Building a Formula One Racetrack in Singapore on Co-op
Fernando Alfaro, E’26, industrial engineering, is completing a co-op in Singapore with the engineering firm AtkinsRealis, where he serves as a project manager for the construction and dismantling of the Formula 1 racetrack used in the Singapore Grand Prix.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cesaero Contreras. Main photo: The Singapore Grand Prix was held in late September. Courtesy Photo
This supercharged Northeastern co-op helped construct the Formula 1 racetrack for the Singapore Grand Prix
About a month after the close of the Singapore Grand Prix, Northeastern University student Fernando Alfaro is taking a breath.
The fourth-year industrial engineering student now understands what goes into construction of the 3-mile Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore and the facilities attached to the course.
That’s because he had a hand in assembling them.
Since July, he has been in Singapore working as a facilities engineer while on co-op with the engineering firm AtkinsRealis. Both Singapore GP and the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix are clients of the Montreal-based firm, and it is entrusted every year with building, managing and disassembling the racetrack.
“It’s a city circuit, which means that every year it has to get dismantled and constructed again,” says Alfaro. “If you think of some other Grand Prix races in Italy, France or the Netherlands, they have tracks that are always there, and there are little changes every year. But in places such as Singapore, Las Vegas, Miami and Baku, they are dismantled and mantled again every year.”
It’s an undertaking that involves more than 4,000 people, 50 contractors, and takes months of construction that starts sometime in May and wraps up just hours before race day.
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Fernando Alfaro worked directly with the contractors assembling the Singapore Grand Prix race track. Courtesy Photos
Alfaro worked specifically in the construction of the three-story building that housed the F1 Paddock Club, Formula One’s hospitably service center specifically designed for attendees who purchased F1’s most premium tickets.
The club is famously decked out with amenities, including multiple Michelin-star restaurants, clubs, lounges and specific VIP suites with ideal views of the racetrack.
Read Full Story at Northeastern Global News