Singapore F1 GP 2018: preview, times and how to watch it on TV

This weekend sees another date on the F1 World Championship calendar with the 2018 Singapore GP. The fifteenth grand prix of the season will be held over 14, 15 and 16 September at the Marina Bay circuit, a street track that is raced at night.

It is probably the most demanding circuit for drivers in the whole championship. First, because it is quite long, at just over 5 kilometres. Second, because it has many corners, 23 in total, and few long straights where drivers can “rest”. And third and last, because of the weather conditions, since it is normal for there to be a lot of heat and humidity. On top of that there is the fact of racing at night under floodlights, and although the lighting is more than sufficient, it is always different from racing in natural light, especially if there is rain involved.

The circuit at Marina Bay has hosted races since 2008. It was inaugurated by Fernando Alonso, and the Spaniard hopes to deliver a better performance than in his last two grands prix, which he was unable to finish. For Carlos Sainz, Singapore is also a special circuit, since here he achieved his best result to date in Formula 1, the fourth place of 2017 while still in a Toro Rosso.

Mercedes and Ferrari arrive with completely opposite strategies, which shows the situation of their leaders in the standings. Lewis Hamilton, and his team-mate Bottas, will arrive in Singapore more conservative, thanks to the advantage they have at the front, while Sebastian Vettel, and his team-mate Raikkonen, have no choice but to be aggressive. By the way, the German is the driver who has won the most at Marina Bay, although three of his four victories came with Red Bull.

Marina Bay is a twisty circuit that is hard to overtake on, and the driver who takes pole usually goes on to win, with exceptions such as last year when Hamilton won because pole sitter Vettel retired after an accident. Qualifying therefore looks fundamental, as it decides a large part of the race’s outcome.

Singapore 2018 F1 GP times

As we have already said, the Singapore GP holds its two main events at night: qualifying and the race. Thanks to that, the time difference is manageable, and in Spain we can follow the grand prix at times that are quite good. Here they are:

Friday 14 September:

• 10:30 hours -> Practice 1
• 14:30 hours -> Practice 2

Saturday 15 September:

• 12:00 hours -> Practice 3
• 15:00 hours -> Qualifying

Sunday 16 September:

• 14:10 hours -> Race

As we always say, the rights to broadcast Formula 1 on television in Spain are held exclusively by Movistar TV. So for this grand prix and the remaining ones you need to be a subscriber to this platform and take out the motor package, which can be done from 10 euros a month.