Fay was an avid fan of Formula 1, and kept various F1 memorabilia including her Silverstone 1997 tickets (where she went with her Dad), Spanish grand prix tickets, signed photo of David Coulthard, and a few Singapore Grand Prix t-shirts. Fay often took part in a F1 fantasy league. She loved go-karting, and she also did a race day experience at Knockhill race circuit in 2007.
On two trips to Singapore, she wrote a race report from the grand prix. Here they are:
2013
The joy of a street circuit is being able to get ludicrously close to all the gubbins and that’s basically what we have been doing since Thursday. So on day one we were still able to walk across the track, take photos and marvel at just how damn tight some of those corners really are. The Singapore Flyer – the big wheel you may have seen in the coverage – was still open to mere mortals so we had a fantastic view over the track of pit briefings and the general buzz of pre-race organisation. On day two (Friday Practice) we could view the practice sessions from the restaurant at the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. (Hey, it was my birthday. And as an aside, if you ever get the chance you really must go there for the cheese and chocolate buffet. Fifty seven different chocolate desserts. Enough said.) We were also able to take a water cruise up to Marina Bay and I can’t recommend highly enough the experience of being under the bridges whist F1 cars thunder across the top. Day three – Qualifying – getting close to the main event now. Another walk down to the centre of town and sneaky views over the tops of hoardings and under fences while the extremely polite but firm security staff waved flashing lights at us to indicate that this simply wasn’t the done thing and we should move on. The Killers were the after show entertainment and could clearly be heard belting out a long line of crowd pleasers for pretty much all of our 2 mile walk home. Sound travels pretty well along the river with all these spectacular buildings to bounce off. Which brings us very nicely to race day. This being a night race and Singapore being rather splendid at throwing a massive party there was plenty of pre-race buzz across the city. The whole set-up is really rather impressive. Singapore itself is extraordinarily well organised from the outset. Add to that a country-wide obsession with amazing food and a talent for light shows…I could gush about this one for quite a while.
So here’s the thing. Yes, I’m in Singapore. Yes I was at the race. But as any of you who have attended such an event on the lowest rent ticket will know, that can present you with a straight choice – watch the cars whizz past, or go find a screen so you can see what is actually happening. So I can’t tell you much about the actual race. We watched up until the safety car came out from the trackside without much of a clue what was happening and then moved to a giant screen across from the Esplanade Theatre for the remainder of the race. The upshot is, the race itself may not have been the most enthralling ever, up until the last fifteen minutes or so where frankly it turned around very nicely. And Vettel may have won again with alarming Germanic efficiency. And Rihanna-anna-anna may have kind of slightly put on a pretty duff show. None of that matters one jot. The overall experience is utterly captivating, beautifully executed and the back drop is gob-smacking. If you ever get the chance, you need to do this one.
2014
Before I start, I want to be clear: the Singapore Grand Prix is phenomenal. Not just because of the racing or the setting – it’s the whole package. Kind of like a music festival, with fast cars. We came along last year on a walkabout pass for race day only and I was impressed. This year (getting a bit older, if not wiser) we opted for a 3 day grandstand ticket and the experience was oh so much better.
We sat in the Bay Grandstand, right on top of turn 18 where the cars hang a 90 degree left and scoot through the tunnel under the seating area. With a decent straight leading on to the turn and two screens adding to the neon splendour of the view over the bay (plus a very informative radio commentary), this year I was set to write a race report that actually has some element of the race in it. You can’t say I don’t take my responsibilities seriously.
First practice on Friday evening threw up one surprise, with Vergne going 4th fastest. Otherwise though it was Alonso who was top of the heap, with Rosberg faster than Hamilton. We went for a wander at that point and just missed Maldonado thumping his car into the side before the final corner. All we saw of it was a running marshal, flashing red lights, red flags and some sweeping up when we passed shortly after.
Interspersed through all three days were racing Porches, Ferraris and (my favourite) the ‘Historic Masters’. ‘Historic’ in this case means F1 cars from the 1970s and early 80s. In other words, these were the cars of my childhood – the ones that would be storming round the tracks on the telly, watched by my Dad and me, curtains closed, transfixed by the daring-do on screen. The new turbo engines are awfully clever, less harsh on the ears and kinder to the environment. It’s just that the ‘proper’ cars sound and smell right. I’m glad they still get the odd outing.
So, back to the main event. Qualifying was exciting to the end, with Daniel Ricciardo putting in a storming performance, only to be bumped off the top by Rosberg and then Lewis by a hair’s breadth (or 33.5cm actually – the F1 equivalent of 0.007 seconds). All set then for a total grudge match off the starting line on Sunday. Except…
Except that Rosberg wasn’t there. With his seat out for urgent repair work just minutes before the start, his car stalled on the starting line for the parade lap and although he joined from the pit lane the fault left him without proper gear shifts or steering – issues that even he couldn’t overcome – and he retired by lap 14, while I was at the toilet. I’m not certain the two events were linked. Kobayashi also hit problems on the parade lap, retiring due to oil pressure issues.
Another element that could have changed the course of events was the weather. Within minutes of qualifying finishing there were spots of rain. And then heavy rain. And then what could fairly be classified as ‘monsoon’. Robbie Williams, to his tremendous credit, stood on the main stage in the deluge with the rest of us for the whole of his 90 minute set. Imagine taking a warm shower, fully clothed, for about 3 hours. That was us. It was kind of wonderful, actually! Seasick Steve on the Friday was a total dude; J-Lo on Saturday attracted a huge crowd but had more costume changes than songs we recognised, so we left. A highlight of the performance side of things was the ‘Lady in the Moon’ performance – a bloke on aerial silks suspended from a large bunch of helium balloons over the heads of the onlookers. That takes guts. Guts and incredible public liability insurance. On race day it was blisteringly hot and bone dry. We did wonder whether the smog that descended about 5:30pm would cause problems for the cars and drivers, but since it had cleared within two hours we didn’t need to find out.
Five red lights – Go! Off the line, Hamilton made a tremendous start which was characteristic of the smooth, flawless dominance he showed throughout the race. Vettel kept him honest though, with Alonso following about 8 seconds off the lead in the early stages. Daniel Riccardo was reporting brake temperature problems – not surprising given that sitting in the stand in the dark we were still boiling. The only downside of the grandstand seating was that the two British gentlemen with distinctive body odour who sat in front of us on days 1 and 2…were still there and apparently still unshowered by day 3. I’m sure their mothers love them.
Hamilton put in the fastest lap at 17, Button had moved from 11th to 9th by lap 19 and was part of a tremendous battle for much of the latter stages with Bottas, Raikkonen and someone else I didn’t write down, until his car failed him at lap 41. Gutierrez retired after a messy pit stop, a failed power unit finally putting the end to his day.
A ‘No Further Action’ collision between Perez and Sutill (who wasn’t having the happiest race, having had to pit at lap 8 and finally retiring to the garage in lap 41) led to the disintegration of Perez’s front wing and what seemed like an interminable safety car stint at the half way point in the race. Hamilton, having built up a hefty lead over Vettel in second, must have been a little gutted to see the pack concertina in behind him. When the safety car finally released them at lap 38 he had another challenge. Yet to use a soft tyre, he needed to generate enough distance between himself and Vettel to get in and out of the pits without losing the lead. That meant around 27 seconds, in a race that looked certain to be timed out rather than going to the full 61 laps. He responded by pulling away at roughly 2 seconds per lap. 25 points for a first place would put him ahead of Rosberg in the championship and that seemed to be working, as incentives go.
By lap 52 Hamilton’s tyres were starting to drop off and with a 25.2 second lead he bolted for the pits. 2.9 seconds to do the needful and back out… just behind Vettel . No matter though – with the benefit of a faster car, DRS and utter self-belief, Hamilton charged past to retake the lead in lap 54. From there it was just a case of who else would be on the podium. Vettel, Alonso and Ricciardo kept the crowd’s interest, as did the battle around the lower points. Magnusson made great use of his super softs in the closing stages to pull into 10th place. Vergne made a cracking move on Raikkonen in lap 60, and on our turn (18) we were treated to a bold on-corner move on Perez by his teammate (Hülkenberg) in the closing stages. An undeniable show of capability by Hamilton in his Mercedes, with Vettel and Ricciardo in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
As our host, Iain, said – Hamilton won the race three times: in the commanding lead he’d built up before the safety car at lap half way; in the sprint away following the safety car, in full knowledge that he had to create space for a third pit stop; and in the overtake on Vettel at the end to actually win. Had Rosberg been able to compete, who know what else might have happened.
