Two hours of intense focus, extreme heat, bone-rattling bumps and jarring changes of direction on a narrow track under blazing floodlights – the Singapore Grand Prix might just be the ultimate test for F1 drivers. And it’s a place where only the very best succeed as four-time race winners Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel can attest.

Advertisements





But with a new generation of top talents such as Charles Leclerc, winner of the past two rounds, and Max Verstappen breathing down the neck of the champions, is the Marina Bay Street Circuit about to see a changing of the guard? The heat is most definitely on.

Singapore isn’t just tough on drivers though. The circuit’s 23 corners presented a huge challenge for the men and women who bring the race to life on screens around the world, as Formula 1 Director of Broadcast & Media Dean Locke explains…

This weekend sees Formula 1 teams and driver take on one the season’s biggest challenges – the Singapore Grand Prix. It’s a night race, under floodlights, in the centre of a busy city on streets usually crammed with traffic. Is it a similarly tough race to broadcast?

It’s one of the longest circuits on the calendar and it’s hot, so it’s certainly physically tough for the guys who are out on track. But from a logistical point of view it is the length of the lap. There are 23 corners at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and we have to cover those with 26 trackside cameras. There are no real run-off areas apart from in Turn 1 and Turn 2, so the cameras are on top of the cars, shooting through very small fence windows. There are a limited number of angles they can shoot from and if they are pointing the wrong way, they might miss something.

On top of that we have to really convey what the city is like, this amazing skyline and these fantastic buildings. Each track and each race is unique. And we’ve got to highlight that uniqueness to fans – the tifosi at Monza, the fireworks in Singapore, the Foro Sol in Mexico and so on. We have to reflect that as much as possible. Singapore is a tricky one, but to be honest, broadcasting a motor race at any circuit is a tremendous challenge. Televising a Grand Prix is very different to other sports.

Advertisements



