The travelling circus that is the Formula One (F1) Grand Prix has finally hit the town and it looks like the drivers are truly embracing the chaos.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was one of the first drivers to arrive in Singapore ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix which begins on Sep. 30. He posted on his Instagram stories his experience with his taxi driver from the airport. Surprise, surprise – it was a complaint.
He said he “got whiplash from his braking and extremely sudden throttle technique.” It barely took him five minutes in the country to understand what we go through. We stan an empathetic F1 driver.
Lando has also been very busy – there has been plenty of videos and photos of him at Ngee Ann City in Orchard attending the McLaren and Lego event, others of him getting a haircut, and also more of him just walking the streets and snapping pictures, just like any other tourist.
Most of the grid have also arrived in Singapore and have been spotted at sponsorship events around the city.
A big turnout for @NicholasLatifi at our pop-up store in Singapore! 👋#WeAreWilliams #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/AxeNRwsQMq
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 28, 2022
Nicholas Latifi of Williams Racing was at the brand pop-up event in Suntec City which brought out a lot of fans hoping to spot the driver.
The Alfa Romeo team were also out in full force at the Puma flagship store in Orchard where drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu took some time to sign autographs and meet the fans.
Zhou who is F1’s first Chinese driver will also be debuting a special edition helmet for the Singapore GP – and it is an ode to bubble tea, which is also his favourite beverage.
Besides work-related commitments, it was also nice to see the drivers having some downtime before the event starts.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was having a moment of anonymity on a run around the Marina Bay area. In his Instagram story shared by TikTok user @operatorheinz, no one seemed to recognise the driver or were too polite to approach him on his evening work out.
@operatorheinz i’d probably say hi but i’d be WAY too shy #estebanocon #formula1 #f1 #alpine #singaporegp ♬ original sound – maddieevs – mads
Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were also seen having a drink at Ce La Vi and Charles was later seen at Atlas.
The last to arrive into Singapore would be the Mercedes team of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell who made a quick stop in Kuala Lumpur as Petronas is a major sponsor of the team.
The GP kicks off tomorrow on Sep. 30 and is the first one held here in two years. The actual race day will be on Oct. 2.
While the Marina Bay Street Circuit may not be the first street circuit in F1 history, it is the first to host a night race. The entire circuit is 5.063km and is one of the longest races in the calendar – there are 61 laps in the Singapore Grand Prix.
On top of that, the circuit is also one of the most physically demanding races – with the drivers having to manage the humid conditions, the bumpy street surface and a total of 23 corners to overcome.
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