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Welcoming the Grand Prix Season in Singapore

The Jakarta Globe
August 31, 2018 | 5:32 pm
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The 2018 Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix is set to return to the city state on Sept. 14-16. (Photo courtesy of Singapore Grand Prix)
The 2018 Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix is set to return to the city state on Sept. 14-16. (Photo courtesy of Singapore Grand Prix)

Jakarta. With the 2018 Asian Games coming to an end, sports enthusiasts and thrill seekers can divert their energy from Jakarta and Palembang to the 2018 Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, which returns for its 10th edition on Sept. 14-16.

The inaugural F1 Singapore GP night race, which took place in 2008, offered a wonderful experience for car enthusiasts from around the world as they watch cars blasting down the Singaporean streets into the illuminated skyline.

The Grand Prix is also known for its massive display of fireworks, thrown right after the winner takes a checkered flag at the end of the race.

The Singapore GP also offers unique experiences for fans at the circuit. In the past, motor racing fans were able to meet and greet with top racers such as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes, as well as sitting on special seats looking over their favorite team's garage in the Pit Grandstand.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel during a press conference at Circuit of Monza, Monza, Italy, on Aug. 30. (Reuters Photo/Stefano Rellandini)

The F1 race, one of 21 across five continents every year, will begin with practice sessions in the city state on Friday, Sept. 14, at 4.30 and 8.30 p.m. Singapore time.

The qualifying session for F1 takes place in the evening on the following day.

And finally, the race will kick off at 8.10 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16.

Other than the F1, the Singapore GP also hosts Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Ferrari Challenge as their tie-in events.

Singapore will witness longtime rivals Hamilton from Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel from Ferrari pit skills and machines on the street circuit yet again.

Vettel is in the spotlight after winning the Belgian Grand Prix on Aug. 26. Hamilton finished second – 11 seconds behind – at the Sirkuit Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing finished third.

Both Hamilton and Vettel have won at the Singapore GP's Marina Bay Street Circuit. Hamilton even set the fastest lap record of 1:45:008 in 2017.

Drivers competing in this year's F1 Singapore Grand Prix are: Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes, Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen from Red Bull Racing, Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen from Ferrari, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon from Force India, Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin from Williams, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne from McLaren, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley from Toro Rosso, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen from Haas, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz from Renault and Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc from Sauber.

The Formula One standing is currently led by Hamilton (231 points), followed by Vettel (214 points) and Raikkonen (146 points).

This may change after the next F1 race in Monza, Italy on Sept.2.

After the Belgium GP, where Ricciardo was given engine penalties, Reuters reported that Red Bull is hoping to finish stronger in Singapore.

To celebrate a decade of the most exciting motor racing in the heart of Southeast Asia, and the country's biggest sporting event of the year, Singapore will also bring world-class entertainers to entertain motor racing fans visiting the city state.

In 2008, their inaugural year, the GP featured British DJ Carl Cox and Bob Marley's remaining band, The Wailers, as headliners.

In the following years, they were able to bring even bigger names, including Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Robbie Williams, Missy Elliott, Ariana Grande, Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5 and Pharrell Williams.

This year, the Singapore GP will feature performances by former headliners The Killers and Jay Chou. They will be joined by Liam Gallagher, Martin Garrix, Dua Lipa, Simply Red and The Sugarhill Gang.

Singapore is the only pitstop for the F1 race in Southeast Asia. After Singapore, the next grand prix is in Sochi, Russia.

Tickets to the Singapore Grand Prix are selling like hot cakes. The Mercedes Motorsport bundles, which cost $2,128 each and includes the Pit Grandstand experience, are already sold out.

Other tickets, ranging from $78 to $1,488 for single to three-day passes, are still available for grab, but won't be for long.

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