FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

Discuss the sport you love with other motorsport fans

Questions and answers about going to a race weekend
By KidOctane
#240885
Hi All,

First time user herel, KidOctane...From Sydney Australia, love my F1. I regularly go down to see the Melb GP – about every two years & have started going overseas to see some of the major GP’s I have been to Monza in 2006, fantastic event, far exceeded my expectations.

Next we are planning to attend the Singapore 2011 GP and were wondering if any good people out there can give some advice as to getting the best out of the event. Advice on matters such as the best place to find and buy tickets (there are lot of touts online with overpriced tickets......as I found out when we went to Monza a little while back), what are the best locations to view the race (we typically prefer being in grandstands on corners rather than straights), good hotels (we refer small boutique places within walking distance to the track or a short public transport trip – not staying miles away from the action), any airline/hotel/ticket packages that we could be interested in, things to do while in Singapore (we are a married middle aged couple BTW), any pitfalls we need to be aware of (rip-off’s and the like).

Thanks all
User avatar
By spankyham
#240911
Welcome mate!

Been to Singapore GP a few times.

Love Singapore.

The GP itself is probably the worst of the year from a spectators point of view.

Street circuit makes it bad (IMO). And the Singapore layout makes it worse. If you pay for a grandstand you will find you see almost nothing (tiny section of track) and you will spend the rest of the race watching the big screen - luckily there are plenty of those.

Don't let those negatives put you off going, if your looking for a holiday as well as a GP then it's great.

Best tickets to buy are the free roaming ones (general admission, these are also the cheapest). Overall, you'll get to see most action with these. In some places you can get surprisingly close to the track and cars.

Hotels - budget - Robertson Quay - about $150. Walking distance to race (bit of a hike but I like walking). Easy walking distance to all the nightlife and restaurants on Clark and Boat Quay. Lots of pubs and good places to eat.

Another budget hotel is Hotel Re. It's about $130, but its taxi rides - although taxis are cheap. Under $10 to most places.

Studio Hotel is also on Clark Quay (so you can hoof it everywhere). Its a little up market at $300 a night. I like Grand Copthorne business floor is about $360 but great views from their exec floor and you can see the track from up there (in the distance mind you).

If you're into watching the race Malaysia is best by a mile. Covered grass area is excellent. Use the circuits own website to buy tickets. If you want a grandstand the prices are great and you can pick your seat.

Shanghai is good, but if you don't get a grandstand ticket bring food with you, the only food stalls with anything are in the GS areas. The grassed areas are cheap, but the big screens are sparse. No real crowds anywhere but in the main GS's - everywhere else its 90% bussed in school kids.
By What's Burning?
#240915
Hi All,(we are a married middle aged couple BTW), any pitfalls we need to be aware of


Hey, welcome to the forum... make sure to give yourself a proper introduction. Looks like you got a good lowdown from Spanky. But I can add something to his commentary...

Being a married middle aged couple can be enough of a pitfall! :D:twisted:
By Hammer278
#240923
If you're into watching the race Malaysia is best by a mile. Covered grass area is excellent. Use the circuits own website to buy tickets. If you want a grandstand the prices are great and you can pick your seat.

Completely agree..Malaysia is actually a surprisingly good place to watch the race itself. Go for the covered grass area, its coded C2 or C3, I misremember. The first time I went, I had a ball...you see almost half the circuit believe it or not, and you get to walk around and great atmosphere. All the fanatics in Malaysia go for the covered grass area.

On the other hand.....if you're going for grandstand, never go for 'Ruby'. I got that ticket for free and it's a lousy area...you see the rear end of all the cars on the starting grid, yet not close enough to the hairpin to enjoy the late braking/overtakings.

If your choice is Msia, go for covered grass area. Cheap and wayyy better. :wink:
By KidOctane
#240926
Thanx for the replies

Geez Thanx Spanky & Hammer, if I had known what you just told me I may have had second thoughts about Singapore where it not for the fact my wife just booked the flights and hotel !!!!!! And we are not big fans of SE Asia, so a holiday there does not float our boat …….oh well we will just make the best of it. I know that you suggest general admission but we would rather have seats in a grand stand. That being the case which ones would you suggest ?? And you seem quite clued up on the Asian rounds – where is the best place to buy tickets ?? The “official” site ??

As for being a middle aged couple – look, it is really cool !!! We are at the stage of our lives that we have crossed that BIG debt hump, the kids are quite independent and my wife (who is a HUGE F1 fan) has this desire to visit every major GP while we can …..I am only too happy to accommodate her wishes, being such a good partner :wink: .

Next year will be somewhere in Europe getting in two rounds, those rounds that are one week apart. I really want to see the Barcelona GP
User avatar
By texasmr2
#240927
As for being a middle aged couple – look, it is really cool !!! We are at the stage of our lives that we have crossed that BIG debt hump, the kids are quite independent and my wife (who is a HUGE F1 fan) has this desire to visit every major GP while we can …..I am only too happy to accommodate her wishes, being such a good partner :wink: .


I suggest changing your user name from KidOctane too something more befitting 'ol chap :wink: .
By KidOctane
#240928
As for being a middle aged couple – look, it is really cool !!! We are at the stage of our lives that we have crossed that BIG debt hump, the kids are quite independent and my wife (who is a HUGE F1 fan) has this desire to visit every major GP while we can …..I am only too happy to accommodate her wishes, being such a good partner :wink: .


I suggest changing your user name from KidOctane too something more befitting 'ol chap :wink: .


Nah, you really cannot called yourself middle-age unless you TRY HARD to cling onto some semblance of “yoof” and make an embarrassment of yourself
By Hammer278
#240929
Well your attitude is a great example for everyone else in 'middle aged' mentality.
User avatar
By nish2280
#240942
From my experience there are two great grandstands which are actually worth the money at the Singapore GP.

First: Turn 3
You basically get the spoils of turns 1 and 2 for the price of 3 and you see a relatively large amount of action.
An advantage of this grandstand is that there is a stage close to the track where there are live performances, for example last year some terrible artists such as Sean Kingston and Adam Lambert came to perform, not my cup of tea but seeing as you have kids, they may be interested.
Costs around SGD$1200


Second: "Stamford" Grandstand.
Its really the only place on track where an overtake is possible and if you pick the right section of the grandstand you see the cars rushing at you down the biggest straight on the track, quite an experience.
Unfortunately this grandstand doesnt have many advantages other than the racing available for viewing.

PS. DRINKS AND FOOD ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE, Dont be surprised to pay $15 for a hotdog and $10 for a drink.
By KidOctane
#241329
Thanx Nish

Most GP's have expensive food and drink - last of your worries

One more question - when the F1 cars are not on the track what happens at the track ??? Are there many support races and events - any good ??

If there is some downtime between events - is it quite easy to walk over to the City proper ??

Cheers
User avatar
By nish2280
#241330
Thanx Nish

Most GP's have expensive food and drink - last of your worries

One more question - when the F1 cars are not on the track what happens at the track ??? Are there many support races and events - any good ??

If there is some downtime between events - is it quite easy to walk over to the City proper ??

Cheers


There are support races such as the 911 Carrera Cup and Gp2 Asia Series. In between the support races there are music events. So there is always something to do.

It is possible to go into the city proper but with there being only an hour or so in between events and depending on where you are watching from it might take a while to get in and out of the circuit so i wouldnt say there is much point but thats really up to you.
By What's Burning?
#241342
As for being a middle aged couple – look, it is really cool !!! We are at the stage of our lives that we have crossed that BIG debt hump, the kids are quite independent and my wife (who is a HUGE F1 fan) has this desire to visit every major GP while we can …..I am only too happy to accommodate her wishes, being such a good partner :wink: .


Glad to get the word of encouragement... I'm apparently only a handful of years behind you, enough to see daylight. Only thing left is to get the kids to and through college. It take the maturity of middle age to see how much more beauty and enjoyment there is to life, much more than was ever contemplated before. :thumbup:
User avatar
By hounddub
#241371
For what it's worth, here are my thoughts......although Spanky has captured most of the essentials.

The track is really long, but frankly the reasonably priced grandstand seats on the Padang and near the Cricket Club are the best. Not only are they located near the Cavenagh Bridge section (where Kimi rammed the wall a few years ago), but also walking distance from the Clarke and Boat Quay areas.

The pit and paddock areas are quite a distance to get to....and a bore if you ask me.

As the city struggles a little with the road shut downs....I would suggest that staying in Clarke Quay will be your best bet...the Swissotel Merchant Court is older but very reasonable and really well located.

As for the wife thing....dont worry too much, as the race is at night, you'll have time to do all the shopping and eating thing during the day before going to the track.

If you do make it for the race, come see the rest of us at Boomarang Bar (Robertson Quay)....it will get you away from the swathes of tourists and it's only 2 minutes further up the river.

PS. Sepang is great....but it's bloody hot mate and usually rains at some point. Not my favourite venue to be honest.
By KidOctane
#241991
OK

Thank you all. The early bird seating opens tomorrow so have been pouring over the track map and the various grandstands options and have a few more Q’s

The Turn 3 “Republic” stand looks very good (not cheap), but the map shows only one screen. Is this the case ?? If so, do you get a decent view of the screen ?? Having a screen is important to us so not willing to pay the $$ if the screen view is so-so

Padang – the tickets APPEAR to be only sold in blocks of 4 minimum (at this stage but I assume that 2 should be OK) does anyone know ?? Oh Linkin Park are the headline act (next to this grandstand) – s*** !!!! That is one act I will be happy to pass on

Stamford – looks a bit boring on paper, sitting on just one corner (but I can see that it should action packed for late breaking manoeuvres)

So it looks like boiling down to the Republic unless it has a comprised screen – if so then maybe the Stamford ...... we are tempted with Turn 2

Your learned comments and opinions please

Cheers

PS: Is it wise to buy ASAP as the tickets go fast ??? Or is it possible to wait (a little) while we finally decide
By Typhoons
#242054
Hi KidOctane, I am normally on a different F1 forum, first post here. I have been to the first 2 Singapore GP's and will be back for 2011. The best views IMHO are from Turn 2 Bloack A2 - Looking directly down the main straight, you can see the last couple of pits, the pit exit and turn1 and turn 2. And Turn 1 Blocks A3 to A6 - You can see the cars breaking in to Turn 1 and views of Turn 2 and Turn3
From Stamford (unless they have shifted the stand to the Left) you cant actually see the cars coming down the straight before Turn 7 (even from Block A1 furthest left)
All Grandstands have good views of the Screens.
Buying online from the official site is the easiest way, I chose to pick in Singapore on arrival.
Turn 2 Block A2 has been the first block to sell out for the last 3 years. Otherwise all Grandstands and blocks are normally still available after a good few months.
Kangaroo TV's are avilable to rent at Singapore, shows the main feed on the big screen as well as cameras from individual cars.
You can buy the Padang Grandstand as individual tickets as well.

I have now attended 12 different venues and Singapore is the best overall race experience. Everything works, everything is close by and food and drink (alcohol is expensive island wide) is cheap if you know where to look, you can get really close and the car look great under lights. As other have mentioned, noty necessarily the best views of the track or the best racing - but one of the best to attend - way better than Monoaco (which I have also been to)
This is the best guide to the Singapore GP I have seen http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDetail ... _Prix.html

See our F1 related articles too!