Why Singapore’s 2023 F1 track changes should hurt Red Bull

The Singapore Grand Prix has reached another milestone: it’s 15 years since the Marina Bay event, Formula 1’s original night race, held its first race. 

Since that inaugural event back in 2008, the F1 calendar has been rather moulded by Singapore. The 2008 race might be in many minds thanks to Felipe Massa’s ongoing legal wranglings over its outcome and that of that year’s world title battle with Lewis Hamilton, but in many other ways this event’s influence and success can be seen in so many other parts of the championship’s current look and feel. 

For a start, five other events now involve racing under lights. Then there are the other four street events on the current schedule. And that total doesn’t include Monaco for historical reasons nor Valencia, which also debuted back in 2008 but faded to memory, as do the painted circuit lines that still adorn the Spanish city’s harbour district. 

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The city setting cannot be understated. It’s cheaper and easier than building a new purpose-built facility – with sustainability gains obvious working on established grounds – for race promoters and it brings such events to the people. For Singapore, this event draws spectators from all over the world. The race quickly achieved its aiming of boosting tourism for the city-state.  

F1 needs to carefully balance its influx of city races with established venues. For the TV viewer, they start to look very similar, very fast. But the additional entertainment that has long been a part of Singapore’s offering is now effectively mandated of ‘traditional’ tracks too. 

This event has served spectators well, if they can afford to make the trip. But, in a similar way to Monaco, Miami and soon to be Las Vegas, it has a trade show feel F1’s management loves. There was even talk of Singapore holding two races last year, ultimately a negotiating tactic around possibly replacing the dropped Russian round. 

This season marks the 15th anniversary of F1's first visit to Singapore, but the track features notable changes

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images

But Singapore’s sporting spectacle is set to be rather different in 2023. 

Thanks to construction work in the area between Raffles Avenue and the bay front itself, missing are the four 90-degree turns that previously took the track under the giant grandstand leading to the last corners of the final sector. Replacing them is a new straight that may offer a new overtaking spot at the re-numbered Turn 16 (previously Turn 20) under the Sheares Avenue flyover.  

This is all expected to reduce laptimes by around 10 seconds compared to last year. But it has even been suggested these changes could make things “slightly less demanding physically” for the drivers, per Haas racer Kevin Magnussen. 

Given this is the test they all train for, really, it was interesting to hear the Dane state, “it’s going to be faster, so it’s probably going to last for a shorter time, so we’ll lose less liquid and be slightly less demanding”. 

"We'll do our best and of course we'll try to go in there and try to win it again. But it's not, let's say, going to be the strongest weekend for us" Max Verstappen

But don’t think that won’t stop all the stories of dedicated training and punishing schedules coming your way – even a slight reduction of Singapore’s physical challenge still leaves the pack punching at quite a peak.  

The ‘European timezone’ tales, however, are not the challenge they can be made out to be by some in the paddock, even if finding a spot for dinner at 2am can be tricky. The late-start, late-finish approach, somehow, offers more time compared to most other events now timed to coincide with needs of the growing US market. 

The victory favourite is obviously Red Bull – the team eying a 15th straight triumph in its quest for season-long perfection, with Max Verstappen seeking to extend his new record for consecutive wins to 11. In other statistical milestones at Red Bull, Sergio Perez will celebrate 250 F1 starts this weekend. 

A win for either Verstappen of Perez would be Red Bull's 15th in succession

Photo by: Erik Junius

Perez will do that in a special helmet livery, joining the colour scheme changes of Williams and McLaren – theirs to suit sponsor whims. But both Perez and Verstappen were notably downbeat on Red Bull’s chances here possibly being reduced when they last faced the media at Monza. 

“A little bit more difficult, I think for us,” was Verstappen’s assessment. “We'll do our best and of course we'll try to go in there and try to win it again. But it's not, let's say, going to be the strongest weekend for us.” 

“I agree with Max,” Perez added. “I think it's going to be a weekend where basically anything can happen. Hopefully, we are able to have a very strong Saturday, because if you don't start in the front row, it's very unlikely that you will have a shot at the victory. So, hopefully, we can repeat what we did last year.” 

For Perez that means taking a second Singapore win. Verstappen still hunts his first, Red Bull having squandered his 2022 chances by under-fuelling his RB18 in Q3. But the pair’s respective travails last season explain exactly what they fear this weekend. That they’ve identified them demonstrates how complacency is not common at Red Bull. 

The track changes are, ultimately, a boost for the team’s rivals and at the same time blunt a Red Bull advantage. This is because of how Singapore’s layout has particularly tested driver skill since its game-changing arrival on the F1 calendar – mainly in qualifying.  

Then come the race, it also makes overtaking very tough. Not quite like Monaco, but there’s a reason Verstappen joked “in Singapore we need more DRS than the straight allows”, after the overtaking aid had been central to making Monza such an excellent race. 

This time, those missing four turns means the rear tyres won’t be under quite the same strain late in a lap. But like the reduced physicality point this year, the plethora of 90-degree corners across the now 3.06-mile layout means rear sliding will still be a massive challenge – this one that can that can ruin a qualifying flier late on with rubber overheating and no longer biting. 

Alterations to the Singapore layout, removing the section that dives underneath a grandstand, should ease tyrewear

Photo by: Andrew Hone / Motorsport Images

But, in theory, that makes it easier for a car such as Ferrari’s SF-23, which warms its tyres easily and then struggles to keep them alive. The RB19’s tendencies mean Verstappen and Perez usually start laps with their rubber still reaching the optimum performance temperatures, but there is now simply less lap distance this time in Singapore for them to put their late-gain advantage in this area to bare. 

Overall, Red Bull fears being outqualified by a rival and then unable to repass in what should still be a long, one-stop marathon. Singapore’s big pitlane time loss (nearly 30s total) plus the lack of tyre degradation compared to some tracks adds up to that strategy, with the latter also boosting a team that struggles with tyre life over a stint a la Ferrari.  

Verstappen’s uncharacteristic mistake passing Lando Norris’s McLaren here last year demonstrates the overtaking challenge even with a vastly superior car. Plus, Perez had to work to defy Charles Leclerc after he blew the wet start from pole for Ferrari.

Should rain arrive, the events of Monaco back in May show that Red Bull can be beaten

The RB19 has also struggled on bumps and kerbs at certain times this year, while Singapore’s staggering humidity will increase cooling demands – one race on from Verstappen having to back off and cool his engine late on in Italy. Brake cooling here is also a potential pitfall for all teams. 

Ferrari is theoretically Red Bull’s biggest threat given its recent Baku poles, but Mercedes and Aston Martin are relieved to have put Monza’s low-drag requirements behind and are looking forward to bolting their maximum downforce wing packages once again. 

A wider spread of opposition is as big a boost to Red Bull as a threat, plus all the rest will require perfection to halt its winning march. For Ferrari, that means Leclerc staying error-free, Carlos Sainz continuing his searingly strong post-summer break form streak, and the team nailing the strategy calls. Particularly if forecasted thunderstorms do hit on race day. 

Should rain arrive, the events of Monaco back in May show that Red Bull can be beaten even if its biggest fears around qualifying do not come to pass. But the challenge of doing so is as great as even a changed Singapore track remains, overall, for the drivers.

With thunderstorms forecast, there could be an added challenge to Red Bull's quest this weekend

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images