Hamilton and Verstappen unite in call to redesign Singapore's Marina Bay circuit

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have called for structural changes to Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit, with both drivers agreeing the layout needs a longer straight or a proper hairpin to become a genuinely great racing venue.

Hamilton raised the subject during the post-sprint press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix, revealing he had already been discussing the idea with Verstappen. “I love the race here. I really do love the race,” the Ferrari driver said. “I was just saying to Max, I think they need to change the track to maybe a longer straight somewhere in order to allow for it to be truly a great racing circuit.”

The seven-time world champion acknowledged that Marina Bay delivers an exceptional qualifying lap but argued it falls short as an overtaking venue. “There’s like one place, I guess, really, that you could potentially get close enough to overtake,” he said. Hamilton also pointed to a crest mid-track at Turn 16 as a surface imperfection worth addressing, adding: “I think there’s some adjustments that can be made to make this 100% a great circuit.”

Verstappen echoed the sentiment directly. “I fully agree we need to have a longer straight or more of a proper hairpin to overtake. But even with that, also we need a bigger delta on the straight,” the Red Bull driver said.

The comments came on a weekend that belonged to Verstappen on the results sheet. The Dutchman won the sprint race — with Hamilton second and Charles Leclerc third — before going on to claim victory in the grand prix itself. Leclerc finished second, while Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli completed the podium in third.

Whether circuit organisers will act on the drivers’ suggestions remains to be seen, but the rare alignment between two of the sport’s biggest names on a circuit-design question is likely to give the proposal added weight in any future discussions with the FIA and Formula 1 management.