I’m still on a high from my first ever Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix (September 20 to 22, 2019)– what an experience! Full disclosure: I’ve never watched a race in my life (not even on TV) and didn’t know much about it until that weekend. But you know what, that’s the magic of F1– even if you don’t know that much or aren’t a “car person,” you can still have an amazing time as there truly is something for everybody.
We know the concerts are big with some of the best artists in the world performing but what about the food? And the champagne? And the wines? YES, yes and yes! I mean, Heston Blumenthal (of the three-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck and two-Michelin-starred Dinner by Heston) brought his Michelin-starred The Hind’s Head to Singapore for this occasion– the first time that it has traveled outside of the UK!
The Singapore Grand Prix is home to the first ever night race. It took place at 8:10-10:10 PM last September 22 (Sunday). The circuit park opens daily from 3:30PM to 12MN. The reason is because they are trying to keep it within the European time zone. Cool, right?
I got to experience the F1 festivities from the different hospitality suites– the super premium Paddock Club, Sky Suite and the two-year-old Twenty3— and I’m going to share what they were like with you here. The most important thing to remember (for girls, especially) when attending F1 is: WEAR FLATS!!! Comfortable flats at that. You walk soooo much. Soooo much! Leave the heels at home.
OK, now let’s start!
Thursday (September 19, 2019)
I was booked at the Pan Pacific Hotel– right by the Circuit Park and close to the action– and look who I saw at the lobby just as I had arrived. YES, FERRARI’S CHARLES LE CLERC!!! I guess he was perhaps staying at the hotel as well!
The Pit Lane Experience happens on this evening to allow F1 fans to see the track and go up close and personal to the cars at the pit stop. The area where it was located opens at 8PM (there’s a huge queue already from the MRT stop– Nicholls Highway) so it took us about 30-45 minutes to get in. There’s food and refreshments (all for sale) and entertainment in the area for guests to enjoy. The gates to the actual pit experience open only at 9:15 and we queued for about 45 minutes– and just getting through the queue and to the entrance took another half an hour– so be prepared to wait. But once in there, the experience was so precious. I couldn’t believe that I was walking on the actual tracks! And you get to see them changing the tires too! Trivia: Red Bull holds the fastest record– having changed all four tires on Max Verstappen’s car in just 1.88 seconds!!!
Here’s a quick 30-second video I made recapping the experience:
Friday (September 20, 2019)
The Paddock Club is the most premium– most exclusive and expensive– of them all costing SG$8,880 for three days. Heston Blumenthal, Neil Perry (of Sydney’s The Rockpool Grill & Bar) and Nobu Matsuhisa (of the Nobu empire) were just some of the chefs that cooked this year.
Singapore-based Como Dempsey group showcased their various concepts: Michelin-starred Candlenut by Malcolm Lee, Dempsey Cookhouse by Jean Georges Vongerichten, Ippoh and Como Cuisine. Candlenut’s lobster laksa and Dempsey Cookhouse’s truffle pizza were crowd favorites. Tarte by Chery Koh provided sweets and desserts. For drinks, when guests wanted a change from the free-flowing Tattinger Brut Reserve and the variety of red and white wines, Hong Kong’s Stockton bar churned out beautiful craft cocktails. All the food and drinks were unlimited.
The Paddock Club also has a massage place, a psychic reading by Lynda Woolf, an aura reading by Lin Yi Xin of Kang Li Mineral Kingdom, poetry and calligraphy with Adam Tie of The Novel Encounter and Diane of The Wild Abandon.
There is also the Upper Deck which I was told was by-invitation only. It’s more private; the restaurant has dishes by Nobu and charcuterie and the wine selection is different (I had a great Sancerre here!) and the views are the best as you are watching from the top. The Paddock Club has the best views for Turns 1 to 3.
We also checked out the Sky Suite (SG$7,350 for 3 days).The rooftop allows you to mingle and “network” and there’s food from Singapore-based restaurants Salted and Hung, Tono Cevicheria, etc. The suites are more private and often rented out by companies/ corporations. The same free-flow champagne, wines and cocktails apply, but the food here is catered by hotels. Ours at Republic Suite was by Marina Mandarin Hotel. You also get to sit in a box fronting Turn 1— the first turn!
The Padang Grandstand is home to the biggest concerts and tonight it was Swedish House Mafia. It’s a 20-minute walk from Paddock Club to here or you can take the MTR and exit City Hall and walk for 10 minutes. Wow, they blew me away!!!
Saturday (September 21, 2019)
Unfortunately, I got sick here– I must have overdone it at Swedish House Mafia but my gosh, they were SO GOOD!– so I stayed in.
Sunday (September 22, 2019)
Twenty3 hospitality suite (SG$5,850 for three days; ) is the newest of them all, only on its second year. Here, you can also buy a package per day. It’s a hip, foodie heaven with an array of Michelin-starred restaurants, casual eats, a speakeasy, a lounge/ nightclub and a sky bar, whew!
There were three Michelin-starred restaurants from Japan (Takagi, 2 stars), Portugal (Largo do Paço, 1 star) and Italy (San Domenico Ristorante, 1 star) and Podium Izakaya, that occupied the different floors. Downstairs, a more casual environment saw the UK’s popular Burger and Lobster, local fare like mee siam, laksa, satay, and desserts from Harrod’s Knightsbridge London pastry chef Philip Khoury, N2 Brunch Club’s Eddie Stewart and Min Chai, and Prague’s Good Food Coffee and Bakery. There was even a speakeasy by La Maison du Whisky where rum and whisky-based cocktails inspired by the race were specially created: Flying Start, Peat Stop and Final Lap.
And as for its name, it sits on Turn 23— the final turn before the finish line, and it was here where I saw Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel speed through the finish line– champagne on hand.
By the way, those were 10,000 bottles of champagne consumed in three days!
Book your tickets for next year! It truly was such an incredible experience! For more information, visit www.singaporegp.sg
