Five things to know ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix

Formula 1's flyaway races fill the calendar for the remaining eight rounds of 2023, and it all kicks off with this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.

The Marina Bay Circuit has hosted F1 for 15 years, and the home of night racing has kicked off the trend of city takeovers with floodlit racing we're seeing more and more of.

With tweaks to the track layout, a fan-approved FW45, plus so much more to look forward to, here are five things to know about the Singapore Grand Prix.

2023's race around the Marina Bay streets will be the fastest Singapore Grand Prix in history, thanks to a major overhaul of the third sector.

The four corners that previously took the drivers around and underneath the Bay Grandstand are replaced by a straight that bypasses the complex to shorten the circuit length by 135 metres.

That might not sound like much, but with drivers going full throttle rather than navigating four slow-speed corners, lap times look set to reduce by over 10 seconds.

Singapore regularly sees the race hit the two-hour time limit, so this change should ensure we race the full 305 km distance instead.But what about the old layout? Well, this is only a temporary change due to redevelopment work in the area.

Williams fans can get the best F1 experience for the third time in 2023 with the return of our always-popular Fan Zone.

After wowing crowds in Melbourne, Miami and London, Singapore's Raffles City will host a week of must-see entertainment with giveaways, Esports rigs, team merchandise, a Bolder than Bold FW45 show car, and even more on offer.

Of course, a Williams Racing Fan Zone wouldn't be the same without guest appearances, and Alex, Logan, and James will spend time with the fans over the week.

Head here to see the full timings and address for where you'll find us.

We believe the trio of Albono, Sarge, and Vowles at the Fan Zone is a headline act better than any other, but Singapore always goes all out on the entertainment.

Even people with no interest in racing flock to the circuit every year to see A-list performances from some of the biggest names in music.

This year is no different, with Post Malone, Robbie Williams, Kings of Leon, Groove Armada, The Kooks, Madness, and Culture Club all on the Main Stage over the weekend.

The high number of rain-affected sessions in the 2023 season is easy to see on television, but the ever-present weather challenge in Singapore is not.

Rain might fall here sometimes, but the humidity levels are an inescapable struggle for the drivers and teams to deal with on every trip to the city-state.

Night racing helps slightly, with temperatures dipping a few degrees in when the sun sets, but with Singapore's average annual relative humidity being over 80%, this is the stickiest race of the season by far.

Our two cars will sport a rather different look under the Singapore lights when our Bolder than Bold livery adorns Alex and Logan's FW45s.

We asked you to vote on four Gulf-inspired looks across three head-to-head rounds to choose our livery for the Singapore, Japanese, and Qatar Grands Prix.

After an incredibly tight final round between the Heritage and Bolder than Bold liveries, 51.9% of voters opted for the striking new-look livery that will debut in Friday's FP1.