Singapore Gets Its First-Ever F1 Sprint This Weekend, and the Schedule Is Packed

The lights at Marina Bay come on in two days, and this year the weekend has an extra race in it.

The Singapore Grand Prix runs from October 9 to 11 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with Formula 1 using the Sprint format at the night race for the first time. Singapore is one of six circuits hosting a Sprint this season. Organisers have said the format adds action on all three days, not just Sunday.

Here's how a Sprint weekend works. Friday has only one practice session, followed by Sprint Qualifying, which sets the grid for Saturday's short race. That Sprint replaces the usual third practice session and runs about 21 laps or 60 minutes at most. Saturday evening still includes normal qualifying, which sets the grid for Sunday's full Grand Prix. The main race is 62 laps around the 4.927-kilometre track.

Schedule (Singapore time, per Formula 1's official timetable):

• Friday, October 9: first practice at 4:30 p.m., Sprint Qualifying at 8:30 p.m.
• Saturday, October 10: Sprint at 5:00 p.m., qualifying at 9:00 p.m.
• Sunday, October 11: Grand Prix at 8:00 p.m.

Singapore is 2.5 hours ahead of India, so Indian viewers can watch in the afternoon and evening. First practice is at 2:00 p.m. IST on Friday and Sprint Qualifying at 6:00 p.m. IST. The Sprint is at 2:30 p.m. IST on Saturday, followed by qualifying at 6:30 p.m. IST. The Grand Prix starts at 5:30 p.m. IST on Sunday, according to ESPN India's listings.

The circuit has always been one of the toughest on the calendar. Marina Bay is a tight, bumpy street track, and the heat and humidity wear drivers down. A shorter, more aggressive Sprint adds another full race's worth of risk before Sunday even starts. Teams get little time to adjust, because the Sprint format leaves just one practice session to set up the car.

For fans, that means three days of meaningful racing, and the usual night-race scenery of floodlights against the city skyline.

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