Two lights in Libra, a new Moon
At the start the Sun is in Libra at 18°11′, and the Moon is also in Libra, at 28°13′, in the new phase of the lunar cycle: a dark Moon about ten degrees ahead of the Sun. Libra is the sign of balance, weighing and appearances, so the evening opens with both lights placed in the sign of the scales. A new Moon in symbols marks a beginning, a clean page with nothing yet written on it, and a Moon in the late degrees of its sign is close to changing sign, a small sense of transition. The event was Formula One's first night race and its first street circuit in Asia, and a Libra sky suits an evening of lights.
Mars in Leo and a sky turned inward
Mars stands in Leo at 7°41′, direct, and Jupiter in Leo at 21°23′ keeps it company in the same sign: two big, warm planets in the sign of display. Mercury in Scorpio at 13°11′ is direct, while Venus in Scorpio at 7°10′ is retrograde, a backward-looking, private note in the planet of taste and attachment. Beyond them the slow planets set the tone: Saturn in Aries at 10°46′, Neptune in Aries at 2°35′, Uranus in Gemini at 5°19′ and Pluto in Aquarius at 3°04′ are all retrograde. Five of the eight planets in the table, Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, are retrograde. In symbols that is a sky turned inward: little new is announced, much is revisited.
Pérez and Alonso under Mars
Two drivers have a natal Sun touched by Mars at the start. Transiting Mars is opposite Sergio Pérez's natal Sun, with an orb of 1.16°, a symbol of friction, pushback and a strong sense of being challenged. Transiting Mars sits on Fernando Alonso's natal Sun in conjunction (orb 1.57°), a symbol of energy and heat directly on the core of the chart. The circuit adds one fact to that picture: Alonso won the first Formula One edition of the renewed Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, driving for Renault. These are the only two natal Suns in the table that the sky touches. They are tendencies in symbols, not a promise of anything on track.