TICKETS for Singapore’s Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix in September are almost sold out after the organiser was forced to reduce capacity.

The race is expected to draw 250,000 spectators, race organiser Singapore GP said. That’s down 17 per cent from last year’s record attendance, as broader redevelopment plans closed its biggest grandstand.

The limit on crowds mean that the city-state’s economy will miss out on some of the lavish spending by tourists in the three days of festivities. Singapore hotel rooms during last year’s event surged past US$2,000 per night.

Very limited availability remains after 16 of the 23 ticket categories were bought out. The remaining options include US$6,924 three-day Sky Suite passes and US$118 tickets for Friday access, according to the Formula 1 website.

The priciest tickets of around S$11,000 were snapped up as early as April even as the tickets became the most expensive ever since Singapore started hosting the night race in 2008, The Straits Times newspaper reported previously.

The government said this month the race will continue as planned after businessman Ong Beng Seng, whose Singapore GP owns the race rights, was arrested in a corruption probe. BLOOMBERG

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