFg
— SingaporeGP (@F1NightRace) October 19, 2022
Singapore GP Tickets
If you need tickets to this year’s Singapore Grand Prix and they’re sold out on the official website, I’d recommend buying tickets through StubHub instead.
Sometimes you can find them cheaper than the original price with StubHub, plus you’ll have more one-day ticket options available.
I’ve bought Formula One tickets through StubHub numerous times over the last couple of years and have always had a great experience using them. They also have a robust ‘FanProtect Guarantee’ which will keep your tickets & money safe.
Singapore F1 Route
The Marina Bay street circuit is located in the Downtown and Kallang districts of Singapore. Turns 1, 2, 3, 16, 17, 18 and 19 were all specifically built for the Grand Prix and aren’t used as public roads. The rest of the Singapore F1 route runs on the roads of Singapore, which are closed during the Grand Prix weekend.
The map below shows the Singapore GP route overlaid on a street map. It shows the circuit passing some amazing sites and monuments such as the Singapore National Gallery, Parliament Buildings, Esplanade Concert Hall, the Singapore Flyer and many more.
The Singapore F1 route uses some of the most well known streets of Downtown Singapore:
- Turn 5 to 7: Raffles Boulevard
- Turn 6 to 8: Nicoll Highway
- Turn 8 to 9: Stamford Road
- Turn 9 to 10: St Andrew’s Road
- Turn 10 to 11: Connaught Drive
- Turn 12 to 13: Fullerton Road (Anderson Bridge)
- Turn 13 to 14: Esplanade Drive (Jubilee Bridge)
- Turn 14 to 16: Raffles Avenue
Singapore F1 DRS Zones
There are three DRS Zones on the Marina Bay Street circuit. Read our guide to the Singapore GP DRS Zones for more information.
With the revised circuit layout for 2023 there’ a chance that one of the DRS zones may change to incorporate the new full-throttle section from Turn 14 to Turn 16.
Is Singapore a good track for overtaking?
Being a narrow street circuit the Singapore GP layout is naturally a difficult track for the drivers to overtake at. The DRS Zones help this, particularly the first zone between turns 5 and 7. It’s usually on the brakes in to Turn 7, or in the braking zone for Turn 1, where most overtakes happen during the Formula One race.
Some other sections of the track are very tight, technical and slow which makes overtaking even harder. The worst of these are turns 10, 11, 12 and turns 2 to 3.
Singapore GP Pit Lane
The pit lane entry at the Singapore Grand Prix starts on the inside of Turn 18 and finishes by Turn 2. It runs along the left hand side of the start / finish straight.
The pit lane on the Singapore GP layout is 790 metres long. It takes around 30 seconds for a F1 car to transit the pitlane at Marina Bay, including the time taken for their pit stop.
In 2022 the fastest overall pit lane transit time at the Singapore Grand Prix was 29.407 seconds, achieved by Max Verstappen and the Red Bull racing team. That included the time taken for his pit stop.
The Singapore Paddock Club is located in the pit lane buildings.
Singapore GP Sectors
There are three separate timing sectors on the Singapore GP layout. The boundary of these is marked by two intermediate lines.
Intermediate one between sectors 1 and 2 is just before Turn 7. Intermediate two between sectors 2 and 3 is just before Turn 14.
Is Singapore F1 hard to drive?
All Formula One drivers, past and present, will agree that the Singapore Grand Prix presents one of the toughest races on the calendar. And there’s a few good reasons for this.
The first are the conditions. The heat and humidity in Singapore are horrendous, and no other race weekend offers such extreme sweaty conditions. Plus the weather is very changeable. Just check out the variance in the Singapore GP fastest lap times to see much often the rain slows thing down.
Humidity levels are consistently over 95% during the day, dropping to around 80% in the evening, and temperatures are normally over 30 degrees Celsius. Drivers do their best to prepare, but it’s torturous.
The race is held at night to help try and make the conditions more bearable, but its far from a pleasant experience. Plus the time difference and jet-lag poses a problem, so most teams and drivers tend to stay on European time for the duration of the weekend.
Singapore is also one of the longest Formula 1 races. Since it started in 2008 the race has never been shorter than 1 hour 51 minutes. It’s gone past the 2 hour time limit 5 times, which is un-heard of and unmatched by any other Grand Prix. Every extra minute is grueling for the drivers at the end of such a long stint in these conditions.
The tight, twisty and bumpy Singapore street circuit also adds to the difficulty. It’s one of the slowest circuits on the calendar, but the corners are relentless and there’s no let-up for the drivers. The longest straight is the run from Turn 5 to Turn 7, but at only 780 metres long that doesn’t offer the drivers much respite.
