2009 was the year where I started watching F1. If I remember correctly, 2008 was the first year where F1 first started in Singapore. I remember vividly switching between different tv channels that day and I chanced upon F1 on Channel 5 which I started felling in love with it watching Sebastian Vettel racing. From then, I always watch F1 on TV every year without fail when it's the time of the year again. Sometimes my parents will watch with me also. But most of my friends don't like watching F1 because they feel that it's just the cars going round and round the Marina Bay circuit. Some people gets free F1 tickets from their companies to watch at the grandstand but I don't have and I always know that the tickets are not cheap. It's costs around $1000+ until this year I manage to grab the Sunday ticket on Carousell for $189 so it was cheaper as compared to getting the whole package. Original package includes the entire 3 days of events in which the tickets also includes pass access to watch the padang live concert by international artists. Channel 5 stopped boardcasting F1 live on TV from 2014. Then last year 2015, I managed to found a Youtube channel that is streaming F1 Singapore race live but by the time I found the live stream, the race already started halfway so it was kinda sad because I didn't manage to watch from the beginning but at the same time, my mum accidentally found out that OKTO channel actually took over the F1 live stream on TV after channel 5 stopped broadcasting in which we didn't know about it till the 2nd year (2015) where OKTO took over lol. My virgin experience going to the Marina Bay circuit and watching F1 live up close! I was so excited and yes I went alone because firstly the tickets was expensive and secondly I don't have any friends that are F1 fans so well, I was ok with it because I get to watch Sebastian Vettel hehe. The only boohoo thing was finding my seat omg yes there were staff ushering and 'guiding' you but they just told and pointed to me that my seat is down the row around there. Like hello so many seats and rows, which one you referring to and they was like just waving their hands and pointing to the front so I ended up spending 15 minutes trying to find my seat because I arrived abit late and everybody has already found their seats and were sitting down in which that is also the problem because the numbers are pasted on the seats so they will all blocking the respective numbers and I cannot even see or have a simple clue of which row I was standing near to. After spending like 10 minutes walking up and down the stairs aimlessly while awkwardly trying hard not to block the audience view while they are trying to watch the race, I realised actually the stairs got paste the row numbers lol because I was going down the stairs most of the time and who the hell can see that there's numbers on the stairs. They have big TV screens for you to see the whole entire race because for example my seat is at the Bay Grandstand so having the big TV screens there allows you to view the whole entire race around the circuit and focus on the race highlights throughout the race such as which driver is trying to takeover who or any accidents from which car (fire sparks etc). Before you enter the venue with your pass and bag check etc, they have people giving out free ear block when they exit from City Hall station but I didn't use it for the whole entire race because I feel that the whole sound made by the cars as they zoomed by wasn't that loud to make me put the ear blocks. Overall, I feel that the ticket is worth it provided that you make full use of all the access passes like access to the Padang live concert and I would recommend everyone to go and watch F1 at least once to experience the whole atmosphere, especially if you are a F1 fan like me who always support F1 behind the TV screen every year. Just go to Carousell or ask any of your friends who have the free tickets to go and experience the whole entire race but I won't recommend anyone to go for the 2nd time unless you are really a F1 fan because you cannot really see any of the cars so I would suggest that watching the race on TV is still a better option plus the fact that it is clearer on screen as compared to paying a high amount when you can't really see anything but for the first and only experience, it is definitely worth it. :) Abit kinda regret that I didn't get to see Halsey and other artists performing at the Padang because I arrived at the venue around 7.30pm. PS: And I would like to shout out to the nice Malay uncle on Carousell that sold to me the Sunday ticket as I bought the ticket very last minute, which is the day before the Sunday race and he was the only one selling the ticket with a cheaper price as I found the other carouseller is selling minimum a pair of Sunday ticket and not a single ticket. I couldn't opt for postage as it was too late already and only the uncle appear to have the ticket and selling it on Carousell at a lower price compared to other sellers but sadly his convenience is only at Jurong East so I rushed down from Nex to meet him after work. You know how far Nex is from Jurong East right so I ended up half an hour late by the time I reached Jurong East. When I first met him, he told me that he thought I was a guy because seldom got girls watch F1 hahah. Ok now the main point was, not only was he not angry at me being late, he even took the extra mile to explain to me patiently on how the whole event and race works; like what should I look out for, where is the nearest Mrt station closest to my seat (Bay Grandstand), the do's and dont's, the nearest food court available if I am hungry, where's my seat was (near a corner), what programmes available on Sunday, the F1 app where I can view the whole entire Marina Bay circuit map, etc. Super grateful for his service especially after he knew that it was my first time going to the event and I was alone. He even whatsapped me to remind me again after I say thanks and goodbye to him and told me that I can whatsapp him if I need anything. ;) That same Saturday night, the day before I went to watch the Sunday race, I remembered that I was so disappointed and to the extent of banging my head on the wall because there was something wrong with Sebastian car and he was out from the Saturday race in which I thought that it. That's the end. He were no be able to race the Sunday race anymore in which I have already bought the ticket to go there and watch him and support him. My entire money betting on him and spending on the Sunday pass was down the drain. Hundreds dollars wasted and it was completely meaningless to me to watch a race where he is not even completing in it and most importantly, I waited so long (so many years) of wanting and yearning to watch him race in Singapore...
Just when I thought all hopes were lost, especially I even went to the extend of googling and trying to find out whether there is still a faint 1% chance of him racing in the Sunday night race after some unknown problems with his car that caused him to disqualifies from the Saturday night race. Thankfully, it is not the end yet. Ended up he have to start the Sunday night race from the last position which was 22nd. But with hard work and determination and perservance, he proved that nothing is impossible and took up the 5th position! Super proud of him!! Everybody was saying that he deserved the "DRIVER OF THE NIGHT" award. <3
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AuthorDreams to open a shop selling apparels and tumblr phone cases. I like to explore, go cafe or bar hopping, watch movies, take photos or sleep when I'm not working. Archives
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