By Joe Murphy
The Singapore Grand Prix is always one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the Formula 1 calendar. A night race that also happens to be a street circuit may not always be a recipe for overtakes in abundance, but it doesn’t mean the events are short of action. In fact, it’s often to the contrary.
On a recent trip to the track, Wheel2Wheel Reports got exclusive access to the pit lane and first sector, to see exactly what the circuit looks like in the off season.
For a street circuit, the main start/finish straight isn’t even open to the public. The final sector does go onto the main road, but a large portion of the track is fenced off.
The pit lane is empty, as expected. But what you may not realise is that the Team Principals seating, main grandstand and the track walls are not present. It is obvious that these are clearly installed at a later date. There are remnants of the infrastructure stacked aside, but it’s also clear that some of the architecture will be brought in my moving teams closer to the event.
The garages are not separate. It is in fact one long stretch of warehouse that is currently empty of anything, as you can see in the image below displayed with this article.
The track is in good condition, but judging by the state of some of the road, it’s easy to imagine a quality check taking place before the cars take to the road.
It’s also interesting that last year’s drivers name plates and constructor standings remain in place, although it isn’t usually until a few weeks prior that this will be changed.
When walking an F1 track, it’s always worth sitting on the grid spots. You get a sense of exactly what it is that these drivers see whenever they are on track. The level in height is about the same, although the speeds are almost beyond comprehension. The road and out lane also looks a lot wider on foot. The final corner looks plenty wide enough for three cars to fit, but it’s common for fans who haven’t seen F1 live to forget just how wide the cars are. Monaco’s Bus Stop Chicane is another example of this.
Seeing the street circuit in the day and without the crowd, Cars and drama really gave a different perspective and made me see the track in a different light. It’s very difficult to imagine Vettel, Verstappen and Raikkonen coming together just two hundred meters after the start line. It’s a magical experience though, and the every quiet is actually anything but and is instead peaceful and reflective.
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