Fast and friendly: Meet the Singapore F1 fans turned content creators

SINGAPORE – After she became a Formula 1 fan in 2021, Desiree Choo started taking regular walks to the pit building in Marina Bay.

During one of her visits in August 2022, on a whim, she filmed a “tour” of the place and posted the video on Instagram. A flood of comments followed.

“You can go to the pit building? Is it free? How did you get there?”

Soon, her account – @desireechoo – became the go-to for those wanting to know more about the Singapore Grand Prix, posting videos with detailed directions on how to get there and updates on how the Marina Bay Street Circuit was shaping up.

As the demand planner started posting more content, her follower count on TikTok has also grown – from around 5,000 to 10.1k as at October 2026.

Choo, 34, is among a growing number of content creators in Singapore who have found their footing in motor sports.

This niche group has grown in recent years, and while there is no official database, those in the scene estimate there are around 15 of such creators focusing mainly on F1 content as the Singapore Grand Prix rolls into town from Oct 9-11. There were hardly any when the first edition was held in 2008.

Most content creators see themselves as filling a gap in the community, providing information on the sport, grands prix and its fringe activities.

Along the way, they built their own followings and have taken joy in connecting with like-minded people.

Choo, who also organises track walks for fellow fans, said: “It was all very accidental. I was just sharing my experience and I wasn’t trying to get famous.

“It’s fun and fulfilling because I like connecting with people. I wanted to focus more on the community and that’s how the track walks started.”

She also provides a list of events happening outside the track during and before race week, and operates a Telegram channel where over 400 motorsports fans can chat about their shared interest.

Like Choo, Faith Thiam (@faithlovesracing) also stumbled into fame as a content creator – and almost overnight.

After she became a fan in 2023, she noticed that the sport used many technical terms, so she started making notes to better understand F1 and posting them on Instagram. These include explanations of races by lap, official FIA documents and terms like downforce and undercut.

Her following slowly grew and she was hovering at over 2,000 until one day in September 2024, when she woke up to discover she had 5,000 followers because one of her posts breaking down the Italian Grand Prix blew up.

In a week, she reached over 11,000 followers.

The 25-year-old recounted: “Every time I refreshed the app, I would see that 100 more people had followed me. I thought they were just fake followers.

“I was very surprised and happy to see that people were benefitting from my content. One comment said they found my post really helpful and no one else was breaking down stuff like that, so I found that people really enjoyed this extra layer to the sport.

“It was something I thought was too nerdy, but people really liked it and found it helpful. That gave me a lot of confidence and energy to keep going.”

‘I don’t gatekeep’

Communications professional Dazale Choy (@iamdazale) also started her content creation journey as a self-described “information counter” in 2023, posting details of the many fringe activities around the Singapore Grand Prix.

She chose to focus on events happening away from the track as those are mostly free for the public.

“I was having a lot of fun running around the different F1 events or trying a new (F1-inspired) pastry at a cafe,” said Choy, 30, who started watching F1 in 2008.

“People also wanted to know things like which gate to enter, or how to travel from one zone to another.

“I don’t gatekeep. When people ask me things, I will answer and tell them all the secrets.”

As the content creators’ engagement increased, so did the invitations from brands for collaborations, and more access.

Thiam, who works in finance, was also invited by F1 to apply for a “creator pass” for this year’s race, which would allow her paddock access.

Meanwhile, Choo has attended MotoGP and SuperGT races in Malaysia, and brand events in Melbourne on the sidelines of the Australian Grand Prix.

Confessing she still has “imposter syndrome”, Choo said: “At events, we see other influencers who have one million or 100k followers, and we’re just there having fun vlogging.

“I feel very grateful to have all these experiences and I just want to document all of them and share them with people.”

Some, including Choo and Nur Afiqah Zulkeffli (@wandervibesonly), were invited by Singapore GP for a media preview of the pit building in June.

Afiqah, 36, who has been an F1 fan since 2022, said: “We’ve been incredibly lucky because the Singapore GP team supports the local community even though F1 is known to have this air of exclusivity.

“The most enjoyable part of this is meeting other F1 fans because it used to just be me discussing races with three friends. Now I can talk to other female fans and creators online too.”

A safe space for fans

But their journeys have not been without challenges. Choy has to deal with comments questioning her knowledge, although she said they do not affect her much.

For Thiam, a determination early on to watch and post about every single race while balancing personal commitments took a toll on her health. She has since learnt to manage her time better and no longer adheres to a strict schedule.

Ultimately, the creators want to provide a safe space for fans, especially women, to enjoy the sport.

Choo said: “Sometimes female fans don’t feel like they belong in sport, so I wanted to create this space where women can ask or say anything.

“I want more girls to recognise that it’s OK to watch a sport and not care about what other people think of you.”

Thiam, who hopes to eventually be a full-time content creator, admitted that she tried to “fill myself with knowledge” as she was afraid that people would think she was a fan only because she found a driver good-looking.

“But I learnt that people’s opinions don’t matter. People are allowed to enjoy things the way they like,” she said.

“A huge part of my content is encouraging people to be more welcoming and for new fans to not care about how people police their enjoyment.

“I feel lucky that my community has people who are welcoming and I hope to spread this culture to more people through my account.”