The Singapore Grand Prix is a motor race, currently in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held in the Marina Bay area of Singapore. Upon resurrection of the event in 2008, the first race at the Marina Bay location, which was also Formula One's first night race, was won by Spanish driver Fernando Alonso driving for the Renault F1 team.

Prior to the race becoming part of the Formula One calendar, the Singapore Grand Prix was held as a Formula Libre event in the 1960s and 1970s at the Thomson Road circuit.

Origins

First organised in 1961, the race was initially known as the Orient Year Grand Prix. The following year, the race was renamed the Malaysian Grand Prix. After Singapore attained its independence in 1965, the race at the Thomson Road circuit was renamed to the Singapore Grand Prix. The event was discontinued after 1973 and a variety of reasons have been suggested, including an increase in traffic, the inconvenience of having to close roads for the event and fatal accidents during the 1972 and 1973 races. It is also thought that a surge of oil prices stemming from the Suez Crisis might have been to blame.

Formula One

An agreement for a five-year deal was signed by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, the Singapore Tourism Board and Bernie Ecclestone. In November 2007 it was announced that the telecommunications company Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) would sponsor the event. The official name of the event will be the FORMULA 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. The race was co-funded by the Government of Singapore, footing 60% of the total bill, or $90 million SGD, out of a total tab of $150 million SGD.

Around 110,000 tickets were made available for the country's first Formula One race. Corporate hospitality suites and packages went on sale at the end November 2007, three-day passes to the public went on sale in February 2008. Single-day passes went on sale a month later. The event went on to achieve a full sell-out for all of its tickets.

The first race held at the new Marina Bay Street Circuit was the 15th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, and was also the first night-time event in Formula One history. The timing of the night event meant that it could be broadcast live at a convenient time for European TV audiences. The track was also illuminated by a series of projectors which adapt their output to match the shape of the course. The race was won by Fernando Alonso driving for the Renault team.