Singapore has never failed to provide the most exciting, nail-biting grand prix of the calendar and this one was no different. Heralded as the ‘Crown Jewel’ of the grand prix calendar, the tenth year of the Singapore grand prix made history for several reasons. This was the world’s first ever night race in the wet, the rain drops glistening like little diamonds against the backdrop of the floodlights lining the circuit.
Singapore Grand Prix 2017 Report
As the five red lights went out on the track, Kimi Raikkonen got off to a blistering start ahead of his teammate and pole sitter Sebastian Vettel. A split second later, the Finnish driver found himself entangled in a four car pile-up with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and his team mate Sebastian Vettel. All four cars were out. It was then Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton that emerged as the race leader and there was no looking back. The Brit, kept the pace and lead to the end of the race to score his career 60th win against the dazzling fireworks display that graces the end of each Singapore Grand Prix. He has now extended his championship lead over Sebastian Vettel from three points to 28 points with only six races left to determine the winner of the Drivers Championship.
The grand prix that played out to the maximum permissible race time limit of two hours, saw Red Bull’s Daniel Riccardo take to the podium for the fourth year in a row much to the delight of the Australian fans that lined the circuit just as the race ended. Hamilton’s teammate and fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas took second place on the podium to make it the first one-two finish for a team since the start of the season. Elsewhere on the track Carlos Sainz got his best finish in a race to date in seventh place. Daniil Kvyat had an unfortunate accident when he locked his steering and ran straight into the crash barrier. Swedish born Marcus Ericsson caused the third and final safety car to play out this spectacular grand prix when he understeered his car, hit the railing and ended up facing the opposite side of the track.
The Singapore Grand Prix is clearly one of ‘the’ signature races in the Formula 1 calendar not just for its immaculate execution but for the off-track activities that happen all throughout the week. The lead up to the grand prix was dotted with glitzy affairs and glamorous parties. On Wednesday, Race Against Dementia, the charity founded by three time F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart held its inaugural gala dinner and auction at the Fullerton Bay hotel. The event raised more than S$150,000 for charity and featured some of the most prominent who’s who in Singapore and South East Asia. The Amber Lounge Singapore edition was back for its tenth instalment as ‘the’ after race party to be at and be seen at. Heineken had a great party on Wednesday and Thursday night at some of Singapore’s most iconic landmarks starting with a fashion show at Lau Pa Sat that saw former Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard take to the catwalk. Both events clearly embodied the energy and the vibe that transcended the ‘More Than a Race’ slogan the brand has adopted for its F1 partnership.
The post Singapore Grand Prix 2017 Report appeared first on LUXUO.