Only at Formula OneÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

By Jan Lin

Marina Bay Street Circuit, September 27, 2008 - Only at a Formula One Grand Prix, do you get a Ã¢â€šÂ¬10,000 fine for making an illegal U-turn, you find hot dogs selling at S$8 each and you question the value of a human life when cars get more track space than human beings get for breathing space.

My virgin experience at the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix last night was marred by questions of cents and sense. It started with spotting a food vendor selling hot dogs for S$8 each at the event showered in glitz and glamour. You can argue, and having lived in Europe for a year I know too, that you do find hot dogs priced at Ã¢â€šÂ¬4 each (equivalent to SG$8) at sporting events of this grandeur.

Having worked at sporting events in Europe and Australia, I do think there is room to debate the logic behind what I deem a shocking "price hike" at the inaugural Singapore GP at Marina Bay. Perhaps they were trying to divert spectators to the “hawker village” at the Padang area.

Things fell into better perspective for me when Toyota's Jarno Trulli was fined Ã¢â€šÂ¬10,000 for making an illegal U-turn around the circuit during the opening practice session last night. I rationalised that despite F1 being held in Singapore, things still have to operate in Euros and not in our relatively modest Singapore dollars.

Trulli said after the practice sessions, "In the first practice unfortunately I had a spin at the last corner and I wanted to move off the racing line as safely as possible, so I decided to go down the pit lane [instead of continuing down the start-finish straight ahead]. I took the quickest and safest option available to me and the other cars."

Though it was only a short detour to access the pit lane, the Italian readily accepted the fine. "I have been penalised,” he said, “and I accept that but I know I did the safest thing for me and the other drivers – it is one of the quickest corners on the track and you don’t want to have a crash there.”

Indeed, the issue of driver safety has been a recurring theme at the inaugural Singapore GP, and the sharp turns and narrow tracks have been the prime concern prior to the event. The organizers have worked on these issues, though the compromise may well have been the walking (and breathing) space for the spectators, especially at the critical turns.

So I was nearly involved in a human crush (think Hillsborough disaster) when the one and only rocky narrow pathway towards the Bay Grandstand from Gate 7 at Marina Square suffered a severe human blockage at around 9:30pm yesterday, minutes before the second practice session began. Those sandwiched in this passage were heard chanting "KEEP MOVING!" and I could feel the people around me gasping for air.

It was supposedly a one-way path along that stretch of Raffles Avenue but there were many spectators attempting to leave the area in the opposite direction resulting in the hopeless clog. Walking seemed pointless as I was pushed along with the flow. The area was near the fast turn 16 that leads into a sharp 90 degrees right-hander at turn 17, which explains the need for maximum track space there.

Eventually, security personnel released the emergency access gates near The Oriental in order to drain the blockage so that the spectators, who were getting to the Bay Grandstand for the second practice session, could do so quickly. When the walking path was finally unclogged, a man went up to one of the personnel and yelled, "So many of you here but cannot control!"

I think so too.