I haven't had time to post about my Singapore Grand Prix experience last September due to some pressing matters of work, family and other stuff that tend to keep one away from leisurely pursuits such as updating this blog.In any case, I had a fun trip although not as hectic than the previous year. This time, I only booked three nights in Singapore, and bought only the raceday walkabout tickets.
Treb and Rene, my old pals and colleagues from AA/Smart, would be joining me on this trip. We surely missed Nappy who couldn't come along this time around. Me and him had a great time at least year's race and would have wanted to do it all again together this year.
Our access areas were the Zone 4 walkabout, which isn't that bad coz it gave us access to the exciting parts of the Marina Bay Circuit, the food stalls and the Padang Grandstand, where Linkin Park was slated to perform after the Chequered Flag.
I wasn't able to explore this area during last year's race, since our seats at the Marina Bay Grandstand were quite comfy, so it was a good change this time around.
As usual, we checked out some of the tents selling F1 merchandise right after entering the venue, and at various locations around the circuit. We spent some time scanning the grounds for an ideal vantage point from which to watch the race.
It was a fine day for a race, with the sky a bit cloudy and the late afternoon starting to cool off. The venue was filling up by 4pm that afternoon, but you can't ignore the fun and festive atmosphere emanating fro the F1 fans in attendance.Some fans wore the colors of the team they were rooting for, so there was a preponderance of the bright crimson red of the Scuderia Ferrari team. There were also quite a lot of people sporting the silver and bright orange livery of Team Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes.
Then there were loyal Red Bull fans in deep dark blue, proud of the fact their No. 1 driver, and reigning Driver's Champion, Sebastian Vettel was in contention to win it all again that night.The race was clean, uneventful, but provided enough excitement to keep most fans interested till the end. Since we didn't have permanent seats, we started walking about after the race started, checking out the food and other booths and stalls inside the circuit.
We also spent some time inside one of the malls near the convention center to cool off from the heat outside. Got us some cold beers at half the price being sold in the circuit so that was good.
Towards the latter part of the race, we made our way to the Padang Grandstand area to secure a place that would give us a good view to watch Linkin Park. We sat on the grass, watching the big screen monitor that flashed the video coverage of the race.
Felt bad to see seven-time champion Michael Schumacher crash out in the final few laps of the race. I was silently rooting for him, hoping he gets back into the same form that helped him dominate F1 for seven years. As a consuelo, I headed to the tent selling his personal merchandise and bought a silver and red cap bearing his signature brand.
The race ended with Vettel taking the top spot, followed closely by McLaren's Jenson Button and Red Bull's Mark Webber to round out the podium.Once the trophies were handed out and the bubbly had been sprayed all over the audience, it was time for Linkin Park to hit the stage. And it was a kick-ass moment when the first strains of their first song started coming out of the speakers. They were here, singing, live and in person! It couldn't get any hotter than that!
Once we'd heard our favorite Linkin Park songs, we went out the race track once it was opened to audience. We walked a part of the circuit, taking photos of the corners and the skid marks on the tarmac. We also got our photos taken with the capable marshalls that helped organize and run this successful F1 event in Singapore.
Overall it was a fun time at the 2011 F1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix. We'll see if we can come back in the succeeding years. Maybe its time to check out other F1 races in other venues.
Cheers!
Some photos of the F1 Singapore GP experience:
