Singapore Grand Prix 2026 predictions

One hour of practice before the first pick locks

Marina Bay has never hosted the sprint format. Friday has one practice session, followed by Sprint Qualifying that evening. The usual second and third practice sessions are replaced by competitive running.

That makes the first hour unusually valuable. Teams have to establish ride height, cooling and tyre behaviour on a street circuit that gains grip throughout the weekend, then commit before they have a second long-run sample. How sprint weekends are scored.

What matters at Marina Bay

Track position, traction and mistake-free laps. Passing remains hard, so qualifying carries more weight here than at Baku or Sepang.

Singapore gets the softest three tyres

• C1

  Not used at Singapore

• C2

  Not used at Singapore

• C3

  Hard

• C4

  Medium

• C5

  Soft

Pirelli selected C3, C4 and C5, the same softest trio used at Baku. Marina Bay is dominated by traction and low-speed grip, while the street surface evolves as rubber goes down.

The heat can push the rear tyres towards overheating even when wear is manageable. Watch the Sprint for degradation, but remember that the Grand Prix runs later and over a much longer distance. Pirelli’s selection (opens in a new tab).