Singapore Night GP: How drivers and TV viewers keep a clear view

In Singapore, night turns into day: each of the 1,600 lighting elements on Singapore’s ‘Marina Bay Circuit’ emits 3,000 lux – that’s four times brighter than in an average sports stadium.

Singapore hosted the first Formula 1 night Grand Prix in 2008. Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia followed, and in 2023 the premier class returned to Las Vegas. At night, of course.

SPEEDWEEK.com readers keep asking: doesn’t driving at night cause visibility problems? And why do some drivers race with tinted helmet visors?

Long-serving Formula 1 engineer Pat Symonds gave me this answer: “When the first Singapore night Grand Prix was due to take place, some very bright minds put a lot of thought into the lighting. The result: I haven’t met a single driver who’s complained about their visibility.”

“One factor that plays a part is that we’re close to the equator, so it gets dark quite quickly. It’s very different in Melbourne, for example. There, the low sun can really dazzle the drivers.”

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“The drivers found that the lights are so powerful and cleverly positioned that, in terms of visibility, there was no noticeable difference compared to daylight. After a while, most drivers had stopped realising they were driving at night.”

But what sort of helmet visor should a rider use? Clear? Tinted? Mirrored? Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel not only enjoyed experimenting with the design of his helmet, he also went his own way when it came to helmet visors.

The five-time Singapore Grand Prix winner was the first to race in Singapore with an orange-tinted visor. This is all about the ‘ski goggles effect’: the tint is intended to make contrasts clearer; skiers use goggles designed in this way to spot bumps on the slopes more easily. Previously, Rubens Barrichello was the only Formula 1 driver to race with an orange-tinted visor. When Vettel competed in Singapore with Aston Martin in 2022, he stuck with orange.

Lewis Hamilton had already raced in Singapore with a visor that was 60 per cent red-mirrored, which created that cool space-age look from the outside.

Furthermore, at night-time Grands Prix we usually see clear visors, as was the case in 2023 with Carlos Sainz when he raced to victory in Singapore in his Ferrari, or slightly tinted ones, depending on the driver’s preference.

Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg comments: “The lights are bright enough that you can even use a slightly tinted helmet visor. Ultimately, when it comes to choosing a helmet visor, it’s all about the driver feeling comfortable.”

We’ll of course be keeping you up to date here on SPEEDWEEK.com as the action unfolds this coming weekend, with detailed coverage of free practice, Sprint qualifying, the Sprint, Grand Prix qualifying and the Grand Prix (via our live ticker). We’ve also summarised the key broadcast times for Sky, ServusTV, ORF and SRF here for TV viewers.

• Singapore GP on TV

• Friday, 9 October

• 06.00 Sky Sport F1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix

• 08.00 Sky Sport F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix

• 10.00 Sky Sport F1 – Warm-Up, the Motorsport Special

• 10.15 Sky Sport F1 – Start of Free Practice coverage

• 10.20 ORF 1 – Free practice coverage begins

• 10.30 Free practice

• 12.00 Sky Sport F1 – Iconic Onboards: Daniel Ricciardo

• 12.30 Sky Sport F1 – Team Principals’ press conference

• 1.30 pm Sky Sport F1 – Iconic Onboards: Kimi Räikkönen

• 1.50 pm Sky Sport F1 – Iconic Onboards: Michael Schumacher

• 14.10 ORF 1 – Start of Sprint Qualifying coverage

• 14.15 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint qualifying coverage begins

• 14.30 Sprint Qualifying

• 15.45 Sky Sport F1 – Greatest Races: Jacques Villeneuve in Spain 1997

• 16.00 Sky Sport F1 – Free practice repeat

• 17.30 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint Qualifying replay

• 20.00 Sky Sport F1 – Free practice repeat

• 21.30 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint Qualifying Replay

• 22.30 Sky Sport F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix
  

• Saturday, 10 October

• 06.00 Sky Sport F1 – GP Confidential

• 06.30 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint Qualifying Replay

• 07.45 Sky Sport F1 – Free Practice Replay

• 09.15 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint Qualifying Replay

• 10.15 Sky Sport F1 – Start of Sprint coverage

• 10.40 ORF 1 – Sprint coverage begins

• 11.00 Sprint (21 laps)

• 12.15 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint press conference

• 13.30 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint replay

• 14.10 ORF 1 – Grand Prix qualifying coverage begins

• 14.30 Sky Sport F1 – Start of Grand Prix qualifying coverage

• 14.55 SRF Info – Start of GP qualifying coverage

• 15.00 Qualifying

• 16.30 Sky Sport F1 – Grand Prix qualifying press conference

• 17.00 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint replay

• 18.00 Sky Sport F1 – GP qualifying replay

• 19.30 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint highlights

• 21.00 Sky Sport F1 – GP Qualifying Replay

• 21.00 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint Replay

• 11.30 pm Sky Sport F1 – GP Qualifying Replay

• Sunday, 11 October

• 06.00 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint Replay

• 07.00 Sky Sport F1 – GP Qualifying Replay

• 09.30 Sky Sport F1 – Sprint replay

• 10.30 Sky Sport F1 – GP Qualifying Replay

• 12.00 Sky Sport F1 – Drivers’ parade

• 12.15 ServusTV – Countdown to the race

• 12.30 Sky Sport F1 – Pre-race coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix

• 12.50 ORF 1 – Formula 1 news

• 13.20 SRF 2 – Start of coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix

• 13.25 ORF 1 – Singapore Grand Prix coverage begins

• 13.55 Sky Sport F1 – Singapore Grand Prix coverage begins

• 14.00 Singapore Grand Prix

• 15.45 Sky Sport F1 – Analysis and interviews

• 16.10 ORF 1 – Analysis and interviews

• 16.30 Sky Sport F1 – Post-race press conference

• 17.00 Sky Sport F1 – Ted’s Notebook

• 17.30 Sky Sport F1 – Race replay

• 19.30 Sky Sport F1 – Ted’s Notebook

• 20.00 Sky Sport F1 – Race replay

• 22.00 Sky Sport F1 – Ted’s Notebook

• 10.30 pm Sky Sport F1 – Sprint Replay

• 23.00 ServusTV – Race Replay

• 23.30 Sky Sport F1 – Race highlights