Singapore GP diary: ‘Unhealthy’ haze hangs over Singapore, then disappears
Mercedes’ team principle Toto Wolff joked that Lewis Hamilton could be involved in Formula E after the team announced they’ll debut in the 2019/20 season. (0:30)
MARINA BAY, Singapore — The Formula One paddock is a busy place that hosts a lot of serious business over a race weekend, but here we try to bring you some of the news stories you might otherwise miss ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
When Singaporeans were saying they’d never seen haze like it before, you knew there was a serious issue and one which could realistically impact the grand prix.
On Wednesday evening, when many Formula One personnel began arriving into Singapore, the city’s Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) was hovering between 170-180. Basically, the air quality in Singapore was “unhealthy” and not far from moving into the “very unhealthy” category.
The toxic haze has come from mass forest fires in Indonesia, where thousands of hectares of ecologically rich land has illegally been burned.
So bad was the haze, Singapore’s National Environment Agency was actually advising citizens to avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor activity and to spend as much time as possible indoors.
Fortunately, some respite came on Thursday. The PSI had dipped to 140 by 10am and 117 at midday. By 5pm, the reading was down to 99 and into the “moderate” category.
The haze is expected to continue clearing ahead of opening practice, but race organisers have put together a contingency plan should it worsen.
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Alex Albon has never driven around the Marina Bay street circuit, but he might be about to claim the Singapore Grand Prix as his unofficial home race.
On Thursday evening, the Red Bull driver was asked if this weekend had a special home vibe about it, given it’s the closest race to his native Thailand.
“Kind of,” Albon told media. “But it’s still a two hour flight, so not really!”
But when he discovered that it was his face on the front cover of the official race program, he was quite impressed.
“There you go! Positives,” he laughed. “I’ve got family coming and obviously Red Bull Thailand, so I want to do well for them.”
For the record, Singapore is a lazy 1,420km (870mi) from Bangkok.