A love affair
Formula One. Speed. Passion. Racing. The pinnacle of motor-racing.
Starting young, I watched my first Formula One race in a time I could barely remember. I vaguely remember waking up in the middle of the night in my room. I heard the television set turned on in the living room. I opened the door and I saw my father on the couch watching these magnificent images of beautiful, sleek, works of art flying across the screen at unrealistic speeds. From that moment, my to-be life-long love interest formed.
20th century. The age of machines of all shapes and sizes: tanks, robots, bulldozers. They obviously fascinated me- I must have been about 5 or 6. I hadn’t yet thought much about immorality, but that was definitely part of it. Machines never die. You can take them apart, figure them out, repair them. But once assembled, they have something extra, a soul. A soul that manifests itself above all in functionality and beauty, but that too was something I had hardly thought about.
As machines, racing cars too held a certain attraction, albeit slight. They were too remote. You almost never heard about them and you saw them even less if you lived in a world that is all money driven and all everyone cares about is work. But on those rare occasions when the news from the world of motor racing did reach me, I was immediately charged with tension, thrills and drama. Lets fast forward to my first Grand prix I most willingly attended because, of course, I had to beg my parents.
22th March, 2003. Sepang International Circuit. Malaysia. A date with sheer blissful oblivion. My first Formula One race. The trek to the hill-stands were packed with people as far as the eye could see. The people in it aren’t shoppers or a pop-festival audience; they’re not soccer, skating or tennis fans. There’s nothing identifiable about them at all, they’re a blend of the perfect cross-section of the population. I might be a purist, but even I can’t turn a blind eye to the merchandise. Model cars, T-shirts, caps, flags...fetishes are part of the game. As a collector of model cars, the sheer mass of metal and sweet aluminium of the model cars that make them so special. Left, right, I see promo-girls grinning and handing out freebies. I don’t want another Marlboro sticker. But of course you cannot have too many so I grab them. After all the pre-race drama, comes the time that I have been waiting for, for the past 11 years. I grew up when the legendary, Michael Schumacher was winning his much coveted, Formula One World Championships. The sound, the atmosphere, it was like being in a totally different world in the circuit. But of course, I was in another world.
September 2007. Much talk about Singapore hosting a Formula One Grand Prix in the near future was confirmed! I was overjoyed at the splendid news. And on top of that, the date of the Grand Prix just so happened to coincide with my birthday. Was it mere coincidence, or my prayers had been answered with an extra silver lining that God had gift wrapped for me. The world of Formula One has finally reached the pinnacle of its legacy, spreading like a fever to even the remotest parts of the world. Singapore, 26-27-28 2008. The world’s first Formula One night race. I would have been but the circuit management in Valencia had confirmed that their race would also a night race. But nonetheless, the world’s first Asian Formula One night race!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my love affair.
Starting young, I watched my first Formula One race in a time I could barely remember. I vaguely remember waking up in the middle of the night in my room. I heard the television set turned on in the living room. I opened the door and I saw my father on the couch watching these magnificent images of beautiful, sleek, works of art flying across the screen at unrealistic speeds. From that moment, my to-be life-long love interest formed.
20th century. The age of machines of all shapes and sizes: tanks, robots, bulldozers. They obviously fascinated me- I must have been about 5 or 6. I hadn’t yet thought much about immorality, but that was definitely part of it. Machines never die. You can take them apart, figure them out, repair them. But once assembled, they have something extra, a soul. A soul that manifests itself above all in functionality and beauty, but that too was something I had hardly thought about.
As machines, racing cars too held a certain attraction, albeit slight. They were too remote. You almost never heard about them and you saw them even less if you lived in a world that is all money driven and all everyone cares about is work. But on those rare occasions when the news from the world of motor racing did reach me, I was immediately charged with tension, thrills and drama. Lets fast forward to my first Grand prix I most willingly attended because, of course, I had to beg my parents.
22th March, 2003. Sepang International Circuit. Malaysia. A date with sheer blissful oblivion. My first Formula One race. The trek to the hill-stands were packed with people as far as the eye could see. The people in it aren’t shoppers or a pop-festival audience; they’re not soccer, skating or tennis fans. There’s nothing identifiable about them at all, they’re a blend of the perfect cross-section of the population. I might be a purist, but even I can’t turn a blind eye to the merchandise. Model cars, T-shirts, caps, flags...fetishes are part of the game. As a collector of model cars, the sheer mass of metal and sweet aluminium of the model cars that make them so special. Left, right, I see promo-girls grinning and handing out freebies. I don’t want another Marlboro sticker. But of course you cannot have too many so I grab them. After all the pre-race drama, comes the time that I have been waiting for, for the past 11 years. I grew up when the legendary, Michael Schumacher was winning his much coveted, Formula One World Championships. The sound, the atmosphere, it was like being in a totally different world in the circuit. But of course, I was in another world.
September 2007. Much talk about Singapore hosting a Formula One Grand Prix in the near future was confirmed! I was overjoyed at the splendid news. And on top of that, the date of the Grand Prix just so happened to coincide with my birthday. Was it mere coincidence, or my prayers had been answered with an extra silver lining that God had gift wrapped for me. The world of Formula One has finally reached the pinnacle of its legacy, spreading like a fever to even the remotest parts of the world. Singapore, 26-27-28 2008. The world’s first Formula One night race. I would have been but the circuit management in Valencia had confirmed that their race would also a night race. But nonetheless, the world’s first Asian Formula One night race!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my love affair.
