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Tyres NorthamptonSingapore usually represents the only Grand Prix in any given year likely to run to the sport's two-hour time limit thanks to the slow speeds and likelihood of safety car appearances. Not so for 2023, thanks to a dramatic layout change in the final sector of the circuit due to construction work. With four corners removed, this will almost certainly be the fastest Singapore GP in history.
We'll have to wait to see if this trip into an all-new, shorter run around the Marina Bay Street Circuit is enough to trip up the unstoppable Max Verstappen, but this is the location of the Dutchman's worst result in the past 12 months. A straight run into what was once Turn 20 replaces the slow right-left, left-right corner sequence that took drivers around and underneath the Bay Grandstand.
Overtaking is not as unimaginable here as at the tight and twisty Monaco circuit, but nonetheless, it's rather tricky. The new straight, around 400 metres long, could create more action with the right-angled now-Turn 16 becoming a heavy-braking zone. The drivers will want to maximise their time on track in the three Free Practice sessions to gain any possible advantage before Sunday's race.
Pirelli has a preferred tyre trio for street circuits and will again bring the softest three compounds from their arsenal to Singapore. As such, this weekend's red-walled soft rubber is the C5, the yellow mediums are the C4, and the white-ringed hards are Pirelli's C3.
However, this is a tropical race, just 85 miles from the equator, and the humid conditions often see heavy rain hitting almost at random — look at last year's race when a storm delayed the start by an hour. The wet and intermediate tyres may get some running here, with scattered thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday's forecast.
In case you missed all the news from Italy, Verstappen is now the only driver in F1's history to take ten consecutive race victories. The reigning champion's form is, quite literally, unprecedented, and anyone else taking to the podium's top step will be from a monumental effort, Verstappen misfortune, or a Red Bull mechanical problem.
However, this is Singapore, and the barriers are always close. Even if Verstappen doesn't put a foot wrong, another driver's trip to the wall could bring out a safety car that demotes any leader down the order. If the track alterations don't allow overtaking, that could see the RB19 down the order and struggling to move forward. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are both chasing their first F1 victory, with Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz all in with a shot, too.
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Goodbye to any scheduling regularity for the rest of the season! Singapore's lights out come at the earlier-than-usual 1 PM on Sunday, with Qualifying at 2 PM on Saturday.
Qualifying – On air: 1 PM, Session start: 2 PM Saturday 16th September
Race – On air: 11:30 AM, Session start: 1 PM Sunday 17th September
Qualifying – Highlights 7:30 PM Saturday 16th September
Race – Highlights 5:30 PM Sunday 17th September
Qualifying/Race – Temperatures are high, and the humidity is even higher for a hot weekend. Highs of 31°C with lows in the high 20s when the cars are on track may come with thunderstorms or a gentle breeze, depending on how Mother Nature feels.