Day 4 - Singapore (second day of F1 action)

Yesterday was again fascinating.

It was a massive day of sport with the AFL Grand Final - I thought I'd have to go to a bar to watch it but it was shown on the Australia Network. Who'd have believed there'd be a draw? Apparently the AFL was very happy with the result. It's not often you get to sell 100,000 tickets two weeks running!

As a sidenote, say hello to Stoney on my behalf - doesn't matter where you go in the world you can't get away from our voice talent! It seems he's the male imaging voice on the Australia Network so all the Aussie expats who live here get some of the Stoneman's finest. I also saw Paul Clitheroe on an ad, but that's neither here nor there.

So I was a bit later getting to the track yesterday, but I did manage to capture this when I got there...

This was the first lap of the Formula BMW race and I thought it'd be great to record the noise that these cars make. Not bad eh? I'll do the same thing tonight on lap 1 of the Grand Prix - the sound will be quite incredible.

Since all the same cars were on track as yesterday, I decided to put the camera away and enjoy the spectacle of the on-track action.

For the same reason, I wanted to head over towards the Singapore Sling chicane and Anderson Bridge section of the track for a different view of things.

On the way I came across the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre...

 

And Singapore's famous "Merlion" - believe it or not, it's 8.6 metres tall!

Killer optical illusion hey? No, the tourist boat was definitely not getting drenched.

 

There was some kind of Ferrari demonstration on track when I got to the Singapore Sling chicane. This shot really shows how the circuit winds it's way through some of the older colonial buildings of Singapore. On the right is the Singapore Cricket Club, and I'm not sure what the other building is.

Got lucky taking this shot of the Anderson Bridge to capture one of the Ferraris preparing to cross it. They only use one side of it on the racetrack because there's two seperate decks - as interesting as that would be to see them pick a side it's not very safe! In the background is the Fullerton Hotel.

And this is the LG Live Fan Zone stage where Mariah Carey will be performing tonight - I'm not going to worry about seeing her. If last night's Adam Lambert show is anything to go by, I probably wouldn't make it in time anyhow! The crowds of people around even an hour after qualifying finished were still big. Besides I'd rather head in the other direction and catch the podium ceremony!

On the subject of the race, as usual a fearless prediction of mine ended up shattered. Although as a Ferrari supporter, I was quite happy to be wrong in saying that both Red Bulls would be on the front row.

Still it's not a bad situation for Mark Webber. He's behind all the other championship contenders on the grid, but a finish on the podium is still a good chance and if he does that he'll still be in the hunt. Hopefully he can finish ahead of Vettel because that would put serious pressure on Red Bull to solely focus on Mark for the rest of the season. Indications out of the team are that Vettel has to score "big points" to keep his hopes alive.

Tomorrow morning, I'll have an early start when I'm on with Paddy & Ciel. It'll be 6:45am local time when they have a chat to me, so fingers crossed I'm not half asleep or it could be the most boring radio this side of the Super Radio Network!

Tomorrow's last post from Singapore will be all about the wash-up from the race and also on the theme of "time, money, sex and power" - 4 things that definitely relate to the sport of Formula 1 and to a lesser degree, Singapore as well.

And then tomorrow night at 11:40, it's another 8 hour flight - this time to Dubai. I get into the United Arab Emirates around 3am, so I pray to God (or should I say Allah?) that I can at least sleep part of the way!