SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX September Following the close of the European leg of the season last time out in Italy, Formula One now begins a three-event tour of Asia, starting this weekend with Round of the world championship, the Singapore Grand Prix. Formula One s first night race is one of the calendar s most demanding events. Under the glow of the circuit s floodlights and against the glittering backdrop of one of the world s most impressive skylines, F s drivers and their machines are pushed to the limit in what is regularly the season s longest race in terms of duration. In eight runnings the hr mins of remains the shortest race by duration and the grand prix has been stopped by the clock rather than lap count in three of the last four years. The gruelling nature of the race is compounded by the winding nature of the street circuit and by the high temperatures experienced in a city located just km from the Equator. With corners spread over a km course, laps of the Marina Bay Street Circuit are tough, especially in ambient temperatures that often exceed Celsius at the pm race start time and with in-car temperatures rising to above C during the race. It s a tough weekend for teams as well. Due to the extreme nature of track evolution across the weekend on the street circuit, finding the right set-up is something of a challenge due to rapidly changing grip levels and the bumpy street surface. Plotting the perfect race can also be difficult. Every Singapore Grand Prix to date has seen a safety car intervention and the variable often upsets the most carefully prepared strategy. Anticipation of this weekend s action is heightened by the closeness of the Drivers Championship, as victory for Nico Rosberg in Italy closed the gap to table-topping Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to just two points. In the Constructors Championship fascinating battles are also developing, with Red Bull Racing now just points ahead of Ferrari in the tussle for P behind Mercedes, while just three points separate fourthplaced Williams from Force India. MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT Length of lap:.km Lap record: :. (Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, ) Start line/finish line offset:.km Total number of race laps: Total race distance:.km Pitlane speed limits: km/h in practice, qualifying, and the race CIRCUIT NOTES Apart from routine maintenance, no changes have been made to the circuit since the Singapore Grand Prix. DRS ZONE There will be two DRS zones in Singapore. The first detection point will be at the exit of Turn Four and the first activation point will be m after Turn Five. The second detection point will be m before the apex of Turn, and the activation point will be m after apex of Turn.
FAST FACTS This will be the ninth Singapore Grand Prix. The event joined the calendar in and has been a fixture since. Sebastian Vettel is the most successful driver at the Singapore Grand Prix, with four wins. The four-time world champion scored a hat-trick of wins for Red Bull Racing between and before winning last year s race with Ferrari. His victory here is his most recent. Vettel is not the only driver to win here for different teams. Fernando Alonso won the inaugural event for Renault and then for Ferrari in, while Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren in and for Mercedes in. Their domination of the event means the Singapore has only been won by Formula One world champions. The most successful constructor at the Singapore Grand Prix is Red Bull Racing, thanks to Vettel s hat-trick of wins. Ferrari is second courtesy of wins from Alonso and Vettel, while Renault, McLaren and Mercedes have one victory each. This is set to be Nico Rosberg s th grand prix start. The German first competed at the Bahrain Grand Prix where he finished seventh for Williams, thus scoring points on his debut. His best finish for the Grove squad was second place at the inaugural Singapore Grand in. Since moving to Mercedes in he has taken wins and pole positions for the German marque. Another driver reaches a milestone this weekend, with Marcus Ericsson set to race his th grand prix. The Swedish racer made his grand prix debut with Caterham at the Australian GP. He raced times for that squad before its collapse ahead of the US GP. He joined Sauber for the season and has since raced times for the Swiss outfit, finishing in the points on five occasions. Nico Hulkenberg scored the first of two fastest laps to date here in. He posted a lap of :. on lap of the race. His other fastest lap came at this year s Chinese Grand Prix, with a lap of :. on lap of that race. Michael Schumacher started the th grand prix of his -start F career in Singapore in. Just two drivers have raced grands prix or more, Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, who has. Jenson Button is set to become third third member of the club at the Malaysian Grand Prix in just over two weeks time. This weekend will be the Briton s th grand prix start. Aside from the three winners, only six other men have stood on the podium here: Rosberg (P, ), Timo Glock (P, ), Mark Webber (P, -), Button (P in -), Kimi Räikkönen (P in and ) and Daniel Ricciardo (P in and P last year). Pole position counts for much at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with the race being won from the front of the grid six times. Felipe Massa failed to win from pole in the inaugural race, finishing P, and Hamilton failed to finish in after starting in P. Alonso won from P in, while Vettel won from P on the grid in.
RACE STEWARDS BIOGRAPHIES GERD ENNSER MEMBER OF THE DMSB S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR AUTOMOBILE SPORT, FORMULA ONE AND DTM STEWARD Dr Gerd Ennser has successfully combined his formal education in law with his passion for motor racing. While still active as a racing driver he began helping out with the management of his local motor sport club and since has been a permanent steward at every round of Germany s DTM championship. Since he has also been a Formula One steward. Dr Ennser, who has worked as a judge, a prosecutor and in the legal department of an automotiveindustry company, has also acted as a member of the steering committee of German motor sport body, the DMSB, since spring, where he is responsible for automobile sport. In addition, Dr Ennser is a board member of the South Bavaria Section of ADAC, Germany s biggest auto club. STEVE STRINGWELL PERMANENT CHAIRMAN STEWARD FOR PORSCHE SUPERCUP, RENAULT. SERIES, BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP F DRIVER Englishman Steve Stringwell brings a wealth of experience to the F stewarding panel. He began marshalling in before spending years rallying. Since he has held a series of posts within the UK s Motor Sports Association, first as a steward, then chairman of the MSA s national court and latterly as chairman of the MSA s Judicial Advisory Panel. Stringwell serves as permanent chairman steward for the Porsche Supercup, the Formula Renault. series and the British Touring Car Championship. He has been chairman of support race stewards at the British Grand Prix since and has officiated at F grands prix since. At home in Yorkshire he is a Justice of the Peace and magistrate in the city of Leeds. MARK BLUNDELL FORMER F DRIVER, LE MANS AND CART WINNER Mark Blundell raced for McLaren, Tyrrell, Ligier and Brabham in an F career that encompassed grands prix between and and included three podium finishes. He is a three-time winner in IndyCars and won the Le Mans Hours endurance race in, driving for Peugeot. While still occassionally seen behind the wheel of a racing car in endurance events, the st Century has seen Blundell forge a second career as a TV commentator and analyst. He first appeared as a driver steward in F at the Spanish Grand Prix of.
Formula One World Championship DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AUSTRALIA BAHRAIN CHINA RUSSIA SPAIN MONACO CANADA EUROPE AUSTRIA L. HAMILTON N. ROSBERG - D. RICCIARDO S. VETTEL K. RÄIKKÖNEN GB HUNGARY GERMANY BELGIUM ITALY SINGAPORE MALAYSIA JAPAN USA MEXICO BRAZIL ABU DHABI POINTS M. VERSTAPPEN V. BOTTAS F. MASSA S. PÉREZ N. HÜLKENBERG C. SAINZ F. ALONSO - - R. GROSJEAN D. KVYAT J. BUTTON K. MAGNUSSEN P. WEHRLEIN S. VANDOORNE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E. GUTIÉRREZ J. PALMER M. ERICSSON F. NASR R. HARYANTO - - - - E. OCON - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Formula One World Championship CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AUSTRALIA BAHRAIN CHINA RUSSIA SPAIN MONACO CANADA EUROPE AUSTRIA GB HUNGARY GERMANY BELGIUM ITALY SINGAPORE MALAYSIA JAPAN USA MEXICO BRAZIL ABU DHABI POINTS RED BULL RACING SCUDERIA FERRARI WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F TEAM SAHARA FORCE INDIA F TEAM MCLAREN HONDA SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HAAS F TEAM RENAULT SPORT F TEAM MANOR RACING MRT SAUBER F TEAM
THURSDAY Press conference. FRIDAY Practice session.-. Practice session.-. Press conference. SATURDAY Practice session.-. Qualifying.-. Followed by unilateral and press conference SUNDAY Drivers Parade. Race. Followed by podium interviews and press conference ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES QUALIFYING All drivers eliminated in Q or Q will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session, as will drivers who participated in Q, but who are not required for the post-qualifying press conference. The TV pen is located close to the media centre entrance in the paddock. RACE Any driver retiring before the end of the race will be made available at the TV pen interview area. 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. FIA COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT press@fia.com T +