The soft tyre finally gets its chance under the Marina Bay lights

Pirelli has brought exactly the same three compounds to Marina Bay as it did twelve months ago, the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft. What has changed is what Pirelli expects teams to do with the softest of them. In its preview for the Singapore Grand Prix, the tyre supplier says the red-walled C5 “could receive greater consideration on Sunday from more than one team”, after it held up well at Budapest, Monza and Baku.

Singapore closes the triple-header that began in Baku and continued at Sepang, where the Bahrain Grand Prix was held last Sunday. It also hosts the last Sprint of the 2026 season, which leaves teams one hour of practice before the first competitive session under the lights.

The red-walled tyre has earned a second look

Pirelli’s case for the soft rests on three races. At Budapest, Monza and Baku, the C5 allowed drivers to keep a strong pace thanks to limited degradation, while giving more grip and confidence behind the wheel. Pirelli adds that the latest generation of cars makes better use of the softer compounds: aerodynamic load, better temperature management and the current compound formulation let the softer end of the range run longer and more competitive stints than in the past.

Marina Bay should suit that. Track evolution is significant over the weekend, and Pirelli says it “would come as no surprise” to see the soft used in Saturday’s Sprint, or more widely across the weekend, encouraged by the Sprint format itself. Hard and Medium remain the reference compounds for the Grand Prix.

The conditions are kind to tyres. The race runs at night with track temperatures between 30 and 35 °C, inside the working window without overheating concerns. Mechanical stress is not especially high, degradation is mainly the normal drop-off of the rear tyres under traction, and Pirelli does not expect graining or wear to limit race management. Intermittent rain, typical of the equatorial climate, can change grip from one session to the next. Read more on how compounds wear in our tyre degradation explainer.

One stop, because a second costs too much

Pirelli still calls Singapore one of the races where a one-stop strategy is the preferred option, given the time lost in the pit lane and the frequent neutralisations (see our Safety Car and VSC explainer).

Last year’s race shows how the plan usually unfolds. Fourteen drivers started on the C4 and the rest on the C5. The Hard was ruled out for the start because the track was still damp after afternoon rain, and the C3 then became the preferred tyre for the second stint. Only three drivers stopped twice. George Russell won that race for Mercedes.

The 4.927-kilometre circuit has 19 corners, close barriers and few overtaking chances. The 2023 changes to the third sector added high-speed sections and made the lap smoother and faster. The Grand Prix runs over 62 laps, and Lewis Hamilton holds the lap record with 1:33.808 from 2025.

The last Sprint of 2026 starts after one hour of practice

As a Sprint weekend, Singapore has a single practice session before Sprint Qualifying on Friday evening, the first real running under the lights. Times below are Central European Summer Time, with Singapore local time in brackets.

Alpine took a gamble in Sepang and it did not pay off

Pierre Gasly made the trip from Malaysia by road. “I drove down to Singapore on Monday as it is only a few hours from Sepang, so quite different to usual but a nice way to begin race week,” he said in Alpine’s preview.

He was open about last Sunday. “It was not the result we wanted but we took a gamble, it did not pay off and we are all firmly focused on racing again this weekend,” Gasly said. “We have a big task ahead of us with our rivals now quite far ahead in the Championship.” Gasly is tenth in the drivers’ standings with 41 points, and teammate Franco Colapinto twelfth with 27.

Colapinto counts Marina Bay among his favourite tracks. “The mix of technical corners, bumpy surface and close walls, as well as being under the lights, makes it one of my favourites of the year,” he said. With two qualifying sessions this weekend, he added that “we will work hard to maximise both opportunities to put ourselves in a position to score points.”

Audi missed the points on the final lap twice

Audi arrives with the most to prove in the midfield. Racing Director Allan McNish said the team missed out on points on the final lap in both Baku and Sepang. “That goes to show you have to deliver and execute a perfect weekend if you want to come away with something,” McNish said. “With this being a Sprint event, it’ll be crucial to get things right from the very beginning.”

The team also runs a special livery for its first Formula 1 night race. Audi developed its own Singapore shade of Titanium Silver Grey with a blue shimmer inspired by the city’s lights, and added a Traditional Peranakan Pattern on the rear wing and sidepods.

“It’s one of the highlights on the calendar and a big weekend for Audi this year with the special livery, race suits and everything the team has going on across the city,” said Nico Hulkenberg, who has 7 points. Gabriel Bortoleto, on 10, looks to the double chance: “We’ve been consistently around the fight for points recently, so we’ll try to put everything together and give ourselves another chance in Saturday’s Sprint and again in the race on Sunday.”

Antonelli arrives 84 points clear

At the front, Kimi Antonelli leads the official standings with 320 points, 84 ahead of Mercedes teammate Russell on 236. Lewis Hamilton is third on 214 for Ferrari. Max Verstappen won last Sunday’s race at Sepang and sits sixth on 188, level with Lando Norris. With the Sprint and the Grand Prix together, a driver can score up to 33 points this weekend. Our title permutations show who is still mathematically in the fight.

History favours Mercedes here: the team has won five times at Marina Bay, more than any other constructor. Sebastian Vettel holds the driver record with five wins, ahead of Hamilton on four. This is the seventeenth Singapore Grand Prix, held every year since 2008 apart from 2020 and 2021.

Our read

The soft tyre story matters most on Saturday. With one practice hour and set-ups frozen from Sprint Qualifying until after the Sprint, teams have little time to learn how the C5 behaves over a stint, so whoever gets a good long run in on Friday afternoon holds an advantage for both races. For Alpine and Audi, the Sprint is the cheaper place to take a risk: a gamble that fails over a short race costs less than one that fails on Sunday, and Gasly has just learned what that costs. Read more on the rules in our parc fermé explainer.

What to watch

• Who runs the C5 in the Sprint, and for how long it lasts.
• Rain before the Grand Prix, which ruled out the Hard at the start last year.
• Safety cars and the timing of the single stop.
• Whether Audi’s livery night ends with points, or a third last-lap miss.
• How far Russell can climb on Sunday: he takes an engine grid penalty for the Grand Prix after his late retirement at Sepang, though not for the Sprint.

Will anyone make the soft tyre work in Sunday’s race, or is Singapore one-stop on Medium and Hard again? Tell us in the comments.