What haze? S’pore GP records 268,000 turnout, second highest in race’s history

SINGAPORE – The haze may have hit unhealthy levels on Sunday (Sept 22), but the droves of spectators who showed up to support their favourite drivers at the Singapore Grand Prix were nonchalant about it.

Race promoters Singapore GP announced on Sunday that the 12th edition of the Formula 1 night race had drawn in 268,000 spectators to the Marina Bay Street Circuit over the three-day weekend, setting the second highest attendance in the race’s history.

The highest attendance, 300,000, was recorded in the race’s inaugural year in 2008.

Fans told TODAY that the haze was the last thing on their mind.

Mr Brandon Leong said he was aware of the severity of the haze, which was why he was wearing a face mask. As at 9pm on Sunday, the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) 24-hr PSI was 111-124, in the Unhealthy range, and the 1-hr PM2.5 concentration readings were 54-65µg/m3, between the Normal and Elevated bands.

The 35-year-old Singaporean said neither he nor his girlfriend had ever attended an F1 race before, and that they had been looking forward to Sunday’s race for some time.

“We already bought the tickets, so we can’t waste it,” said the engineer, who was waiting for his girlfriend at 7.30pm so that they could enter the circuit together.

“But to be honest, even when I remove my mask, I can’t really smell the haze today. It’s not as bad as in the previous days.”

Aside from Mr Leong, TODAY spotted few other attendees wearing protective masks.

Ms Felicia Koh said her mother told her to wear an N95 mask before she left home, but the 23-year-old Singaporean analyst at a venture capital firm refused.

“If everyone else was wearing it, I might consider. But it is just too much of a hassle,” said Ms Koh, who was attending the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert that was being held on the sidelines of the race.

Mr Rolf Haudenschild, who was also attending the same concert, said that the haze “was pretty bad” and it almost deterred him from leaving the house, but he decided to attend the concert anyway.

“It is still within what I would call acceptable levels,” rationalised the 44-year-old Swiss national who works in Singapore at a financial consultancy firm.

For brothers Josh, 19, and Zec Chua, 22, they said they were willing to brave the elements – in this case, the haze – if it meant an opportunity to catch the rock band live.

“The last time Red Hot Chili Peppers was here was in 2002. We couldn’t miss out this time. We’re big fans,” said the younger of the two brothers, who is currently a full-time National Serviceman.

A supporter of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton waved off concerns about the haze when asked if he thought it might mar his enjoyment of the race.

“I don’t have any medical issues, I’ll be fine,” said a 28-year-old doctor from England, who only wanted to be known as Bala.

“If you already have something wrong (medically), then that will be bad,” he added.

A 40-year-old fan of team Mercedes, who quipped that he was from the “country that exported the haze to Singapore”, pointed out that there were many who had showed up for Sunday night’s race.

“I don’t think they seem to be too worried about it,” said Mr Fahrul, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

The race was won for a record fifth time by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who pipped teammate Charles Leclerc to the chequered flag. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished third.