Upon entering the grounds of the Marina Bay Street Circuit (after a five- to 15-minute walk, depending on which gate you enter), one was transported to a carnival-like environment, complete with live concert performances, countless stalls selling team merchandise, food and beer, and thousands of fans roaming around in Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes and other team colours.
It was a surreal event, indeed. There we were, at an actual F1 race course nestled right smack in the busiest part of Singapore, and snaking under flyovers and past shopping malls, while the rest of the country went on with its business.
The race course itself is a unique one � 5.076km long, it is the only leg of the series that is run at night, and it is one of only two street circuits on the calendar (the other is the Italian leg in Monza).
Yes, the race itself may have been rather predictable, but the atmosphere was electrifying.
And thanks to the Shell Helix Clean Your Way to An All Expense Paid Trip to Singapore F1 Contest (which exclusively ran in The Star), 10 grand prize winners were awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to watch the race from the Grandstand overlooking the pit lane.
Speaking of the pit lane, Shell provided StarTwo the opportunity to visit the coolest place in the circuit, the place every F1 fan wanted to be � the garage of the most prestigious and famous F1 team of all, Ferrari.
Think getting into the grounds was hard? Try getting into the paddock area where the garages are. Security is so tight here that a special key card is required, and we had to run our belongings through an X-ray scanner before we could go into the area.
Once through, Shell Global Sponsorships Manager Stuart Humm was waiting for us.
Pointing out the first garage belonging to newcomers and current constructers� championship leaders Brawn, Humm explained how the teams are assigned their garages.
�The teams are lined up in a particular order based on how they finished in last year�s constructors championship. The top end is considered the best garage in the grid, and it is occupied by Ferrari, who won the constructor championship last season,� explained Humm.
Unfortunately (since we entered at the bottom end), that meant it was a long walk up to the top end, where Ferrari were.
Not that we were complaining � it was fascinating to see the bustle of activity in the area � of mechanics walking around with their equipment and team personnel taking a break at the dedicated rest areas.
The only ones we did not see were the drivers themselves, disappointingly enough.
By and by, we arrived at the Ferrari garage, where unlike other garages we passed, a mobile lab that looked like a very large refrigerator stood outside, the Shell logo emblazoned on its side.
This was Shell�s very own dedicated laboratory, which accommodates three scientists who test and analyse the fuel used in the Ferrari cars. Ferrari is the only F1 team with such a laboratory.
�Shell has worked with Ferrari for 60 years now. Today, we supply the team with Shell V Power fuel and Shell Helix lubricants for the engine and gearbox,� said Humm.
�The lab is here so that over the course of the weekend, the FIA can come here and take a sample of our fuel at any stage and make sure it is legal and inside the rules of the sport.�
According to Humm, Shell sends a sample of the fuel to the FIA three weeks before each race so that they will know exactly what kind of fuel they will be using, and to make sure the fuel is completely legal.
�Our fuel is always legal, because we never do anything outside the rules, but what might happen is when we�re transporting the fuel, the fuel might get contaminated.
"An engineer might have soap on his hands, and the chemicals in the soap might mix with the fuel and then make it illegal,� said Humm.
�With the lab we have here, we can analyse the fuel and compare it to the exact ingredients of the fuel that were blended and tested three weeks before the race. It�s like an insurance policy to ensure that the Ferrari car is always within the rules.�
Going further into the garage, we passed a narrow corridor stacked with tyres marked �R�ikk�nen� and �Fisichella�, all covered with tyre warmers (blankets that keep them warm).
�The tyres work best at 80�C, so we have to keep them warm with these blankets,� said Humm, before ushering us outside to where the REAL action was � the pit lane.
Here, in two separate garages, were the famous red cars driven by Kimi R�ikk�nen and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Two teams of mechanics were fussing over each car, going over each component and part to ensure it was in tip-top condition.
�Each team only works on one car, and they never swap cars. So even within Ferrari there�s a friendly rivalry going,� said Humm, before moving on to a large contraption with a large hose that looks like a very large vacuum cleaner � the refuelling rig.
Splash and dash
On TV, the refuelling process of a F1 car during a pit stop looks easy enough � someone just plugs the thing into the fuel pump and then disengages it when it�s done. In fact, it is harder than it looks.
The hose on the refuelling rig weighs 30kg, and the fuel goes into the car at 12 litres a second.
Now, compare that to your normal petrol stations which only load one litre of petrol every three seconds, and you�ll have an idea of how complex refuelling an F1 car during a race is.
�It takes three people to refuel the car, and the team only has about 8 seconds to put that hose in, refuel the car and then pull it out,� said Humm.
�They have to practise the refuelling process 30 to 40 times � it�s like a military process and they have to be very precise.�
Speaking of refuelling, last season�s Singapore GP was a nightmare for the Ferrari team, when Felipe Massa drove off with the refuelling hose still stuck in it, sending some members of his pit crew tumbling to the ground.
�Things got a bit hairy around here when that happened. We�re doing all we can to ensure that never happens again!� said Humm.
While Ferrari, thankfully, avoided anymore refuelling mishaps this time around, the team unfortunately struggled during the race itself, with R�ikk�nen and Fisichella finishing 10th and 13th respectively.
All the same, the race was memorable not for Hamilton�s runaway victory, but for what happened before, after and around it.
At midnight after the event, even as we made out way down to the race track together with hundreds of fans, taking pictures of the starting grids and finish line; the ever-efficient organisers started the process of dismantling the fences and equipment around the circuit.
Ultimately, the race itself wasn�t the main event. The real achievement here is the master class of organisation, planning and event management that is the Singapore Grand Prix.
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