History and background: The lighting system at the Marina Bay Circuit passed its first test in 2008; but only in the rain do floodlights remain an unknown quantity. The organisers mounted 1,500 light projectors (with a total power requirement of three million watts) on trusses supported by 230 steel pylons. A dozen twin generators provided insurance against a sudden plunge into darkness. The cars run anti-clockwise around the circuit, which has 23 – in some cases extremely tight – corners. Several key areas, including Turn 1 and Turn 14, have been modified for the 2009 race to provide better opportunities for overtaking.

Criticism last year centred on the large bumps in the track surface and the location of the pit lane entry and exit, which skirted the racing line and, as a result, created an obstacle for the drivers. For the drivers and teams Singapore is also an exercise in ignoring the natural Asian daytime and instead sticking to their European body clocks – all with the aim of being in peak condition for the late shifts and night driving the race weekend demands. Whole hotel floors are ring-fenced as “quiet zones” to allow the team members to sleep through to midday undisturbed.

Track: The sport’s only floodlit event suffers, like other street circuits, from a shortage of overtaking opportunities, although Nico Rosberg proved that it can be done with the right blend of confidence and bravado at last year’s event. The venue also has perhaps the most demanding combination of environmental and physical factors for the drivers to contend with; the threat of rain, high humidity levels and potentially blinding smog hovering over the city caused by the recent deforestation fires in neighbouring Indonesia. Combine the elements with a high downforce track consisting of 23 low speed corners and you have one of the most demanding races of the season.

Consisting of 61 laps, run on a circuit of 5.067km, the track is made up of public roads and features 23 corners, two of which will be taken at speeds in excess of 100 mph. Running in an anti-clockwise direction it is the only circuit which crosses two bridges and travels under a grandstand. Given that the race will take place at night, teams will face the prospect of the track temperature being cooler than the air temperature. This could create slippery conditions for drivers. Over 1,500 light projectors, each with 2,000 watt white metal halide lamps, will be used to illuminate the track. A maximum down force track, it varies in width from three-lane highways to narrow barricaded straights.

Car dynamics: Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute the corners in the circuit’s configuration and the greater propensity for understeer to compromise lap time. Average turn angle at Singapore is 940 - which is below the average for the Championship. The circuit layout threads its way through the Singapore streets and comprises 23 corners. Good car stability will allow the driver to run even closer to the walls.

The end of straight (EOS) speed at Singapore was 291kp/h in 2008. The Singapore track ranks as having the 2nd slowest EOS speed on the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag ratio. Meanwhile, Singapore also has the 2nd slowest average lap speed of any of the tracks on the calendar.

Pitlane & refuelling strategy: The pitlane length and profile contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel strategy. The pitlane loss at Singapore is approximately 19.5 seconds, which is the 13th most penalising pitlane in the Championship. To complete a normalised distance of 5km around Singapore requires 2.50kg of fuel against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this season, ranking the circuit as the 3rd most demanding in terms of fuel consumption.

Safety car: Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start of the race. There were 2 safety car deployments in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. The street circuit layout and lack of circuit run-off areas make it highly possible that there will be a safety car period again this year.

Temperature, pressure & humidity: As an example, it is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling. The losses can come close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real impact on car performance.

Air density is a factor of the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density is elevation. Singapore is at sea level and has an average pressure of 1,010mbar. As a consequence, the circuit’s ambient characteristics will have little effect on engine power.

CHANGES TO THE CIRCUIT SINCE 2008

• The pit exit has been realigned to join the track after the first corner.
• The pit entry has been realigned to leave the track before turn 22.
• The track has been resurfaced between turns 5 and 7.
• The outer pit lane has been resurfaced.
• New kerbs have been installed on the entry to turns 1 and 5.
• The apexes of turns 13 and 14 have been tightened slightly.
• The second and third apexes of turn 10 have been moved left and right respectively to make the chicane slower.
• The kerbs on the three apexes of turn 10 have been redesigned in order to reduce the risk of a car being damaged if it crosses them.
• The kerbs on the exit of turn 14 have been moved 10 metres downstream.
• All rubber exit kerbs have additional fixations.
• An extra driver egress point has been added on the left between turns 17 and 18.
• The wall around the outside of turns 22 and 23 has been moved closer to the track.

SINGAPORE CIRCUIT – INTERESTING FACTS

• There will be 110 medical staff on standby at the event.
• The start and finish lines are not in the same place. The start line is at the beginning of the main straight whilst the finish line is located near the middle.
• The overall luminosity of the circuit will be 3,000 lux which corresponds to four times the lighting in an average sports stadium.