Pole Position

Why the Singapore Grand Prix is so much more than a race.

- CHE KURRIEN

Best known as a banking centre, an island of calm located within a dynamic region prone to unpredictability, Singapore has been working hard in recent decades to shake off its sterile reputation and transform into an Asian entertainment hub. Last year, Taylor Swift played six concerts in the city-state, with attendees pouring in from all over the region for what turned out to be the reel of a lifetime. Yet, this was only the latest example of the country working to bolster its reputation as a destination for world-class luxury lifestyle experiences.

Apart from its topnotch food scene, the “little red dot” has birthed some of the world’s best cocktail and concept bars. And as early as 2008, Singapore helped invent the format of the Formula 1 street circuit night race, an annual tradition now into its 17th year.

Singapore crackles with a surge of current during the Formula 1 weekend—every high-end restaurant is booked and the bars overflow with punters. With its glossy fast cars, daredevil drivers and peerless aura, F1 is the sport of modern-day kings. And ever since American company Liberty Media acquired Formula 1 in 2017 and blasted it out to the world on Netflix with the hit show Drive to Survive, the sport’s popularity has exploded, moving far beyond its traditional audience of motorsport enthusiasts and attracting a global audience, across genders and age groups. This surge in popularity has resulted in the number of races increasing to 24, including seven in Asia itself. This year’s F1 movie with Brad Pitt and Damson Idris is the highest-grossing sports movie of all time. Supercharging the sport’s popularity is the fact that many of the drivers are exceptionally handsome, fit, charming young men.