It's the weekend of the 2023 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, and what's more natural at F1's longest running night race than to see the fastest F1 drivers racing cleaning machines around Jewel Changi Airport's Rain Vortex waterfall.
Max Verstappen and Sergio "Checo" Perez are two of the fastest drivers in F1 today, driving for the Oracle Red Bull Racing, with Verstappen having been awarded the last two World Championships and well on his way to winning in 2023 as well.
No limits
The pair were at Jewel for a promotional event, and their team released the highlights of what turned out to be a surprisingly compelling race, that also poked fun at the two drivers season so far.
The event started with a "sprint race", where the two drivers were challenged to sprint to two floor-cleaning machines while carrying buckets of water, starting the machines and then riding them back.
The pair quickly made their way to the machines, filling the vehicles with the buckets of water, before getting on and making their way around a very short circuit.
Verstappen, unsurprisingly for someone who is amongsts F1's youngest race winners, immediately figured out how to start his vehicle... by going into reverse.
Gif via Oracle Red Bull Racing/YouTube
This set back didn't stop him from nearly finishing half the circuit before Checo had even started.
But Checo chose to take a "shortcut" in order to finish first, delightedly yelling "no track limits" while he cut the circuit in half, a reference to his disqualification during qualification at July's Austrian Grand Prix for exceeding track limits.
Gif via Oracle Red Bull Racing/YouTube
A dirty race
The actual race was a longer track through Jewel's Shiseido Forest, which required drivers to pick up as much dirt as possible while staying ahead.
The track actually had multiple route options, a cleaner, faster route, and an ironically named "dirty side".
At most times, the F1 drivers opted to drive through the clean side of the track in order to take advantage of better tire grip, so this race was an inversion.
True to form, both drivers spent the briefing trying to figure out how to get the most of their vehicles, with both Verstappen and Checo playing with their vehicles controls instead of listening.
Verstappen at this point was clearly only half joking what was meant to be a light hearted event, clearly wanting to win no matter what.
Robot result and another broken trophy
Verstappen blazed ahead, as he has often done during the year, leaving his teammate trailing him, eventually winning the race handily, even though Checo at one point went against the flow of the circuit to obstruct him.
Gif via Oracle Red Bull Racing/YouTube
Verstappen was presented a trophy by Joy, one of the mop robots that would likely be responsible for cleaning up the mess that was left behind.
And conveniently, the trophy presented to Verstappen was already pre-broken for him, in light of the fact that Verstappen has lost two trophies to damage already this season.
Screenshot via Oracle Red Bull Racing/YouTube
The first happened at the Hungarian Grand Prix when fellow competitor, McLaren Racing's Lando Norris, knocked over his trophy during celebrations; and then again a week later at the Belgian Grand Prix, also during an overenthusiastic bout of celebrations.
Luckily for everyone involved, there were no lizards to be seen.
The Singapore Race is taking place in the evening of Sep 17, and is a star studded affair, with not only the drivers, but all manner of musical acts performing on all three days of the race.
Mothership was able to catch up with both drivers this week, and you can catch their interviews below.
With Verstappen
@mothershipsg 🏁Vroom vroom weekend is here 🏁 #fyp #sgnews #maxverstappen #grandprix #f1 ♬ original sound - Mothership
And with Checo
@mothershipsg What is the must-bring item when you travel? Check out Sergio’s answer 😆 #sgnews #fyp #f1 #sergioperez ♬ original sound - Mothership
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Top image via Oracle Red Bull Racing/YouTube