The Singapore Grand Prix takes place from 9 to 11 in October and means an early start in Mexico. Sunday’s race starts at 6:00 in the morning, Mexico City time. Before that, there will be a qualifying session and a Sprint race that are separate from the Grand Prix, so Saturday will feature two competitive sessions with different purposes.
The times in this table have been converted to Mexico City time, UTC−6. Singapore uses UTC+8, a fourteen-hour difference. The dates shown correspond to the day in Mexico, and the times are session start times, not the start of a TV broadcast.
| Session | Day in October | Mexico City time |
|---|---|---|
| Free Practice | Friday 9 | 02:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | Friday 9 | 06:30 |
| Sprint | Saturday 10 | 03:00 |
| GP Qualifying | Saturday 10 | 07:00 |
| Grand Prix | Sunday 11 | 06:00 |
To check a time conversion, take the start of the Grand Prix: 20:00 on Sunday in Singapore minus fourteen hours is 06:00 on the same Sunday in Mexico City. If you check the F1 calendar in a browser, see whether it is showing “My time” or “Track time”: your selection changes the time you see, even though it is the same event.
There are two grids and two qualifying sessions
Friday’s Sprint Qualifying session determines the starting order for Saturday’s short race. Saturday’s qualifying session determines the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix. The Sprint result does not directly determine Sunday’s starting order: that link belongs to earlier versions of the format.
The Sprint covers approximately 100 kilometers, lasts about half an hour, and does not require a pit stop. It awards points to the top eight: eight to the winner, seven to second place, and so on down to one for eighth. Points can be added to the championship before the Grand Prix, but fewer points are available than in the main race.
That’s why missing one qualifying session doesn’t mean missing the other. If you only want to follow the fight for Sunday’s grid, your appointment is Saturday at 07:00. If you’re interested in all the points-scoring action, the races are Saturday at 03:00 and Sunday at 06:00.
What to keep handy
Save the table with its time zone: a screenshot that only says “6:00” loses information when shared with someone in another region. Also, don’t confuse the Sprint’s approximate duration with the full program window, which may include procedures and possible interruptions.
The Marina Bay technical preview explains what changes when there is only one practice session and how the tires are allocated. Here, the reference is the official schedule available when this article was reviewed; any program change by F1 takes precedence over the initial schedule.
