F1 maps five Straight Mode zones at Singapore’s Marina Bay

Formula 1’s Marina Bay circuit guide, published on 7 October, maps five Straight Mode zones and one Overtake Mode detection point for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix. The two systems have different jobs: Straight Mode changes the car’s aerodynamic configuration in designated sections, while Overtake Mode provides an additional electrical-power profile to sustain higher speed for longer.

Marina Bay is 4.927 km long and has 19 turns; the Grand Prix covers 62 laps. Lewis Hamilton’s 1:33.808 from 2025 is the lap record. The layout was altered before the 2023 race, cutting the corner count from 23 to 19. Its bumpy surface, short run-off areas and close walls punish small mistakes. Former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer describes the circuit as long, complex and draining.

On dry laps, Straight Mode is used in five designated zones: the start-finish straight, and the sections between Turns 5 and 7, 9 and 10, 13 and 14, and 15 and 16. The car changes configuration for maximum downforce in corners and lower drag on the straights.

Overtake Mode is separate from that aerodynamic function and replaces DRS with a new power mode. At Marina Bay, the detection point comes as cars leave Turn 16; the activation line is at the exit of Turn 17. A driver within one second of the car ahead at detection can use it on the following lap.

The Singapore Grand Prix is Round 17 and the 2026 season’s final Sprint. Practice 1 and Sprint Qualifying are scheduled for Friday, 9 October, followed by the Sprint and Qualifying on Saturday, 10 October, and the Grand Prix on Sunday, 11 October. Alpine Racing Director Dave Greenwood says the Sprint format leaves teams one practice session, rather than the usual three, to fine-tune their cars.