FORMULA One is a huge money-making opportunity not only for the race promoter and the Singapore government but for anyone who has a creative idea about approaching the F1 weekend.

The cake is big and if you can avoid running foul of licensing issues - the F1 name is trademarked - you can enjoy your crumbs and your icing.

Hundreds of plans by budding entrepreneurs have been tossed about, from bringing in yachts from Phuket and offering massages to the rhythm of race cars to giving introductory lessons on F1 to ladies of the night so they can converse "intelligently" with race fans from out of town.

One company has already imported an extra-long stretch limousine to cater to potential VIP guests. And I even know of enterprising individuals who have flown out to the various races around the world since the Singapore announcement just so their name-cards get into the right F1 hands.

All this entrepreneurial activity is based on one expectation - the huge revenue to be generated by the event. The official estimate may be over $100 million, but with the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix taking place in a bullish market, I reckon the figure should be closer to $200 million.

Why is F1 so lucrative? In all honesty it is fairly boring as a "motorsport", let alone any sport. The competition lines up according to how much money each team spends developing its car.

A case in point is Ferrari, which spends an average of more than $600 million a year - the highest in Formula One. Guess where it finished this year? At the top. Compare that to teams like Spyker which spent less than $80 million last year. Guess where they ended the season? The same way they ended most races - bringing up the rear.

This lopsided playing field would be cause for concern in most sporting arenas - but not in F1.

F1 does not care for poetry unlike, say, football where big-spending teams can be humbled by also-rans. F1 does not care for underdog drama, unlike golf where European journeymen can outplay America's Who's Who in the Ryder Cup. And F1 certainly does not care for romance, unlike baseball where an 86-year-old curse was lifted when the Boston Red Sox finally won the World Series.

F1 is marketed as glitz, glamour and "Show me the money!" And unapologetically so at that, thanks to one man - Bernie Ecclestone, who has fashioned it into a lifestyle choice rather than a sport.

That is why images of F1 mirror those of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and include partying on yachts in Monaco, free-flowing champagne on race day and soaking up the sounds of wailing engines and screeching tyres - gorgeous women mandatory, of course. All packaged and sold to millions of well-heeled TV viewers around the world, mostly in Europe. This is the genius of F1.

It reaches a combined television audience of more than 500 million people worldwide through its 18 races each year. The Olympics and the World Cup will always be bigger in size but for consistency over a year, F1 simply cannot be beaten. And unlike football, where coffeeshop uncles form part of the huge demographic, F1 is all about fans with finesse. Or marketed as such anyway.

Money trail

That is why brands like TicTac spend US$5 million a year for a tiny patch on the Ferrari race suit.

That is why global players like ING are willing to invest in excess of US$75 million to be part of F1, as partners to Team Renault and title sponsor of the Australian Grand Prix.

And that is why the Singapore government is willing to up the ante and cover almost the entire cost of hosting the Singapore Grand Prix. And the fact that the race will make F1 history by running in the city centre after dark is already a major coup.

History and worldwide publicity aside, the Singapore Formule One race is likely to pull in more than 80,000 tourists, with cash registers ringing for the hospitality, food and beverage, and events and marketing industries.

Allow me to map out the money trail.

There are 12 F1 teams next year. Each team employs hundreds of people (12 guys specialise in just changing the tyres). They will need hotels, food and souvenirs for their families back home. And they will also want to unwind and party.

The F1 management will need to oversee the entire event and entertain current as well as would-be sponsors and officials from future race cities. They require private meeting rooms, transport, rounds of golf, fine food and exquisite wine.

The F1 sponsors will need events to reach out to their fan base here. Event companies, PR consultancies and maybe even media specialists will have to run product demonstrations, contests or promotions. This is aside from the usual entertaining of their own top customers and business partners. Banks like ING, for instance, which have invested serious money in F1, will no doubt fly in many of their private clients from around the region to wine and dine them and get them to park more money here in Singapore.

The crème de la crème of Singapore are likely to attend any and every important F1 party and will be hosted under the various levels of hospitality. They will need to dress up, bling up and roll up like the movers and shakers that they are. That means retail dollars (some trivia: during the Melbourne Grand Prix, there were no cigars to be found in any retail outlet across Australia because everything had been bought up for the Melbourne race).

The organisers of the race will need suppliers for everything from tents and air-conditioning units to audio-visual equipment and security personnel. Top dollar will have to be paid for top service. After all, nothing can go wrong at our debut race.

And last but not least, the government of Singapore will need to ensure that the very first race showcases all that is symbolic and significant about Singapore through TV commercials, online marketing, outdoor banners, tie-ups and tourist attractions like the Singapore Flyer. And this is before the casinos come into the picture in 2009.

So can you smell the whiff of money over the smell of burnt rubber? I can, and I can't wait for Sept 28 to come.

The writer is the managing director of UP Media, the only motorsports-specific consultancy in Singapore. UP advises clients on strategic-cum-creative involvement with motorsports. UP also organised Motorsports Asia: The Grand Prix for Marketeers, the first-ever motorsports forum in the region, and is a presenting partner of the F1 in Schools programme.