Our society friends talk to us about their enduring passion for Formula 1, which includes flying out to attend every race around the world, meeting Kimi Räikkönen face-to-face, and even having access to the drivers’ private kitchens.
With the Singapore Grand Prix starting in less than a month, we gather some of Singapore Tatler’s biggest racing fans and ask them to talk about their favourite sporting event, and their fondest memories of Formula 1.
Stephanie Lee
Executive Director of TS Lee & Sons
Ask Stephanie which Formula 1 team she supports and without missing a beat, she replies, “Ferrari!” This hardly comes as a surprise, since she also sits on the committee of the Ferrari Owners' Club Singapore. “My interest in the sport peaked when Michael Schumacher, a driver who has won more races and championships than any other drivers in the history of Formula 1, joined the Ferrari team,” she explains.
Stephanie’s love for the sport has brought her to the Melbourne, Shanghai, and Sepang race tracks, where she always looks forward to catching up with other Formula 1 fans, and of course, to just “let loose and party with close friends,” she shares.
Adrian Ng
Anaesthetist
A self-confessed Formula 1 addict, Adrian’s passion for the sport has even led him to be a part of the Singapore Grand Prix’s trackside medical team, where he has been a volunteer since the inaugural races in 2008.
Like Stephanie Lee, Adrian has been a firm fan of Scuderia Ferrari since 1996, when Michael Schumacher joined the prancing horse team. “It took an agonising three more years before they won the modern day Formula 1 championship in 1999. But it was the consecutive six titles they secured after that, which truly cemented my relationship with them,” he muses.
Lawrence Basapa
Independent Director at KS Energy Ltd
To get an idea of the extent of Lawrence’s passion of the sport, he has, to date, travelled to the Formula 1 circuits at Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Budapest, Istanbul, Melbourne, Monte Carlo, Monza, Sepang and Shanghai.
“I was watching the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the television in my hotel room in Brussels, back in 1989. Alain Prost was leading, and his driving was like poetry. Prost's magnificent driving won me over to Formula 1 that afternoon, and from then on, I avidly followed the races in the print media until live telecasts began on television in Singapore,” Lawrence shares.
Celeste Basapa
Veteran Fundraiser
Celeste and her equally Formula 1 enthused husband never misses any of Singapore’s Grand Prix races. Celeste’s shares two of her favourite Formula 1 memories in Singapore. “The first was when we were invited as guests of Scuderia Ferrari, and we got to meet Kimi Räikkönen. The second would be when we attended as guests of the Williams team, where I met Sir Jackie Stewart, who in our opinion, is the doyen of Formula 1,” she concludes.
Andre Huber
Executive Director of Huber’s Pte Ltd
It was his father who introduced Andre to the sport in 1997, and he has since gone on to attend the Formula 1 races in Budapest and Melbourne.
Andre can also boast of having insights into the inner workings of the Singapore Grand Prix, thanks to his business, Huber's Butchery, which has been supplying meats to the Formula 1 teams such as Mercedes, McLaren, Williams, Force India, Marussia and Sauber. “They travel with their own kitchen crew and the chefs prepare specific meals for the drivers, which are usually healthy food native to their countries,” he reveals.