Formula One Grand Prix return puts Singapore back on track for glamour

THE latest deal to host the Formula One (F1) Singapore Grand Prix will deliver a major boost to the Republic's global branding, even if the race itself does not typically yield big dollars-and-cents returns, observers told The Business Times.

Singapore now holds a contract, announced on Thursday (Jan 27), to host the annual event until 2028 - a move that Maybank Securities senior economist Chua Hak Bin called "symbolic and a commitment to Singapore's reopening", after a 2-year pandemic hiatus.

It's not yet clear how the turnout for the upcoming F1 Grand Prix will compare with pre-pandemic levels.