F1 Fever

This is the 3rd year that Singapore is hosting the race and I've yet to go for any of them. As many of you may know, I'm pretty much a petrol head but the fever just hasn't hit me. To be honest, I'd love to go for the races but I simply cannot justify paying for the tickets and still squeezing my way in there. By any chance, if I get offer a corporate suite at a reasonable price, I might actually consider. Having said that, I'd gladly watch the race in the comfort of my couch.

The inconvenience of the race has surfaced too many times to not talk about it. Going to and coming home from work becomes a chore. Having offsite meetings became insane. All because I work right in the middle of Central Business District where the race is being held. The road closures made me wonder what do I actually benefit from having the races in Singapore when on the other spectrum, it made my life so much worse. Although I know the benefits will not be so immediately visible or for that matter, tangible in any form, I'm still not paying any less in terms of taxes.

As a Singaporean, we have always thought that if we could provide a world class race (very much like a world class Olympic event), then we could get much publicity that way. But NO, we are often criticised for not having a great track which I do admit, it's absolutely true. The road conditions are horrible and when you see the machines bottoming up, you wonder aloud, "what an embarrassment!" Of all the taxes I've paid and the inconvenience that the race has given me, I'm still so far from providing one of the most impressive tracks the F1 has to offer. If there's any saving grace, the backdrop of the unique Singapore city night race is amazing.

It's exciting to get visitors coming to town and think that this small dot is more that just a blemish on the map. The impression that are telecasted across the globe only gives potential visitors an excellent image. It is still possible to retain the positive but someone has to work on the negatives to make Singapore the place that we've always been proud to call home. And please, no smart alec scholars who knows nuts about F1 races. We can only wish for an amazing someone to correct the situation. Fingers all crossed, let's watch out for next year.