Ariel Chew

Let’s Start With the Good Stuff

Firstly, let me count my blessings. I had a complimentary (FREE) grandstand ticket (worth at least RM500). I had a ride to Sepang International Circuit and the exorbitantly priced parking (RM100 for PA1 area) was paid for – because I was there for work.

Proper Preparations is Essential

As a newbie, I armed myself with an F1 guide where the cars of each team were illustrated in full colour as well as the drivers and their respective numbers.

I also took a look at the weather forecast and prepared accordingly. It was predicted that it would be sunny and then rainy – a most accurate prediction if there ever was one. Behold, stuff which was tested and proven to work in such extreme weather:

• Light cotton T – any colour is fine except BLACK as it absorbs heat
• Knee-length shorts – in case it pours and you find yourself wading through water and mud
• A small foldable umbrella – wearing a poncho is rather a hassle as it’s hard to fold and store it in your bag for near-future use.
• A cap – to protect your head from the blazing sun and light drizzles before you manage to open the umbrella
• Strap sandals – they keep hot sweaty feet ventilated and wade through flood waters and mud easier than a pair of strapless sandals which run the risk of getting stuck in the mud and slipping off your feet
• Sunglasses – to protect your peepers from the sun
• Ear plugs – to ensure that you don’t become deaf after 2 solid hours of the fastest cars in the world zipping past you

It rained during the GP2 race and my umbrella was put to good use as the rain sloshed to where I was sitting at Row E. And when it rained during F1, out came my umbrella again when water droplets trickled from the steel bars above.

The umbrella, never leave home without it.

Frolicking before the race starts

A team merchandise stall. T-shirts were going from RM200 per pop. It’s all in the branding, baby.

As we walked to the grandstand, the gloomy skies started to drizzle. A sign of things to come.

The Race

From where I sat at the Grand Stand I could see a small portion of the circuit. The LCD screen was rather far away to make out what was being displayed. The folks at the hill slopes could see more – an almost perfect bird’s eye view of everything that’s going on, I would imagine. While waiting for the decision to be made for the F1 to be halted or restarted, the hill spectators honked their air horns at us and we waved and cheered at them in response. It was probably done out of the sheer boredom of waiting but heck, it was fun, nevertheless!

The hillside folks

The GP2 race started half an hour later than scheduled because of the rain. They were led by the sleek gray Mercedes Benz safety car for quite a few laps until the green flag was waved. The cars sounded like furious hornets striking out against their enemies. Pretty neat and they do sound louder and larger than life compared to just watching it on the TV.

The seats started filling up after 4pm. While there were quite a lot of folks milling about, it wasn’t exactly a full house. This being an open-air event, a lot of people lighted up and puffed at their cigarettes like there’s no tomorrow. A five year old boy sat in front of me, chortling with glee at his mother and sister, but otherwise very well behaved.

A father and son sat beside me, ear plug less. Once the F1 cars roared down the tracks, they squinted and stuck their fingers into their ears. Yes, it was that loud. Louder and faster than the GP2 cars. They were not hornets; these cars were like mini jets roaring to take off.

Getting ready to start. They look like colourful ants from a distance.

Watching the race with bated breath

Here comes the Brawn!

Here comes rain-drenched but nevertheless steaming hot Kimi!

Lewis performed very well indeed. If the race was allowed to finish, who knows if he’d end up in the top 3?

It was thrilling to see the much-talked about cars LIVE before my very eyes. The cars pirouetted along the circuit to the joy of their fans. The two white Brawn cars were bare saved for the famed Virgin logo garnering whoops and cheers from the excited crowd. Another favourite was Kimi Raikkonen in his steaming red hot Ferrari race car. The No. 1 MacLaren car sporting a red Vodafone logo whizzed by before the suddenly silent crowd. It seemed that we didn’t know quite how to respond to the notorious Lewis Hamilton after his fiasco concerning Jarno Trulli.

Once the race started, the three cars Williams, Toyota and Brawn were leading for the next few laps. Maclaren’s No. 2 driver experienced problems earlier on (heard the reports later) and retired early from the race. Kimi was at sixth position and Lewis was way, way behind him. If things kept up like that, it would be another notch on the bed posts of Brawn and Toyota.

Things started getting exciting when Kimi inched to the fifth position and Lewis slowly but surely clawing his way until he was hot on Kimi’s heels. Suddenly Kimi was no longer found in the leading 8 cars and this caused quite a stir.

After a while, with the pits stops, cars breaking down and one rolling onto a sandy area before slowly rolling back out on the tracks again – I lost track of who’s number what. I wished then that I had gotten the RM100 headphone set. At least I would know what was going on. The din was too deafening for me to hear the commentary blasting out from the loudspeakers.

Besides the headphones, there were portable Kangaroo TVs for rental at RM150 per day. You can choose which angle you want to view the cars from. Groovy!

And then the gloomy skies burst into torrents of rain. The yellow flags were waved and the cars slowed down significantly. Quite a number of cars skidded along the tracks and thankfully, no one was injured. Soon the red flag came out and the safety car took its position and led the drivers back to safe grounds.

50 minutes later, it was all over. The race had officially ended.

Pricey, Pricey Stuff

Now it’s time for me to air some gripes. And a long list it is, too. First, the overpriced stuff sold at the circuit grounds. The headphones for the live commentary were sold for RM100 a pair. Seeing that these could only be used once during the F1, it seemed a waste to splurge on them.

And after hearing horror stories of how much ear plugs were sold at the previous F1 race (RM50 per pair!!!); I bought my ear plugs from a local hardware store for RM2. My colleague chose a fancier version at RM4.

It turns out that this time around, they were only selling ear plugs at RM10 for three – which was pretty decent. So it wasn’t pricey after all. Wished I could say the same for the exorbitantly priced food – fish and chips meal for RM25, 6 sticks of satay and ketupat for RM25, soft drinks at RM5 per can and RM5 for a bottle of mineral water.

We had a decent lunch before we left for SIC and thus, managed to avoid buying the food. But come 8.00pm when we were stuck in the muddy fields and rain waiting for Jamiroquai to appear, we were weak and famished. At that field entrance, the guards once again confiscated our water bottles and food. However, it wasn’t apparent where the food stalls were located on the concert grounds. Is this mass starvation? Or is this a new diet fad that I haven’t heard of?

Whatever it is, it was a pretty mean thing to do.

The Long Glorious Wait

It seemed that the whole day was full of queuing and waiting. We queued to purchase our overpriced drinks and food. We waited 50 minutes with bated breath not knowing if the race would be continued because of the torrential downpour. We queued for the toilet. We queued for more than 30 minutes to get to the concert grounds.

Speaking of which, why was there only one entry point to the concert grounds when the organisers know that most of the 100,000 over spectators would most likely make their way there? The numbers surged most probably because people want to get their money’s worth after having the race cut short. Sheesh.

Here we stand and here we wait, hungry in the raaaaiiin.

The stage with the Indon act performing

Finally, we waited 90 minutes for Jamiroquai to make his appearance. Standing in the rain and mud. Battling with cold and hunger. And the worst part was, Jamiroquai sounded better in his albums than live. Go figure.

So was it worth the wait?

It so wasn’t.

Would I Go Watch F1 Live Again?

Yes, I was immensely disappointed when they announced that the race would not continue after all. I had such high hopes of seeing Lewis Hamilton clawing his way to the top from his unenviable 12^th starting position. Seeing him give chase with Kimi Raikonnen was thrilling to say the least. I’ve heard so much about them that seeing them LIVE zooming in the circuit is something that I would always cherish, even if it was just half-way.

Oh well, there’s always next year. So yes, I would want to watch F1 live the next time around. Hopefully, the weather would be better.

But no more F1 after-party concerts for me. I don’t fancy waiting an hour and a half on a hungry stomach and aching legs for the real concert to start. Not even if he’s a world famous superstar.

Photo credits: Zainal Abidin Othman