Motorsport Facility of the Year 2008

Wow, what an achievement for Singapore!!!!

The Marina Bay circuit was awarded the title of motorsport facility of the year and was commended for its revolutionary lighting system, and for the location of the track, which was situated right in the heart of the Central Business District.

Being the first ever night race, I have to agree that the lighting system was really fantastic. Night was turned into day with those lights. The circuit has a great backdrop of the city with its night lighting and it was a sight to behold as the cars raced round the circuit.

This award really shows the appreciation to the people who brought the F1 to Singapore. Well done, Singapore !!!!

Latest 2009 schedule

2009 FIA Formula One World Championship

29 March Australia
5 April Malaysia
19 April China
26 April Bahrain
10 May Spain
24 May Monaco
7 June Turkey
21 June Great Britain
12 July Germany
26 July Hungary
23 August Europe (Valencia)
30 August Belgium
13 September Italy
27 September Singapore
4 October Japan
18 October Brazil
1 November Abu Dhabi

Massa wins the race .. but Hamilton wins the "war"

The 2008 F1 Grand Prix has officially ended with the completion of the Brazilian F1 GP. Hometown hero, Massa, led from start to finish to take the chequered flag. You can imagine the joy on Massa's face when he crossed the line. However, that joy soon turned to tears a few seconds later. Hamilton dramatically overtook Timo Glock on the final turn to cross the finish line in 5th position to claim the Drivers' Championship title by a single point.

Nonetheless, Massa took his lost of the drivers' championship title graciously. And I must say, Hamilton definitely kept his cool and deserved to win the title. Of course, the Constructors' title went to Ferrari, for the 16th time.

What a season!!! For me, it was a great F1 season, especialy when the F1 rolled into Singapore for its first ever night race. I cannot described the feeling of being at the Singapore F1 race, the lights, the sounds of the F1 roaring past you, and the thrill of trying to capture a F1 car (speeding past you at high speed) on my DSLR camera. That was really a test of my amatuer phtography skills. I will be looking forward to 2009 when the next season starts again, with the Singapore GP being the key interest on my calendar.

Brazilian F1 Grand Prix

The last race of the 2008 season will start soon. Yes! Massa qualified first and Hamilton starts from 4th position. This race is expected to be close, with Hamilton needing only a top 5 finish to clinch the drivers' championship. Toyota's Trulli was a surprise package after he qualified in 2nd position, after edging Kimi to 3rd position.

If the weather remains dry, it should favour Ferrari, as Hamilton has shown that he is very capable in wet weather conditions.

Starting Grid for Brazilian F1 Grand Prix:
1st - Massa
2nd - Trulli
3rd - Raikkonen
4th - Hamilton
5th - Kovalainen
6th - Alonso
7th - Vettel
8th - Heidfeld
9th - Bourdais
10th - Glock
11th - Piquet
12th - Webber
13th - Kubica
14th - Coulthard
15th - Barrichello
16th - Nakajima
17th - Button
18th - Rosberg
19th - Fisichella
20th - Sutil

Stay tuned for the post race blog.

Brazilian GP Practice Session

This is the last race on the 2008 F1 calanedar. Looks like this race is really going to be interesting and it will certainly determine if either Hamilton or Massa will be crowned the champion in the Driver's Championship table.

Massa clocked the fastest time in the practice session, sending out a strong signal to Hamilton (probably) that he is gunning for the driver's title. However, Hamilton was not far behind in the practice session.

For Massa to win the championship, Hamilton needs to finish in a position lower than 5th or have an engine/mechanical failure (since Hamilton is running on the same engine used for the last race). Reliability could be an issue for the Mclaren car.

This last race will be really interesting. I am gunning for Massa to win the race and hopefully the championship.