Introduction:

The battle for the F1 driver’s championship moves on to Singapore, with Mercedes starting procedures under the spotlight after Lewis Hamilton’s clutch problems in Monza saw the reigning champion get bogged down behind traffic while team mate Nico Rosberg disappeared off into the distance to take a comfortable win, and in so doing bring the gap between them down to just two points. While anything but a Mercedes 1-2 seemed impossible at Monza, Singapore is notoriously one of the toughest races for the drivers, and with Red Bull expecting to be pushing all the way for victory any lapse from either Lewis or Nico could see another major shift in momentum in the driver’s standings. So it’s all to play for around the streets of Marina Bay this weekend.

Having only been added to the Formula One calendar in 2008, we have the luxury of seeing the winner of ever world championship Singapore Grand Prix line up to start this year’s race. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have two wins each, with Sebastian Vettel leading the way with 4 wins, so only World Champions have won at Marina Bay. Nico Rosberg would love to add this one to his collection then, but he has endured a tough time here recently, seeing his championship hopes dented after failing to move off on the formation lap in 2014 before starting from the pits and circulating around at the back of the pack without making any progress before retiring, while last year he was unable to make any impact, as Mercedes season long dominance evaporated for a single race, with the Brackley squad struggling in qualifying, and only managing to line up 5^th and 6^th on the grid. Sebastian Vettel took the win from pole for Ferrari, although Lewis Hamilton felt he could have challenged had his Mercedes engine not lost power and seen him retire. As it was, Vettel looked comfortable, handling two safety car periods without any drama (one for a track invader trying to get a close up shot of the cars passing by) on route to victory. Rosberg was only able to come home down in fourth, behind Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari, with the podium positions being the same order as the drivers started the race. Max Verstappen provided the late entertainment in the race as he refused a team order to move over for Carlos Sainz, so Daniel Ricciardo should expect no favours on Sunday!!

History:

Singapore has a long tradition of racing, with a Singapore Automobile Club being formed as far back as 1907, staging races for local car enthusiasts. The origin of the Singapore Grand Prix can be traced back to 1961, when the Ministry of Culture decided to sponsor a race to be included as part of a tourism push, with 1961 being dubbed  ‘Visit Singapore – The Orient Year’. The Singapore Motor Club were tasked with organizing the race, called the Orient Year Grand Prix. Without a permanent road course at their disposal, a street track would have to be used, and after reviewing various options the track was eventually decided to run around the old and new Upper Thomson roads. This was a 4.3 km circuit that started down the Upper Thompson road, with hairpin bends at either end of the straight. From the start finish line the cars flew (in some cases literally) over a fast kink called the hump, before tightening into a chicane then winding its way back around to the Upper Thomson road again via a series of bends and hairpins, the tight Devil’s Bend being one of the highlights of the course. The track, lined by monsoon drains and lampposts was both fast and dangerous, a true test of skill and bravery. The Grand Prix weekend, which featured separate races for motorbikes, vintage cars, touring cars and saloon car in addition to the Grand Prix, was deemed a great success, with reports of 100,000 people attending. The Grand Prix itself was held to Formula Libre rules, with Ian Barnwell taking the victory in an Aston Martin DB3S. After a successful event the Grand Prix continued in 1962, being renamed to the Malaysian Grand Prix, before being renamed the Singapore Grand Prix in 1966 following Singapore’s independence. The Grand Prix was thriving, with the race gaining stature, being added as a non-championship event in the world motor racing calendar in 1966, and the race attracting more foreign drivers, but the race would stop after 1973 (a race won by Australia’s Vern Schuppan driving a March). There had been talks about establishing a permanent track circuit, but this never materialized, and after the 1973 race the Singapore Sports Council announced in October that the race would be stopped –  the official reason being given that the race was too dangerous (a number of drivers had lost their lives at the track since the races inception, with fatalities for Singaporean Lionel Chan in the 1972 race and Swiss racer Joe Huber during the 1973 weekend) although the Oil Shock of 1973 and local political factors were felt to have some impact on the decision as well. Attempts were made to have the Singapore Grand Prix revived, and it came close to being added to the F1 Calendar in 1992, with discussions taking place with Bernie Ecclestone and a proposed new track to be built for the race. However this bid stalled, and the track was never built, and Singapore would have to wait until 2008 when it would stage it’s first ever round of the Formula One World Championship, this time around the Marina Bay street circuit, in a spectacular night race, the first of its kind in Formula One.

The track was initially conceived by Herman Tilke, and has undergone some minor modifications since it’s first run in 2008. After the experience of the first Grand Prix, there were several modifications made for the second running in 2009. The original layout saw the pit exit feed back onto the track prior to turn 1, but this was altered along with modification to the profile of the first corner, resulting in the pit exit feeding out into Turn 2. The pit entry was also modified, with the entry moving back from the final corner to its current location prior to Turn 22. There were further small modifications to Turns 13 and 14, with further changes to Turn 10, the Singapore Sling as it was known. The Singapore Sling was an annoying slow chicane which simply seemed beneath the dignity of a modern Formula One car – but it also had a habit of sending cars airborne over the kerbs or sending them sailing helplessly into the wall on the exit, or both! The Sling appears to have been universally despised by the drivers, and it disappeared for good in 2013 when it was replaced with a straightforward bend, but not before it had caught a number of drivers out during its time as part of the circuit, with the likes of Giancarlo Fisichella , Kimi Raikkonen, Adrian Sutil, Kamui Kobayashi all victims of the tricky chicane.

The track saw further changes for last year’s race, with the section leading onto Anderson’s Bridge undergoing changes, with Turn 11 being re-aligned to sit tighter with the left hand side of Fullerton Road, reducing the corners speed. Turn 12 was altered so that the drivers now enter Anderson Bridge on the left hand lane before accelerating into Turn 13, which was widened by a meter in an attempt to provide more scope for overtaking.

 

Circuit Characteristics

It’s a flat circuit, with just 5.28 m elevation change, and the highest point of the track sits just 23 meters above sea level. Not a lot of time spent on full throttle, this is one of the slowest circuits on the calendar and will see cars running a high downforce specification. Despite being run at night the temperature is still very high here, and with the high humidity this race is one of the toughest physically for the drivers. It is also very hard on the brakes though, due to the number of corners and their closeness together, as well as the high ambient temperature. Overtaking is not very easy around the track, with qualifying and strategy vital, and teams need to be ready to adapt, as the safety car has made an appearance in every Grand Prix held here to date. Coming from Monza, which gives us a very quick race, the appearance of the safety car has seen the Singapore Grand Prix run to the 2 hour time limit in the past, to add another variable for those calling the strategies on the pit wall.

From the grid the cars have a reasonable run to down the start finish straight into the first series of corners, Turns 1 to 3, a left right left section that has plenty of scope for action on the opening lap. Turn 1 is sharp to the left and the track immediately curves to the right (Turn 2) and then doubles back again to the left (Turn 3). Don’t be surprised to see cars bailing out and cutting across the track here on the opening lap as the cars funnel into turn 1, although Fernando Alonso took this to extremes in 2014 as he simply ran too deep into Turn 1 to maximise his start, cutting across the track, his deep run into the corner allowing him to pass both Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, and although he handed the place back to Vettel he was allowed keep the place he gained on Ricciardo. The pit exit feeds out into the middle of Turn 2, which will be one to watch for in the race as we saw last year as Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India was punted into the wall by Felipe Massa’s Williams as the Nico rejoined the track just as the Williams was arriving (with Hulkenberg given a grid penalty for the next race for not leaving Massa room). Exiting turn 3 the cars run wide on the kerbs, mindful of the wall, and wind left (Turn 4) past the first DRS detection zone a short burst around Republic Boulevard down into Turn 5, a tight right hander (again mind the walls on the exit!), opening out onto Raffles Boulevard. This is the first DRS activation zone, with the cars winding right (Turn 6) before reaching Turn 7, one of the obvious overtaking opportunities on the track (Lewis Hamilton showed just how dominant the Mercedes was here in 2014 as he blasted past Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull on the run through Turn 6 into Turn 7), a tight left hander coming at the end of the DRS zone, and with space on the outside on the exit inviting both attack and defence alike. Out of Turn 7 the cars just have time to swap from the right to the left on Nicoll Highway before reaching Turn 8, another tight right hander. This is where Michael Schumacher went off in 2011, his Mercedes getting airborne after climbing all over Sergio Perez Sauber as they exited Turn 7. Watch the wall on exit and swap from left to right hand side of the track on Stamford Road for the sharp left hander Turn 9. Oh and watch the wall on exit. See a pattern appearing yet? The cars are allowed a little acceleration down St. Andrews Road before taking a left turn (Turn 10) winding back to the left into a slow right hander (Turn 11) and opening out into a left hander (Turn 12) at the Anderson bridge with the track jinking right before a tight left hand hairpin (Turn 13) which may invite some desperate lunges as drivers attempt to find a spot to get by slower cars – Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Williams’ Bruno Senna banging wheels here in 2012 as Massa finally slid his way past his countryman into Turn 13. Watch the barriers on exit and the cars now accelerate down Esplanade Drive, the cars moving over to the left to take the next bend, Turn 14, a 90 degree right hander, where Mercedes Michael Schumacher earned a 10 place grid penalty in 2012 after hammering into the back of Jean Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso. Careful of the wall on the exit and foot down to accelerate down Raffles Avenue, taking a gentle left (Turn 15) on the approach to a tight right hander (Turn 16), which can a successful overtaking spot, with Max Verstappen edging his Toro Rosso past Romain Grosjean’s Lotus here late on in last years race, and Red Bull’s Mark Webber also worked his way passed Fernando Alonso as they emerged onto Raffles Avenue on the run through Turn 15 and 16 back in 2011.

The exit of Turn 16 feeds into a left hander (Turn 17), keeping an eye on those walls on the exit. This is where Jenson Button’s McLaren came together with Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus during last years race, Button first nudging Maldonado in turn 16, with Maldonado then running wide and slowed into 17 and Button running straight into him from behind. After enjoying a very brief squirt of throttle the cars are into a tight left hander (Turn 18) and under the grandstand flowing into a tight right hander (Turn 19), barriers lurking to catch any lapses in concentration. Turn 18 has lent itself to a number of crashes over the years, with both Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso 2013) and Narain Karthikeyan (HRT 2012) bringing out the safety car by sliding off by themselves here. Another short squirt leads into a right left hand combination (Turns 20 and 21), with the track daring the drivers to run as close to the walls on exit as they can to set up a good run into the next turn, the left hander Turn 22, which opens into the final corner, another left hander (Turn 23 – that’s right 23!!). The 2^nd DRS activation point is located on the run out of Turn 2, and the pit entrance dives in just after this prior to Turn 22. Exiting Turn 23 the cars are back on the start finish straight and the second DRS activation zone, with a run down into Turn 1 sure to give some hope for an overtaking opportunity (reference Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz lunge down the inside of Romain Grosjean into Turn 1 last year, running Grosjean off the track as he was determined to keep up the pressure on team mate Verstappen who had just passed Grosjean).

 

TYRES WITH PIRELLI:

For the only true night race of the calendar, held on the stunning streets of Singapore, Pirelli’s P Zero Purple ultrasoft tyres make a return for the first race since Austria, alongside the supersoft and soft. The three softest tyres in the P Zero range have been selected to cater for the unique demands of the Marina Bay street circuit: a long lap, fluctuating track temperatures, and a physically demanding race for both drivers and cars. With the barriers so close to the side of the track, no mistakes go unpunished during this two-hour marathon held in humid conditions.

THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:

Singapore has the highest number of corners of any circuit all year (23) but is the second-slowest lap after Monaco: placing demands on tyres in terms of cornering, braking and traction.

The surface is typically bumpy, also with street furniture such as painted lines and manholes.

Being run at night, track temperatures don’t evolve in the usual way seen at a daytime race.

Ambient temperatures still remain high though, meaning drivers have to manage degradation.

A long race and high safety car probability open up many different tyre strategy opportunities.

Low downforce means all the mechanical grip comes from tyres: the left-rear works hardest.

Pit stop time is long due to a lower speed limit and long pit lane: a key strategic consideration.

 

THE THREE NOMINATED COMPOUNDS:

Yellow soft: the hardest set available this weekend, capable of long stints at Marina Bay.

Red supersoft: a versatile compound, which proved to be a key element of last year’s race.

Purple ultrasoft: designed to offer a considerable pace advantage: will be used in qualifying.

HOW IT WAS A YEAR AGO:

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won with a two-stop strategy, starting on supersoft, switching to supersoft again on lap 13 then soft on lap 37. There were two safety car periods.

Best alternative strategy: Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen went for an alternative two-stopper (supersoft-soft-supersoft) to finish eighth from a lap down after the start.

PAUL HEMBERY, PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR:

“Singapore is probably the most spectacular circuit that we visit all season, and this year we hope to make it even more special with the arrival of our rapid ultrasoft compound, in order to maximise the speed and grip available at the Marina Bay track. This is one of the most unpredictable races of the year – it’s the only track with a 100% safety car record – so all the complex variables inevitably throw up opportunities for teams to do something creative with strategy. In terms of competition, it looks set to be one of the closest races we will see all year, where tyre management will make a big difference.”

WHAT’SNEW? 

 

Following some minor changes to the circuit in 2015, there are no big alterations this year.

The 2017 tyre test campaign continued last week, with Ferrari and Mercedes mule cars.

OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE CAUGHT OUR EYE RECENTLY:

Ferrari has gone for the most aggressive tyre choice, with a maximum allocation of ultrasoft.

Pirelli recently won the FIA European Hillclimb Championship (the oldest FIA championship still in existence) with Italy’s Simone Faggioli claiming a record-equalling ninth title.

The penultimate round of the European Rally Championship takes place in Latvia on the same weekend as Singapore, with Pirelli standing a strong chance of clinching another title.

Form Guide:

Monza was yet another race which showed Mercedes to be simply a class apart, but coming to Singapore we will have hope that maybe, just maybe, at this one race at least, we may see a genuine challenge for victory by Red Bull or Ferrari. Maybe. Singapore is traditionally held up as the great hope for teams with a power deficiency, and the Red Bull chassis should provide Ricciardo and Verstappen a real chance to mix it with the Mercs. Ferrari won here last year and will hope to put up a fight at a track Sebastian Vettel has made his own. The story of the Singapore Grand Prix will surely revolve around three things – qualifying, the start, and just when the safety car will appear! Rosberg’s confidence will be on a high after two consecutive wins has seen him close right back up on Hamilton in the championship, but previous form around Singapore suggests Lewis will have the edge on Nico in qualifying, so the start will be absolutely crucial for both drivers, as even if Mercedes are able to run ahead of their rivals on pace (not guaranteed around here), passing a Red Bull or Ferrari after a bad start is not going to be an easy task at this track. Pressure on for both Max and Daniel at Red Bull, this is one they will fancy they can win, while pressure is always on for Ferrari, following their reasonable 3-4 at home in Monza the Scuderia will need to bring their A game if they are not to lose further ground on the Bulls here in the battle to be best of the rest! Further back, the battle between Force India and Williams continues to provide a further sub plot to the championship year, with the Grove outfit getting their noses back in front after Monza. For the midfield teams Singapore represents hope of a surprise result, with contact and safety cars seeming inevitable, and Force India will hope Sergio Perez ability to run long and his happy knack for being in the right place could see them get a decent result, while McLaren will have targeted this race as one where they can get their ageing champions in the mix, don’t be surprised to see Button or Alonso running ahead of the Williams and Force India’s in this one. Toro Rosso will hope to have a clean weekend, the race representing possibly their last shot at points in 2016 as they continue to fall off the pace, the quality of their chassis being more and more held back by the 2015 Ferrari that powers it.

 

Memorable Moments

2008 – Massa’s title dream left hanging by a thread as Alonso takes ‘Crashgate’ Victory for Renault

The first Singapore Grand Prix was to be the first night race in Formula One history around a tight street circuit with plenty of barriers and walls to collect errant drivers. So who could be surprised by a crash causing a safety car? Nelson Piquet’s Renault duly obliged on lap 14, and in amazingly fortuitous circumstances the timing of the crash was just what was needed to propel Piquet Jr’s team mate Fernando Alonso, who had just made an early pit stop to the front of the pack after everyone else had come in. Once the pits stops under the safety car had shaken out Nico Rosberg led the race for Williams from the Toyota of Jarno Trulli, followed by the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella, then BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica and Alonso next up. Both Rosberg and Kubica faced penalties for coming into the pit lane while it was closed, while Trulli and Fisichella were on one stop strategies, and when they pitted Alonso was into the lead from Rosberg, a lead he would hold for the rest of the race to give Renault their first win of the season, in spite of having to deal with a further safety car period after Adrian Sutil found the barriers with his Force India. Of course as we now know when Piquet Jr was handed his notice from Renault, he spilled the beans, admitting he crashed on purpose under the instruction of the team. Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were banned from F1 (although those bans were overturned on appeal), Renault was also given a suspended sentence, and the incident would weigh heavily on the French marque, with sponsors withdrawing support and Renault eventually deciding to sell on the works team and remain in F1 as engine supplier only. Piquet Jr has never had another chance at F1 (although he was impressive in winning the inaugural Formula E championship), while Pat Symonds has subsequently returned and is now a key member of the Williams team. The drama of crashgate dominates memories of that first event, but the race will also be remembered as a crucial failure for Ferrari and Felipe Massa. Coming into the race Massa trailed McLaren title rival Lewis Hamilton by just a single point. Massa had a good start to the weekend, taking pole position having qualified an impressive 0.6 seconds ahead of Hamilton, and was leading comfortably in the early stages and looked set to coast to a victory that would have made Lewis last gasp pass of Timo Glock in Brazil academic in the battle for the world championship, but in the chaos of the safety car brought about by Piquet Jr’s crash, Massa’s title hopes took as massive hit, as he drove his Ferrari out of the pit lane with the refuelling hose still attached (Massa to be fair had been given the all clear to leave), knocking over his mechanics and sending fuel spilling over the pitlane. Massa would eventually be rolled back to the pits and rejoin the race, but the damage was done, and with a further penalty to come for unsafe release he would eventually finish the race well down the order and well outside the points, while Lewis Hamilton finished third behind Alonso and Rosberg to claim 6 valuable world championship points en route to his first world drivers title.

2011 – Untouchable Vettel on the brink of back to back titles, Massa vs Hamilton Round III

Coming into the Singapore Grand Prix the title was a fight between Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber

(Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button (McLaren) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari). Well, mathematically anyway. Such was Vettel’s dominance in the 2011 season that he could wrap the title up in Singapore if results went his way. Vettel was utterly dominant throughout the weekend, taking a dominant pole position from team mate Mark Webber, with the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton on the second row and the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso occupying the third row. With overtaking difficult around the tight circuit the start is always critical here, and when the lights went out Vettel took off away from the front with ease, while Webber, not for the first time, fared less well at the start and was swamped by the McLarens, with Webber focusing on defending the inside from a fast starting Hamilton, squeezing Lewis to the inside, which allowed Button and Alonso to go by on the outside. So despite an initial fast start Hamilton lost out, slotting in behind Massa and Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes (who rather took a shortcut across the outside of Turn 1 when he came together with Massa at the first turn and realized two into one wouldn’t quite go). Rosberg then let Massa past and Lewis start went from bad to worse as he was passed by Michael Schumacher in the second Mercedes, Schumacher getting better a better run out of Turn 5 and passing on the run down though Turn 6 into Turn 7. As Vettel started to disappear down the road the early interest was provided by Hamilton, with Lewis getting by the Mercedes pair, first gaining revenge on Schumacher, zipping by on the blast through turn 6 down into turn 7 on lap 4, and then repeating the move on Rosberg a lap later. Lewis now had a bit of a gap to make up on the Button, Alonso, Webber, Massa group, but he quickly bridged the gap and latched onto the back of Massa. Getting by the Mercedes was one thing, but the Ferrari would prove a harder proposition. Massa and Hamilton had already had another couple of incidents in 2011, colliding at the hairpin at Monaco as Lewis tried to come down the inside of Massa, and again in the closing lap in Britain as Massa tried to get past on the last lap. They nearly collided during qualifying on Saturday, with Hamilton trying to overtake Massa as they were on their out lap, Hamilton accusing Massa of blocking and Massa accusing Hamiton of driving dangerously – so Massa was not in any mood to go easy on the man who had pipped him to the drivers title in Brazil in 2008.  Meanwhile Vettel was gone up front, but Button was starting to opening a gap as Alonso and Webber fought over third place, with Webber eventually getting past Alonso on lap 10, Webber diving for the outside at Turn 14 forcing Alonso to defend deep on the inside, the Red Bull then cutting back across Alonso on the exit, the cars wheel to wheel and almost touching as they exited, but Webber finally able to drag past the Ferrari on the run into Turn 15/16. Alonso dived into the pits, followed the next lap by Massa and Hamilton, the pair entering and leaving the pits nose to tail, emerging onto the track just behind Alonso. All eyes now focused on the battle between Massa and Hamilton for fifth place, and it didn’t take long for fireworks, Lewis desperate not to spend another stint stuck behind Massa attacked on their first lap out of the pits, the cars going side by side through Turn 6, but with Massa holding the inside line to Turn 7 Hamilton had to yield, but clipped Massa’s right rear tyre with his front wing as they turned in, forcing both back to the pits, Massa limping in immediately with a puncture while Hamilton soldiered on for a lap before stopping for a new wing. As with their crash in Monaco Lewis was given a penalty to add insult to injury, and both drivers were out of the reckoning for the win. After Webber stopped he emerged behind Alonso, and the race seemed to be a procession for Vettel in front, well clear of Button, with Alonso and Webber to scrap for the final podium place. Things were spiced up though when the safety car made its obligatory appearance on lap 30, after Michael Schumacher misjudged a move on Sergio Perez, the Mercedes leap frogging over the rear of the Sauber. Vettel had a 20 second advantage over Button wiped out, but in any event it hardly seemed to matter as Vettel just disappeared into the distance again on the restart on lap 34, Button not aided by lapped cars sitting between him and Vettel as the safety car pulled in. Webber took full advantage of the restart to get past Alonso on the approach to the Singapore Sling, and the top 4 would hold those positions until the end of the race (with the exception of a few laps while they all pitted for the final time). The remaining interest in the race was provided by Lewis Hamilton, who worked his way from tenth under the safety car back up to fifth by the chequered flag. After the race, Massa interrupted Lewis being interviewed in the press area to give him a sarcastic pat on the back and a ‘Good job bum’ for running his race – Lewis reply ‘Don’t touch me again man’  might have been a more appropriate comment from Massa during the race! The pair would go on to tangle a further two times in the remaining races in a season which saw their cars display an unfortunate magnetic attraction. But the race, and the season belonged to Vettel, a serene victory, and one which moved him to within a point of the title, with only second placed Button mathematically able to wrest the drivers crown away from him with 5 Grand Prix still to come in the season.

 

• Support Races

For Singapore the usual European support series of GP2/GP3 and the Porsche Supercup will not be travelling with F1, with the support races being provided by the one make Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific, the TCR International Series and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.

The Ferrari Challenge will see and hear 4.5 L V8 engined Ferrari 458 Challenge EVOs battle it out around the streets of Singapore, with defending champion Australian Steve Wyatt winning both races last time out in Sepang to open a gap in the standings over Indonesia’s Renaldi Hotasoit and Belgium’s Florian Merckx.

In the TCR championship, Briton James Nash took over the series lead after winning the second race in Thailand last time out, just 7 points ahead of last year’s runner up Spaniard Pepe Oriola (who won the opening race in Thailand) and last year’s inaugural championship winner, Swiss driver Stefano Comini. Ex formula one driver Gianni Morbidelli is competing, and although he lost ground after crashing out in Thailand last time he has one win to his name this year in Portugal, and currently lies fifth in the standings, sandwiching race winners Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay in fourth and Slovak Mat’o Homola in sixth.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia should have plenty of local interest, with Singapore’s Andrew Tang currently third in the standings, behind GP3 refugee Australian Mitchell Gilbert and championship leader Maxime Jousse, who won last year’s Carrera Cup France.

Previous Results:

Year	Winner	Constructor
2015	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
2014	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2013	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2012	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2011	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2010	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
2009	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
2008	Fernando Alonso	Renault