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September 16, 2026

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3 days on track, 362 days behind the scenes: Meet the team running the Singapore F1 race

The year-round operation covers everything from crowd safety and ticketing logistics to tracking global events that could impact the Singapore race.

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SINGAPORE: By 1am on Monday, the Padang’s concert stages are dark and the roar of Formula 1 engines has faded. But on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, another race against the clock has just begun.

Mr Shiv Raj Panday and his technical crew have exactly four and a half hours to tear down parts of the track and reopen the roads to the public. By 5.30am, morning traffic will fill the very lanes where race cars hit speeds of over 300 km/h just hours earlier.

While the Singapore Grand Prix is a three-day spectacle for F1 teams and spectators, putting on the annual race is an unrelenting year-round operation by race promoter Singapore GP.

For the remaining 362 days of the year, the work for the next race begins right away and spans the gamut of sports event management, ranging from ticketing, planning crowd movements, marketing and monitoring global developments that could affect demand.

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As one of 70 full-time staff at the firm, Mr Raj, a senior manager who oversees event facilities in the technical department, told CNA that his team conducts numerous feasibility studies throughout the year.

“We will take at least about two, three months to plan, before commencing set-up and build of the circuit,” he said.

Much effort is also spent exploring how to better utilise the limited space within the circuit park, said Mr Raj, who was working for one of the race’s contractors from 2010 to 2023 before joining Singapore GP.

This post-race routine has been the team’s annual mission since the inaugural Singapore F1 race held at Marina Bay in 2008, except when the race was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s race takes place from Oct 9 to Oct 11, the latest it has ever been held in a calendar year.

Singapore renewed its contract for the fourth time in January 2022, with the latest deal granting Singapore the rights to host the race for seven more years until 2028.

YEARLY RESET

Mr Clarence Lai, director of ticketing and accreditation at Singapore GP, said the amount of time spent preparing for the event is “enormous”, even as most people think of the F1 race as a mere three-day affair.

Ticketing for each race, for instance, is an “endless” year-round task which kicks off with the “super early bird” sales in race week of the year before, and runs until the race where the cycle restarts, said Mr Lai, who was assistant director from 2011 to 2013 before returning as director in 2022.

His team handles issues related to access to the circuit, such as tickets for the public and accreditation for vendors and contractors.

They look at the seating capacity and whether new grandstands are needed to accommodate the crowd, and also review the customer experience.

Formula One F1 – Singapore Grand Prix – Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore – October 5, 2025 McLaren’s Lando Norris, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in action during the race REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

For instance, Singapore GP introduced mobile ticketing last year, which helped curb ticket scams, he said.

Before that, there was a risk of scams as people could be sold duplicate digital tickets in PDF format from third-party sellers, he added.

Ms Sasha Rafi, senior director for marketing and partnerships, said that right after each race concludes, a review is conducted to see what went well and what did not, across elements such as marketing, sustainability and stakeholder engagement, including with the government and private sector.

“Even before the race takes place, we are already planning for next year,” said Ms Sasha, one of the firm’s earliest joiners who came on board in October 2007.

Her team spends months thinking of how to sell the event in a way that is fresh every year.

“It’s really going out to see what is the latest in tech that could be applied and is relevant to our event. Looking at what is trending in entertainment, what exactly people are spending on,” she said.

They also spend lots of time monitoring global events, because if there is a war or something affecting the economy, it would also impact an event like the Singapore F1 race, said Ms Sasha.

She highlighted one new marketing initiative this year – a new two-day sprint bundle ticketing package.

Singapore hosts one of six sprint races on the F1 calendar this year, with sprint qualifying happening on Friday and the sprint race taking place on Saturday.

The sprint is a shorter race that is separate from the main race. It covers 100 km – about a third of a typical full race distance – and lasts about 30 minutes with no pit stops.

“We have looked at bundling and packages of different kinds over the years,” she said.

“When we look at the sprint bundle, it is one of the only few times that we have a two-day ticket package. We’ve always had three-day or single-day (packages).”

The sprint is a relatively new format in F1 and this is the first time it is happening in Singapore, so the team wanted to appeal to customers who do not want to head down for all three days but want to catch the sprint, said Ms Sasha.

Ms Sasha also confirmed that the super early bird tickets for 2027’s race will once again go on sale this year.

Formula One F1 – Singapore Grand Prix – Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore – October 3, 2025 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during practice REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

ENGINEERING AROUND A CITY

In the Marina Bay circuit, some of the grandstands are built one and a half months before the race, which can lead to last-minute issues.

For instance, even though a grandstand might be located in the same spot for several years, there could be rows missing or a change in actual layout after the grandstands are rebuilt, which Mr Lai’s team has to address.

“We do our best to really make sure that all the seats are there, there’re no missing seats and the seats are properly labeled. We also check the condition of the seats as well,” said Mr Lai, adding that they are exposed to the natural elements, such as wind and rain.

For his team, one key challenge is working under strict time constraints when assembling and dismantling the grandstands and facilities within the circuit park.

“Sometimes when there’re events going on for certain stakeholders, we have to work out the timing as to when is the earliest they can hand over the space to us,” said Mr Raj.

He cited the example of Connaught Grandstand, located at the end of Esplanade Bridge, sits along a “live” road which is still open to public vehicles.

His team works around tight schedules to construct it. When they close off the road in the wee hours of Wednesday morning on race week, they only have a limited time to set up before they have to reopen the road for the morning traffic, said Mr Raj.

The same goes for the post-race rush on Sunday night. The priority is to re-open certain parts of the race track for use as public roads, such as Esplanade Drive, by 5.30am on Monday, said Mr Raj.

Ms Melissa Phua, Singapore GP’s director of operations who has been with the firm since 2008, said her work involves schools as well.

She spends a large part of her year engaging with students from the Institute of Technical Education and Republic Polytechnic, as Singapore GP provides training and employment opportunities for nearly 1,000 of them across the circuit park each year.

They perform roles such as grandstand and gate officials, and take care of the general welfare of patrons at the event, said Ms Phua.

Her team also has to assess and ensure public safety arrangements within the circuit park, including the movement and dispersal of the massive crowds.

“I think part of our KPI (key performance indicator) is also in making sure that they leave safely. We would hate to see complaints from patrons who were not happy after the event or we didn’t meet their satisfaction,” she said.

The main issue every year is the crowd leaving the area after the nightly concerts at the Padang, with most making their way to the MRT stations to catch the late trains home, said Ms Phua.

“So we are on the ground, making sure that all the necessary gates are open and everyone leaves according to the planned routes for effective dispersal,” she said, adding that some spectators may be unhappy as they may be diverted away from the path they took to enter the circuit park.

“It’s about making sure that ushers are there and we are there on the ground, making sure that nobody gets yelled at or gets crushed.”

KEEPING SINGAPORE RELEVANT

Ms Sasha said that in the initial years, efforts were focused on marketing to Singaporeans what Formula 1 was, and also introducing the race to international audiences.

Today, the challenge has changed. With the Marina Bay race established internationally, the focus is increasingly on attracting repeat visitors and convincing fans to choose Singapore in a crowded calendar of 24 races, she said.

“When I first started, Formula 1 wasn’t something that was known to most Singaporeans. It was seen in the first few years by some as an elitist sport,” she said.

To counter that, Singapore GP introduced a variety of product categories that would appeal to a wide demographic, including sports fans, corporate visitors who are networking, and locals attending more for the entertainment, she added.

“We were the first circuit in Formula 1 to actually inject entertainment into the racing experience that you get over the weekend,” said Ms Sasha.

Fans at G-Dragon’s show on Oct 3, 2025. (Photo: Singapore GP Pte Ltd)

Noting that the Singapore race in 2026 is very different from how things were in 2008, Ms Sasha said the team has also had to adapt to infrastructural changes along the way. For instance, the track was modified in 2023 to run behind the Floating Platform, as one of F1’s largest grandstands made way for the development of NS Square.

For Mr Lai, the challenges for ticketing and seating comes with the nature of the temporary street circuit that is torn down and rebuilt every year.

“It’s unlike a fixed venue, let’s say, the National Stadium. The seats are always there, so most of the time you won’t go wrong, it will not disappear,” he said.

SINGAPORE GP’S LONG GAME

Mr Lai shared that the team has still not managed to replace the number of seats lost from the removal of the Bay Grandstand, and have had to think of ways to maximise the capacity and vantage point for visitors over the years.

This year, the grandstand at Turn 2 – just after the exit from the pit straight – will be merged from two into one big one, while additional viewing platforms have also been installed alongside.

While staging a race in the city means that people can disperse in multiple directions, the area takes on a very unfamiliar look when it transforms into circuit park, noted Ms Phua.

There are also many foreigners who may not know where to go, she said.

“Even for ourselves, when we close up the track, it can be unfamiliar at times as the path isn’t as straightforward,” she said.

She recalled the challenge of 2022, when the race was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain.

The crowd watches awarding ceremonies at the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix, at the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

“We never had that kind of race delay before of that scale. It affected our dispersal plans as we had to make sure the students and patrons leave on time in order to catch the last train,” she said.

On the back-end, they had to move fast to secure approvals to further extend the train timings. The MRT trains typically already run later on race weekends.

Her team also had to ensure messages and information were shown on the screens around the circuit park, to keep visitors updated.

“I think that kind of coordination really helped us to seal how well the team works together as a whole,” said Ms Phua.

Ms Sasha shared that interactions with foreigners abroad have really hit home just how far the team has come from 2008, and how much the Singapore Grand Prix has grown.

“I think what amazes me the most is when I travel, be it for personal trips or for work, I am amazed at how, when I say I am from Singapore, people say, ‘You have a Formula 1 race in your country. I’ve seen it on TV and it’s on my bucket list to attend’,” she said.

Source: CNA/fb(nj)

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