Five unforgettable Singapore Grand Prix from Crashgate to Ferrari vs Max Verstappen

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The Singapore Grand Prix is the original Formula 1 night race and first brought several unforgettable moments to F1’s calendar in 2008, so here are five of the best races yet.

Marina Bay even held one of the most controversial moments in Formula 1 history when the pinnacle of motorsport first took a trip to the island nation in maritime Southeast Asia. Since 2008, unforgettable moments have also continued to litter the history of the Singapore GP.

But not only has the Singapore GP led the way for F1 staging night races, it has also forged a path several races have followed for sustainability. It has also helped increase tourism in the region with Formula 1 fans from around the world eager to see the next crazy Singapore GP.

So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer has looked into five of the most unforgettable moments and iconic races that Formula 1 has staged across the history of the Singapore Grand Prix…

Fernando Alonso wins the 2008 Singapore GP after Renault orchestrate Crashgate

F1 expected to see title rivals Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and Ferrari rival Felipe Massa duel in the first Singapore Grand Prix in 2008. Instead, thanks to Renault, F1 held one of its most controversial races after Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed to help Fernando Alonso win.

Alonso returned to Renault for the 2008 season after spending just one year at McLaren as Hamilton’s teammate. But the Enstone outfit were largely uncompetitive and Alonso went to the Singapore GP without a podium to his name that season, let alone a Grand Prix victory.

So, then-Renault team chief Flavio Briatore, engineering director Pat Symonds and Piquet Jr conspired to see the Brazilian spin exiting Turn 17 and crash into the concrete walls knowing it would force a safety car period. So, he did so a lap after Alonso made his solitary pit stop.

The safety car shuffled Alonso into the lead as others pitted, and also wreaked havoc on the title fight. Massa left Ferrari’s pit box with his fuel hose still attached, forcing the Brazilian to stop and drop to last place before finishing in P13, while Hamilton went on to finish in third.

Piquet Jr would reveal Renault’s crime one year after the 2008 Singapore GP after the team axed him from their line-up mid-season. Agreeing to tell the FIA the truth also saw Piquet Jr avoid punishment, while Renault received a two-year suspended ban from F1 for Crashgate.

The FIA also banned Briatore from F1 indefinitely for his part in Crashgate but France’s high court overturned the Italian’s lifetime suspension in 2010. Thus, Briatore continued to work as Alonso’s manager and returned to F1 as the executive adviser to the Alpine team in 2024.

Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa’s rivalry boils over in the 2011 Singapore GP

Hamilton and Massa were seldom the best of friends on any circuit after fighting over the F1 drivers’ title in 2008. Their rivalry especially reached boiling point in 2011 after a number of collisions throughout the season, eventually boiling over in that year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

The 2011 campaign was a year of flashpoints between the Briton and Brazilian which started in the Monaco Grand Prix when Massa blocked Hamilton in qualifying. The pair also collided whilst leaving the iconic Monte Carlo tunnel in the race which forced the Ferrari ace to retire.

Further drama followed in the 2011 British Grand Prix as Hamilton held off Massa while they fought over fourth place on the final lap but he suffered front wing damage. Then came the Singapore GP, where Hamilton forced his way passed Massa in the final stage of qualifying.

Massa claimed after qualifying that Hamilton ‘didn’t use his mind, again’ and the Singapore GP yielded yet another flashpoint. This time, the Briton received a drive-through penalty as Hamilton’s move around the outside exiting Turn 7 punctured the Brazilian’s rear-right tyre.

The penalty was not enough to prevent Hamilton from ending the 2011 Singapore GP in P5 while Massa came home in P9. So, the Ferrari driver later sought his McLaren rival, before claiming: “When he gets in the car, he doesn’t think. I talked to him but he doesn’t listen.”

Michael Schumacher smashes into Jean-Eric Vergne in the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix

The Singapore Grand Prix was never a happy hunting ground for Michael Schumacher over his three visits in 2010, 2011 and 2012 with Mercedes. After taking a P13 finish in 2010 after the seven-time champion returned to Formula 1 the German retired from the following two.

Schumacher was also at fault for both of his Singapore GP retirements after he crashed into Sergio Perez in 2011 and then Jean-Eric Vergne in 2012. He simply ran too close to the rear of the former’s Sauber on the run to Turn 8 and briefly went airborne before finding a wall.

The nose of Schumacher’s Mercedes flung into the night sky in the 2011 Singapore GP after his front-left tyre touched Perez’s rear-right. Space was also there to Schumacher’s right-hand side to avoid any collision after the Mexican held a tight line once off the Turn 7 kerb.

Turn 8 at Marina Bay even brought Schumacher further misery in 2012 after the German ran through the rear of Vergne’s Toro Rosso to end the Singapore Grand Prix for them both. This time, he locked up under braking and barged into an unaware Vergne who was right ahead.

Max Verstappen and Ferrari spark a bowling ball wreckage in the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix

It took until 2017 for Formula 1 to stage the first wet Singapore Grand Prix as rain drenched Marina Bay. The rain also brought carnage to the grid as Max Verstappen collided with both Ferrari drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, into Turn 1 to trigger a further pile-up.

Verstappen got a great initial launch off the line on intermediate tyres to threaten pole-sitter Vettel for the lead. But as the German crept over to react to the Dutchman, the four-time F1 champion failed to spot Raikkonen passing them both after his fantastic launch from fourth.

Raikkonen shot off the line and quickly moved into the lead but Vettel drifting across meant Verstappen got sandwiched between the Ferraris. The ensuing contact ensured the Red Bull driver’s front-left tyre hit Raikkonen’s rear-right, breaking his suspension and causing a spin.

The carnage was not over, either, as Raikkonen’s out-of-control car sailed into T1 and found Alonso’s McLaren in its way. Alonso made a superb launch from P8 on the grid and was set to steal third place. But the contact sent his McLaren in the air and caused heavy damage.

Verstappen was also the filling in another sandwich as Raikkonen’s and Alonso’s cars came in from either side to finish the Red Bull racer’s day at T1. While Vettel and Alonso were able to continue at first, it was a short reprieve for Vettel as he spun on his coolant into Turn 5.

Alonso also ultimately retired due to the damage to his McLaren on Lap 8 after trying in vain to continue with substantial damage to the rear-left corner. Verstappen’s front-right tyre had destroyed the floor and part of the McLaren’s sidepod when sandwiched again into Turn 1.

Despite the incident not being Verstappen’s fault, Ferrari pointed the finger firmly at the Red Bull driver for the incident which changed the face of the 2017 Singapore GP. The Scuderia’s official Twitter account posted: “Verstappen took Kimi out and then went into Sebastian.”

Ferrari’s Twitter account also added: “What we tweeted was a factual description of events. No need to speculate on this.” But the stewards deemed that Verstappen nor Vettel were at predominant fault for the crash and said the start to the Singapore GP was a chain reaction.

Lewis Hamilton produced one of F1’s most iconic pole laps at the 2018 Singapore GP

Throughout his F1 career, Hamilton has widely been seen as one of it not the fastest drivers on the grid in qualifying. The Briton has regularly pulled a rabbit out of the hat for a stronger starting spot. One of Hamilton’s best qualifying laps also came at the 2018 Singapore GP.

Hamilton only just made it through to Q2 that year after posting the 14th-fastest lap in Q1 at 1:39.403 to survive by only 0.241 seconds. He then improved to P4 with a 1:37.344 in Q2 to join the top of the tree. Then came Hammer Time as he put down a marker with a 1:36.015.

The 0.319s advantage over Verstappen after the provisional Q3 runs was ultimately enough for Hamilton to snatch pole position for the 2018 Singapore GP away from his Red Bull rival. Despite his mistake on his second run at T7, no one could get close to the Mercedes legend.

How Hamilton took pole position for the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix would even leave the Briton ‘overwhelmed’. He was even left looking for answers to how pole became possible.

“Wow,” Hamilton said after qualifying. “That was a hard qualifying session. That lap felt like magic. I don’t know where it came from but it all came together… I’m super overwhelmed, absolutely overwhelmed. My heart is racing, I might have an anxiety attack in a second!”