“Nothing Comes Close.” That is the Singapore Grand Prix marketing tag line. And they could not be more right in any single way.
I’m standing behind the catch fence of turn 19…just as the cars exit the tunnel. It’s Q3 of qualifying and the top 10 cars are making their way around track. You can hear the wail of the engines behind me in the distance and it slowly gets louder and more defined. Listening to the engine, you can hear who is on a warm up lap and who is on their final flying lap. The first car coming at me is definitely on a flying lap. The use of the brakes and accelerator are very sharp and defined and it sounds like a mega lap he has going. Before I can see the car, I’m pretty sure I know who it is. I put my eye to look through the view finder and moments later the car enters my frame, bouncing over the curbs in front of me, and I follow him through the corner and fire off a few photos, and as quickly as he came, he’s gone screaming off into the distance again. Yup, it’s exactly who I thought it would be. And he is tearing the streets of Singapore apart. His exit speed from this particular corner is miles faster than anyone else, almost to the point of scaring me back from where I’m shooting from. It is impressive to say the least.
No one really came close to matching Vettel all weekend. Rosberg came fairly close in qualifying, but at the end of the day…it was really ever going to be one man on the top step of the podium. But on a larger level, I’m more impressed by the Singapore Grand Prix venue. I’ve been to many a grand prix and nothing I’ve seen can quite compete with the electric atmosphere that Singapore radiates all weekend long. The fans are blood thirsty for Formula One. From the cabbie who couldn’t stop talking about the exciting weekend of racing, to the hordes of fans who line the trackside viewing areas and grand stands. The whole weekend feels like a dream. Neon lights, fast cars and pretty women. It is one race that should definitely be added to any racing fan’s bucket list.
So without waxing poetic about things like how listening to practice 3 from atop the Singapore flyer came close to being a visually life changing experience, here are my favorite images from the weekend.
Thank you to Russ, Laurent, James, Drew, Road and Track and of course the wonderful people of Singapore for making my third grand prix a truly unforgettable weekend.
© Jamey Price / James Moy Photography 2013
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