New looks and DRS zone for Singapore F1 night race

Formula 1 will go racing under the Singapore stars again this weekend and there will be some changes to the track and cars.

Daniel Ricciardo will be driving a tweaked livery on his Racing Bulls with extra light blue and the adjusted design has brought back the zip design, which BAR memorably used in 1999.

Ricciardo will be aiming to score points for the first time in four races after suffering degradation issues at Baku.

It will be the Aussie’s first Singapore Grand Prix since 2022 when he scored the best result of his final year at McLaren with fifth.

“Over the years we’ve seen fashion brands join forces with F1 teams and drivers, especially when it comes to outfits, but never have we seen any of them take this step in full immersing themselves on track too,” Ricciardo said of the new livery.

The new livery Daniel Ricciardo will race at Singapore with. Image: Red Bull Content Pool

“We’re really raising the stakes here and paving the way, showcasing that there’s so much more that can be done for brands to explore. I think we’re definitely going to open the eyes of these fashion houses and see more fashion-inspired liveries come to life.”

The iconic silver of Mercedes will not be seen in Singapore as it switches to a green and black livery for Singapore.

The silver nose is now a green nose as the team celebrates long time backer Petronas 50th anniversary.

It will be interesting to see if Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be hard to identify when they are racing against an Aston Martin.

The new green Mercedes livery. image: Mercedes

Whist some teams are changing colours for Singapore, Red Bull has changed plans and will not.

Red Bull has ditched plans of running fan-inspired livery takeovers at Singapore and USA as its constructors championship concerns reach an all time high.

The reason why Red Bull will retain its usual look is concerns over carrying extra weight.

With Red Bull sacrificing the constructors championship lead for the first time since 2022, it knows every millisecond will be crucial with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all regularly fighting for victories.

“Unfortunately when we came to the testing phase of what some REBL CUSTMS designs could look like, in real life, on the RB20, we found the paint used to create these bespoke full car takeover liveries added unforeseen and undue weight to the bodywork of the RB20,” a Red Bull statement read.

“As I’m sure you can imagine, any additional weight compromises performance and the team are continuing to prioritise making this car as competitive as possible for the remainder of the 2024 season.

“As a result, it is with a heavy heart that we must let you know the team has made the decision to not run the REBL CUSTMS liveries on the RB20 at the Singapore and United States GPs.”

There could be more overtaking opportunities in Singapore this year with a fourth DRS zone added to the 4.94km circuit.

The existing DRS zones on the pit straight, plus the run down Raffles Boulevard and Esplanade Drive.

However, a new one has been included between Turns 14-16 on Raffles Avenue.

This is the extra straight that was created when the circuit was remodelled last year to remove the twisty four-turn complex that went beneath the Bay Grandstand.

Drivers made a failed push for the extra zone to be included last year.

The Singapore Grand Prix begins with practice at 19.30 AEST Friday night, while lights out are at 22.00.

Photo by Lionel Ng / Sutton Images

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