Every year, the race on the streets of the Lion City continues to entertain fans and provide the toughest test for the drivers.

This year’s Singapore Grand Prix was no exception, as we raced on the floodlit streets in typically challenging conditions. And for BWT Alpine Formula One Team, there was plenty more to our visit to Southeast Asia than the race itself. In the build-up to Sunday, there was plenty going on...

Time to acclimatise to the heat

The key to surviving the stifling heat of Singapore is to get up to speed as quickly as possible by training and working out in the hot temperatures. For Pierre, it offered a chance to catch up with fellow drivers and friends - including Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Isack Hadjar - for a range of activities including golf, padel and football. The latter came with an unusual midnight kick-off – such are the timezones for F1 at this event - where the race team lined up alongside Pierre and Hadjar for a friendly kick-about in the heat.

Eight years ago this week, Pierre made his F1 debut in Malaysia, and coming into the weekend he was proud to unveil his special edition Moser watch, which he designed himself and revealed at a special event on Wednesday evening. The beautiful rose-gold watch face, with a cutaway to reveal the inner workings of the chronograph, was also the inspiration for Pierre’s bespoke helmet for the Singapore GP weekend. His personal edition featured a diamond at 10 o’clock in deference to his race number in F1.

For Franco, there was a chance to experience the Lion City with a view - and a perfect way to dodge the thunderstorms - by going for a ride on the Singapore Flyer at night, taking in incredible views across the Marina Bay Circuit and the whole island. Check out the full video at RISE+ now.

Ahead of the weekend, there were also two important crypto events: firstly with a new Partner announced - Blockdag - at Raffles Hotel, followed by a Token2049 discussion panel at Marina Bay Sands with high-level debate on accelerating Web3. Pierre too was involved in the crypto theme with an appearance with Binance to discuss his thoughts on the race weekend.

First thoughts from Steve

Arriving at the track for media day on Thursday, there was a fresh look for both drivers with a new special edition pink driver jersey, launched in collaboration with our Title Partner BWT. Secure your pink jersey whilst stocks last.

On the following day, it was the turn of our Managing Director Steve Nielsen to face the cameras for the first time in the FIA Team Representatives Press Conference and to share his thoughts on returning to Enstone.

“It’s like going back to an old school. Bits of it are really familiar, other areas are new. It’s been great to go back, they’ve made me feel very welcome,” said Steve. “Some familiar faces, lots of new ones and as I haven’t been at a team for eight years, I’m getting up to speed on what’s changed - things like the budget cap. Enstone is a great place with some fine talent. It’s just that what we put on the track at the moment doesn’t reflect the skills and facilities we have there, and it’s our job to turn that around.”

Staying cool out on track

With the FIA declaring this weekend’s race a ‘Heat Hazard’ we had the opportunity to run the new mandated driver cooling system in the car, with both Pierre and Franco trialing the new shirts with cooling pipes on Friday (the second time we have used it this year having also tested the device in Jeddah). Ahead of the race, Pierre took us through all the different products the team use to manage heat during a race weekend, watch here.

The on-track running on the opening day was all about acclimatising to the circuit. Despite a new surface, it was still bumpy in places, and with plenty of track evolution across the weekend, times were not too reflective of ultimate pace on day one. After a couple of moments finding the limits - and regrouping after two red flags in FP2 - both Pierre and Franco completed 92 laps in total, 46 each.

Going for a Singapore flyer

With overtaking difficult at the Marina Bay Circuit, the aim heading into qualifying was to deliver a near-perfect lap to secure the best grid position possible for Sunday’s race. Unfortunately, Pierre suffered an oil protection cut which stopped the power unit. It meant he was forced to park his car by the side of the track at Turn 11 in Q1. And just as Franco was aiming for his flyer, he could not piece together a lap – citing some dirty air from traffic - and couldn’t progress to Q2.

With a sell-out crowd of 300,641 across the weekend, Saturday’s visit to the Fan Forum - once again alongside the Red Bull drivers - was a busy one, with plenty of support for Pierre and Franco. Both drivers are also always appreciative of the amazing group of fans that line the entrance to the paddock, who they pass each morning on the way in from the hotel.

Lighting up the Bay

The Singapore Grand Prix is known as the original night race, but for the supporting F1 Academy, both of their races took place before dusk. Competing in the penultimate round here in Marina Bay, Alpine Academy racer Nina Gademan finished Race 1 in eighth before contending with a late-race rainstorm in Race 2 - securing a strong sixth place in the tricky conditions.

Despite a shower before the start of the F1 race, it was dry for lights out. And after his early retirement from qualifying, we took the decision to take Pierre’s car out of parc fermé to make some changes to the setup and change floor, meaning he started Sunday’s 62-lap race from the pit lane. On a two-stop strategy, Pierre pitted on lap 24 for a new set of hards and again on lap 51 for softs to finish 19th. Ultimately for Pierre, it gives the team useful, comparative data to understand and hopefully rectify some of his current, teething issues with the package going into Austin.

Starting in P16, Franco managed to get a great launch off the line and made up three places on the opening lap. He made his only stop for mediums on lap 14 in a bid to undercut those around him and ran the latter part of the race in a frenetic queue of cars all on different tyre life, battling for positions. But it was difficult to keep cars on fresher tyres behind and he crossed the line in P16.

Speaking after the race late on Sunday evening, Steve Nielsen took the time to congratulate McLaren on their Constructors’ Championship success and summed up our visit to Singapore.

“Of course, it is not the end result we set out to achieve, but there are plenty of positives to take from the weekend. We head to Austin feeling more optimistic in our ability to perform on a much more conventional circuit,” said Steve. “We can be confident that better days are coming and I am pleased to see the continued work ethic that everyone in this team is applying in a difficult time.”