SINGAPORE — Singapore's eagerly awaited Formula One (F1) weekend this year saw a record turnout of 302,000 fans, including well-known personalities, ministers and foreign dignitaries, as well as the partners of several F1 drivers. One face, in particular, stood out among the crowd — recently elected Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

News of Mr Marcos' weekend getaway to attend the event has been met with much criticism as thousands of families in the Philippines remain displaced and many more are still recovering from the devastating Typhoon Noru, which hit the archipelago on Sept 25.

On Twitter, senior lecturer Gideon Lasco from the University of the Philippines Diliman called the move "unacceptable, inappropriate, and utterly disgusting".

Despite numerous reports circulating online about Mr Marcos' trip over the weekend, his press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed the trip only early on Monday (Oct 3) morning after Singapore's Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng posted on Facebook a photo of the Philippine president at the F1 night race.

Ms Angeles wrote in Tagalog in her Facebook post: "President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr’s visit to Singapore was productive.

"He strengthened earlier talks from his last state visit to the country, and continued to encourage investment in the Philippines."

In his Facebook post, Dr Tan said that they had been able to "affirm our bilateral economic relationships and strengthen collaborations in energy cooperation as well as exchange views on manpower policies on the sidelines of the race".

Mr Marcos had flown to Singapore in early September as part of his first overseas trip as president. However, this trip, unlike the previous one, was not made known to the public through any official channels beforehand such as the palace media and Ms Angeles or Mr Marcos' social media pages.

It seems that many under the Marcos administration were not privy to the details of the trip, since Ms Angeles' post came days after palace media had asked for confirmation that Mr Marcos would be attending the Singapore Grand Prix, Filipino online news website Rappler reported.

Mr Marcos himself confirmed the visit on Monday night in a post to his social media channels.

"They say that playing golf is the best way to drum up business, but I say it's Formula 1," his caption read. "What a productive weekend!"

He was invited alongside other dignitaries, he said, and had met "new business friends" who were willing to invest in the Philippines.

He added that he would share more details at a later time.

It is not Mr Marcos' first time coming under fire for perceived frivolity. In his first few days of office, he was criticised for holding at least two parties in Malacanang Palace. He is the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted in 1986.

The new president also made an appearance in a post by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who touted the success of the F1 night race as "yet another sign that we have emerged from the pandemic and are open for business".

In addition to Mr Lee and Dr Tan, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Transport Minister S Iswaran and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean were also present at the race event this year.

WAGS AND FAMOUS F1 FANS

As for the wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of the celebrated F1 drivers, only four of a known 16 were in attendance at this Singapore GP.

Influencer Kelly Piquet came along to support the birthday boy and her boyfriend, last year's world champion Max Verstappen. The young Red Bull competitor turned 25 on Friday (Sept 30), the first day of the Singapore GP weekend.

From her Instagram Stories, it appears she has since moved on to Tokyo along with Verstappen for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Ms Charlotte Sine, girlfriend of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, was also in town — and even took to the racetrack herself for a night run.

She seems to have been busy sightseeing over the past week, with photos of the ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands and Helix Bridge spotted on her Instagram account.

In a moment that melted fans' hearts, the couple also shared a kiss after the race, celebrating Leclerc's podium result. Leclerc started in pole position on race day but had to settle for second place behind Sergio Perez.

Yet another couple who made good use of the Marina Bay Street Circuit in their downtime was pro cyclist Tiffany Cromwell and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas.

Ms Cromwell also shared Instagram Stories of herself cycling at Coney Island over the weekend and in Bintan with Bottas on Tuesday.

Last but not least, Sandra Dziwiszek and outgoing Williams driver Nicholas Latifi were seen touring Gardens by the Bay on Monday night in a series of Instagram Stories shared by the model. She has been posting videos of herself and her friends hanging out in the Marina Bay area as well.

Latifi came in last for the Singapore Grand prix. He collided with Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu early on, bringing the race to a premature end for both parties.

The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile or FIA, F1's governing body, later ruled that the Canadian driver was "predominantly to blame" for the collision and penalised him with a five-place grid drop as well as two penalty points.