Iconic moments in the 14 years of F1’s Singapore Grand Prix

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The narrow barriers around the city-centre circuit, coupled with extreme climate that pushes the drivers to the limit of exhaustion, make it one of the toughest races of all and there has been plenty of action under lights over the years. 

As F1 prepares to return for this year’s race, here is a rundown of the biggest moments of the last 14 years and where they happened. 

Start line: Hulkenberg in a spin 

There was drama on the start line in 2016 when Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India ended up in the pit wall having been squeezed by two Toro Rossos. The German driver’s car snapped left and only narrowly avoided being hit by Max Verstappen before ending up sliding backwards as the rest of the field flew past. 
 
Six years before, in 2010, Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus had burst into flames on the straight after a fuel valve broke. The Finn had to grab a fire extinguisher from the pits to put it out while the rest of the field continued to race and after the incident, he quipped: “Maybe they need to pay me more as I’m now a fireman as well!” 

Turn 1: A first corner collision 

There was a frightening moment for Max Verstappen in 2017 when he found himself in a Ferrari sandwich heading into the first corner. He and pole sitter Sebastian Vettel had got a slow get-away on a damp track and Kimi Raikkonen shot out from behind to make a move. However, three-into-one simply did not go and when Verstappen was squeezed into Vettel, he speared into Raikkonen who then collided with Verstappen and took Fernando Alonso’s McLaren out with him. 

Turn 3: Hamilton halted 

It was here in 2012 when Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren ground to a halt, putting him out of the race after he had built a dominant lead. At a time when the Briton was considering a move to Mercedes, that broken gearbox on lap 23 not only lost him vital ground in the championship battle, it also potentially influenced a decision that defined his career.

The Singapore Sling  

This section of the track, which was reconfigured in 2013 from a chicane to a single apex left-hander, saw a lot of drama. The high kerbs that were once in place often launched cars into the air and it caught out many drivers including Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil and Kamui Kobayashi. Hamilton once called it the ‘worst corner he has ever driven in F1’. 

Turn 7: Webber catches a lift 

It was here in 2013 that Mark Webber hitched a lift with…