Singapore Tyre Selection

We are back racing this weekend after a little break and we have a double header upon us, but our first stop is the Singapore Grand Prix!

The tyres have been chosen for this weekend, which are the softest of all the compounds C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

The Singapore Grand Prix takes place at night, where it starts at 8pm local time. There are a number of aspects which make this a physically demanding race for the drivers which include, the intense humidity, high temperature and head retention due to the walls lining the track.

The layout has been modified this year, with the section of the track between turn 16 and 19 now becoming a straight that is around 397 metres long. That means that the number of corners goes down from 23 to 10, while the total lap length is 4.940 kilometres.

A one-stop strategy is the clear way to go, also because the pit stop loss time of around 28 seconds is the highest of the season, together with Imola.

As with other street tracks, grid position is always crucial to get a good finish, given the limited overtaking opportunities.

Last year, the race start was postponed by an hour due to a storm that hit Marina Bay just a few minutes before the grid formed.
The cats began the race on intermediate tyres and then switched to Medium and Soft – with a Virtual Safety Car also influencing strategy.

The closing stages of this long season, taking Formula 1 to three continents and 16 different time zones, kicks off in Singapore this weekend. This was the first race to take place under artificial light: an idea that was later followed, in varying degrees, by other venues. From a technical point of view, Marina Bay is a typical street circuit: very twisty (with 19 corners, many of them 90-degree) and little run off. As a result, even a small mistake can be costly, while the track layout also means that the cars run a high level of downforce. This year, the lap takes on a new look due to some building work in the Marina Bay area: the part of the track that was previously turns 16 to 19 is now just a single straight, which is nearly 400 metres long. This change will make the track faster; firstly because the total lap length is now less than five kilometres and secondly because the layout has become a lot more flowing. We’ll wait to see if this change has an effect on strategies, because in theory at least it could create an overtaking opportunity – with passing notoriously difficult unless you have a much faster car.

This track doesn’t place particular stress on the tyres in terms of loading, but the rear tyres need to be carefully managed during the traction phase when exiting slow corners. Temperatures are usually consistently high, as Singapore is only about 150 kilometres from the equator. This increases the risk of overheating: not just for tyres but also everything else, including the mechanicals and of course the driver!

Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of Motorsport.

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