The first night race in Formula 1 (F1) continued to shine bright in 2016.
The Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix (SGP) held Sept. 16 to 18 continued its winning formula of gripping on-track action with world-class entertainment as the engines cooled down for the night.
This year, the Marina Bay street circuit saw the continuation of the battle between Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The pair flew into the city-state with just two points separating them, 250 to 248 in Hamilton’s favor.
By the time the race weekend would finish, the tables would be turned. Rosberg would be leading, thanks to a victory from pole position, the German’s first win on this circuit, and his 200th Grand Prix start.
In hot pursuit was Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, who came within half a second of Rosberg in the final lap. Rosberg’s Mercedes teammate Hamilton took the third spot on the podium by holding off a charging Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel, a four-time winner at Singapore, pulled off a stunning drive from last place on the grid to fifth place, just behind his teammate.
Support races for the main F1 event included the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. The Porsche series has consistently been a part of the SGP weekend.
This year, the racers used 3.8-liter Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific saw the 4.5-liter 458 Challenge Evo race cars.
The TCR International Series cars are 2-liter racers based on popular road cars like the Honda Civic.
Aside from the on-track action, SGP continued its program of having world-class entertainment acts perform on the track before and after the races.
Friday night saw pop superstar Kylie Minogue spin around on the Padang Stage as the main act of the night.
Saturday saw legendary rock band Queen + Adam Lambert entertaining the massive crowd assembled to listen to unforgettable tunes like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Can’t Stop Me Now.”
The older folks boogied to K.C. and the Sunshine Band, who came to the event fresh from their Manila concert.
Up and coming pop act Halsey anchored the prerace concerts on Sunday as she sang the global number one hit “Closer.”
Las Vegas-based rock band Imagine Dragons capped the weekend by performing hits like “It’s Time” and “Radioactive.”
The Grand Prix saw 73,000 spectators daily, with a total of 219,000 over the three-day weekend. The tally is 15 percent lower than the average attendance since the inaugural race in 2008.
The organizers noted that weaker local and global economic conditions may have contributed to the decline. Some observers noted that attendees who are not hardcore F1 fans usually decide based on the entertainment lineup. More Asian acts and big-name artists could bolster the visitor count.
Past headliners included popular bands like the Black Eyed Peas, Maroon 5 and Linkin Park.
New areas like the Downtown Area and Bikini Bar provided more diverse entertainment. The Padang stage was reoriented to provide a better view for fans. More food stalls were present at the Padang area, with more choices of cuisine.
Singapore GP is already planning for its 10th anniversary race in 2017, when it is expected to pull out all stops for another landmark event.
The Formula 1 calendar is much busier this time, with 21 races from 18 when the SGP started. Super early bird tickets are already available for next year’s event.
It’s also a turning point for Formula One, as F1’s commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone has sold a stake in the sport to US company Liberty Media. Liberty Media executive and the Formula One Group’s new chair Chase Carey attended the Grand Prix together with Ecclestone.
Carey was reportedly impressed with the event organization of the Grand Prix that
Ecclestone billed as the “crown jewel of F1.” Negotiations to continue the Singapore GP beyond its 10th year are ongoing.
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