Formula 1 (F1) is one of the most-watched motorsport events in the world. In 2020, it had 433 million viewers, which is a slight decrease compared to the 471 million viewers it had a year prior, but this is primarily due to the 2020 season having four fewer races due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sport also has a huge fan base here in the Philippines. The F1 Club of The Philippines Facebook group, for instance, has over 5,000 members, and its numbers have climbed up significantly recently due to the popularity of the Netflix series Drive to Survive.
With this in mind, some of us can’t help but think about what a locally-held (and even produced) F1 race would feel like, or where would it even be held. Thankfully, Macoy Averilla (famously known as Macoy Dubs) did some of the imagining for us.
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The current commentators of the qualifying and actual race are David Croft and Martin Brundle. Regardless of which country a race is held, it will always be these two who are behind the microphone. However, for our imaginary Philippine Grand Prix, in lieu of these two are Macoy Dubs himself and Ashley Rivera (famously known as Petra Mahalimuyak), though she did not appear nor talk in the video.
For our imaginary Philippine Grand Prix, the race is humorously held at Sangley International Circuit at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City. After all, with the Singapore Grand Prix being held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, its central location in Metro Manila should make it accessible to most Filipinos.
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The official F1 commentators usually do not mention any of the event’s sponsors behind the microphone, but for this imaginary Filipino-produced Philippine Grand Prix, Macoy Dubs humorously plugs in sponsors such as Seiko (the local leather goods brand), Mr. Quickie, Mighty Bond, Motolite, just to name a few. And just like in Filipino tradition, the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance racecar has been called “Chedeng” a few times during the commentary.
“Yes, that long wheel-to-wheel action is brought to you by Motolite. Sa Motolite, pang matagalan!”
For now, we can only dream of what a Philippine Grand Prix could sound or feel like, but at least Macoy Dubs gave us a humorous take on what a locally-held F1 race could be. The next race will be the first-ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which will be held at the new Jeddah Corniche Circuit at 1:30 am, local time.
The current leader of the 2021 driver’s standings is Red Bull Racing Honda’s Max Verstappen with 351.5 points, which is ahead by just eight points from Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ Lewis Hamilton. For the constructor’s standings, Mercedes-AMG Petronas leads the pack with 546.5 points, just five points ahead of Red Bull Racing Honda.
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