“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

By: Ernest Hemingway (American novelist, short-story writer and journalist, 1899-1961)

I believe it's rather obvious why I chose this title quote. And yes, I had a ticket, courtesy of HSBC and Dad, whom I went with. (That answers your question, YC! Haha!)

Being a corporate invitation, they were obviously trying to sell something, but seeing as they provided a 4-course dinner in a private function room (haute cuisine, no less), and 2 free tickets, why not?

Of course, it would not be courteous to be snapping pictures of the food during such a high-class event, so nothing from there. After dinner, we proceeded on foot to the Pit Grandstand, that's where my seat was.

From here on, I leave you to enjoy the pictures and the occasional video.

Entering via Gate 2, near Millenia Walk

Walking by the Singapore Flyer

My first glimpse of the track as I was crossing the overpass to the Grandstand

Going up to the block where my seat is: A12

The frontal view of my seat. The glassed area opposite are the boxes, and below them is the race pit, where the cars go in to take fuel, change tires and whatever

The view to my left, the starting line or race line (SingTel SingTel SingTel)

The view to my right, as you can see, I'm seated on a straight, which isn't good because cars just zoom by

And yes, I could see some of the pits. This one is Jenson Button and Reubens Barrichello from Honda

Of course, who can miss Hamilton, who has been in the papers these past few days

A view of the starting lineup

Team members removing the covers on the tires. The one on the left is Felipe Massa from Ferrari (all-red, pole position), the one on right is Lewis Hamilton from McLaren Mercedes (red & gray)

All geared up, but this is not the start. They will go 1 round before the actual race begins.


Video: This is the start of the demo lap. As you can see (or hear, rather), they're loud... LOUD!!!

And yes, they are now preparing for the actual race start


Video: And off they go! Notice how they take considerably less time to clear out? 7 seconds as opposed to 24 just now

I have to admit, there isn't anything much for the rest of the race, because most pictures look like this:

Now this is proof that I really tried. The picture is darker because I increased the shutter speed (ie. snap faster, but less light enters)

OK, this is 1 of the most decent shots yet. This was during the first activation of the safety car, so the racers weren't speeding at full.

Jenson Button comes in for a pit stop

I suppose many people will remember this? The part where Massa ripped off the fuel hose, costing him a 90-second delay, and thus the race

Yes, I actually saw the mechanics trying to pull the hose out!

And carrying it back to their pit...

All the way back... Disaster indeed!



Video: This is a not-so-typical lap, actually. It's the lap after the second time the safety car comes in, so you can see everyone going past at about the same time.

Mark Webber being pulled off the race, you can see the RedBull car if you peer hard enough


Video: And Fernando Alonso comes in for the win! The first-ever champion of a Formula-1 night race!

The end of the race!

People running down to the track after the race

I didn't join them as I'm not sure where I can exit, besides, I had a meeting on Monday morning!!!

And now, a glimpse of the spoils-of-war:

An official Formula-1 cap, courtesy of HSBC
Yes... official licensed product! Hee hee!

My ticket, as a whole

1 side of the pass, with all the seat details

The other side of the pass

Close-up of the lanyard, quite a cool souvenir!

And yes, my "expended ammunition"! I wouldn't have survived without this! (They're earplugs, FYI)

And so you have it: my one-of-a-kind experience at the world's first F1 night race and Singapore's first F1 race! Courtesy of HSBC and my wonderful Dad!

Of course, we had to take a photo together at the Grandstand!

You can see all the decent photos I took here: SingTel Singapore GP 2008 (28 Sept 2008)

I must say that it was a very wonderful experience. On the videos, the engines might sound like your Tamiya car, but I can safely assure you that it is NOWHERE CLOSE!!! I'm indeed very thankful and honoured to be a part of this event, and to have such a wonderful opportunity to be there.

Of course, I think Ferrari's going to curse Singapore now. There were plenty of crashes and sufficient drama, and to think someone was telling me beforehand that F1 is boring because nothing's happening. Haha! I hope you enjoyed my simple F1 coverage, and thanks for reading till this end!