F1: Doing it for the thrill and stress

F1: Doing it for the thrill and stress

Imagine working 13 hours, with no pay, in one of the most stressful environments around.

While many would not entertain such a stint for even a day, some 1,000 people sign up for that sort of treatment for a week every year.

Two people with such inclinations are Johnson Wong and Nicole Chai - volunteer marshals of the Formula One SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, which roars to life along the Marina Bay street circuit from this Friday to Sunday.

Chai, 29, and Wong, 37, have been marshals since the inaugural race in 2008.

They weren't even ardent fans of Formula One before they signed up. They were simply "curious" and "fascinated" that the world's first night race was being staged in their own backyard.

Since then, heading into the sixth edition, they can't get enough.

"It's because of the passion for the work and the friendship forged among the volunteers," said Wong, when asked what compels him to return every year.

"Once, a fellow volunteer even quit his professional job because he wasn't allowed leave to work here for a week. "I'm lucky I have understanding bosses; I just make sure I apply for my leave as early as January."

A civil servant, Wong is the chief support paddock marshal. In brief, his job involves forming up the cars for the support races and managing the service crews.

Quick thinking

The most important attribute for his job is quick thinking, said Wong. Like last year, during the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli support race, when a fire extinguisher went off inside a race car minutes before the race. "The driver activated the extinguisher mistakenly, instead of starting his engines," explained Wong.

"Suddenly, the smoke filled the car and we had to come up with a contingency plan very quickly.

"In three minutes, we had to call the engineer, change the fire extinguisher and get the car checked and approved by the chief scrutineer.

"Thankfully, we did it. I remember the mechanic kept scolding the driver the whole time."

Chai, a salesperson by profession, works more behind the scenes, as a steward secretary for the support category. She helps file incident reports and spends most of her time delivering messages to administrative officers and the driver camps.

It is, however, no less intense. "It can get stressful and tiring when you're waiting for the race to start, because it can be hours on your feet before you get to sit down again," Chai said. "And there's always that fear of running behind schedule, which must never happen.

"Once the race begins, you're just swept into it and you're back on alert mode." Chai witnesses "some drama" as well, especially when the drivers lodge a protest or get questioned by the stewards postrace.

"There's so much to Formula One even after the race. Sometimes, there's actually more action behind the scenes," she said. One of the many ways the Singapore Grand Prix motivates its marshals is through the "Best Team" competition, mooted in 2010.

The teams of volunteers are graded on attendance, rapport, retention rate from the previous year, and performance during the week.

Last year, Wong's team of around 50 volunteers at the support paddock won the trophy.

"The competition is something for us to work towards; it gives us added impetus," Chai said.

"But it's not like we need the added incentive - our camaraderie and passion for working on the Grand Prix would still be there regardless.


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