Orchard Road is where Singaporeans go to jalan-jalan (Malay for a leisurely stroll) with shopping bags in hand. On 30 August 2026, 600 metres of it belonged to a Formula 1 (F1) car spinning doughnuts, and K-pop girl group BABYMONSTER waved it off.
The two-day takeover was adidas Orchard Ignition. adidas ran it with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team on 29 and 30 August 2026 to launch the pair’s Singapore-inspired Vanda Bloom Collection. The Singapore Tourism Board backed it as part of Grand Prix Season Singapore, and it was billed as Singapore’s first live race car demo in over a decade.
Then there’s the crowd. When adidas announced the event on 13 August, it expected more than 30,000 people. Its post-event release on 7 September put the two-day total at an estimated 200,000 fans from Singapore and around the region. That’s more than six times the forecast.
On paper, F1 diehards and K-pop stans live in different group chats. One lot argues about tyre strategy while the other streams comebacks on repeat. Orchard Road proved both crowds will happily share a pavement when you give them a reason.
40,000 Fans Queued for a Garage
Saturday was the warm-up act, and it drew a queue anyway. According to adidas, more than 40,000 people lined up on 29 August for a look at the Garage Display. The pop-up sat outside adidas Brand Centre Orchard and was styled after track-side hospitality suites and team garages.
Selected fans went further on a Guided Garage Tour. Mercedes technicians led it, the same crew preparing the car for Sunday’s run. Fred Vesti, the team’s reserve driver, dropped in on some of those sessions.
For the F1 faithful, this was the part worth being jealous of. A demo run is over in seconds. Time with the people who set the car up puts ordinary fans in a space usually kept for paddock pass holders, and that’s rarer than any lap.
You couldn’t just walk into a tour. Tour places, VIP Viewing Deck access, and entry to BABYMONSTER’s fan session all went to winners of adidas promotions. Those ran from 14 to 25 August 2026 at adidas stores, on the adidas Singapore website and app, through retail partners, and at Orchard Road malls.
V8 Doughnuts on Orchard Road
Sunday went bigger, with adidas counting more than 160,000 fans along Orchard Road on 30 August. The road from Paragon (290 Orchard Road) to TANGS at Tang Plaza (310 Orchard Road) was closed from 10am to 8.30pm and turned into a temporary street track. Watching from the roadside cost nothing.
BABYMONSTER headlined the flag-off. Vesti then tore down the road in the V8-powered Mercedes F1 W04, mixing high-speed straights with doughnuts on a street better known for mall hopping.
Vesti called the weekend “one of the best experiences I’ve ever had”. Having “such a significant and historic road in the centre of Singapore” closed for the run left him “blown away”. That’s big praise from a driver whose team won eight straight Constructors’ Championships (F1’s title for teams) between 2014 and 2021.
If his name is new to you, Vesti was born in Vejle, Denmark, in 2002. He won Danish karting championships in 2013 and 2014 before moving up to single-seater racing cars. As reserve driver, he’s on standby whenever a race driver can’t start, and Orchard Road gave him a proper cheering section.
BABYMONSTER Rode Shotgun
Next came the moment built for both fandoms at once. BABYMONSTER joined Vesti for Hot Laps in the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé, which made its Asia debut in a Singapore-exclusive Vanda Bloom livery. The car raced down Orchard Road and drifted into turns, and the rides were streamed live to the crowd and on social media.
This was the smartest call of the weekend. A flag-off gets you a photo. Idols in the passenger seat of a drifting AMG get you a clip that travels far beyond motorsport feeds. K-pop fans found F1 on their own timelines, and racing fans got a reason to learn the members’ names.
Vesti clearly enjoyed his turn as chauffeur. “To be able to make so much noise with the Mercedes F1 W04 for the fans and then to take BABYMONSTER on hot laps in the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé was really fun,” he said.
So how did a K-pop act end up at an F1 team’s street demo? The link is adidas. BABYMONSTER, from South Korean label YG Entertainment, are an adidas global partner, and that’s how the girl group and a Mercedes race car ended up on the same road.
Song Charades on a Rooftop
The evening moved to the adidas Orchard Ignition Fan Festival at the rooftop amphitheatre of Design Orchard, Singapore’s home for local design. Fans with exclusive access sat in on quick-fire questions with BABYMONSTER. Three of them then danced to the group’s best-known songs in a round of Song Charades.
After that, the festival opened to the public. Benjamin Kheng performed, and so did Iman Fandi, one of the Singaporean faces of the Vanda Bloom campaign. KIARA then took over with a high-energy set. Between acts, 987FM DJ Joakim Gomez and co-host and interpreter April Kim gave away Vanda Bloom pieces signed by BABYMONSTER, Vesti, and Mercedes race drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
The best prize came last. One fan took home the flag BABYMONSTER used at the flag-off, signed by the members, and that is the souvenir worth screaming for.
Why the Mash-Up Landed
Grand Prix season in Singapore has long spilled beyond the race, from the headliners on the 2024 entertainment line-up to a week of Formula 1 activities around the city. Orchard Ignition tried something different. It put a live F1 car and a K-pop group on a shopping street anyone could watch for free, about six weeks before race weekend.
Thibault Durand, senior vice president and general manager for adidas South East Asia, put the turnout at “over 200,000 fans”. He said adidas is “committed to creating more authentic moments that celebrate the excitement of race weekend and bring fans closer to the sport they love”. After a crowd that size, it’d be a surprise if Orchard Road doesn’t get a sequel.
Take the Orchid Home
The whole weekend doubled as the launch of the adidas x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Vanda Bloom Collection. Its pink and purple palette comes from the Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore’s national flower. The team’s signature teal shows up on the shoulders, collars, and cuffs.
The range was built for Singapore’s heat, humidity, and rain. adidas put its CLIMACOOL and CLIMAPROOF fabric tech into pieces like the driver’s jersey and rain jacket. Besides caps, shorts, tees, and fanwear, there’s footwear, led by the CLIMACOOL Laced Shoes made with adidas 3D printing, plus the EVO SL and Handball Spezial.
Our pick is the rain jacket, because an October evening in Singapore can turn wet fast. The collection has been on sale since 27 August 2026 through the adidas motorsport online store, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team online shop, and selected adidas stores worldwide.
There are two ways to get in on it now. Shoppers get an exclusive BABYMONSTER gift with selected adidas purchases until 17 September 2026. At Raffles City Singapore, an adidas x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team pop-up stocks the collection as part of CapitaLand’s Race To Indulgence 2026, which runs till 11 October 2026.
🗓️ Date: Saturday, 29 August and Sunday, 30 August 2026
⏰ Time: Orchard Road closed from 10am to 8.30pm on 30 August for the Live Race Car Demo
📍 Location: Orchard Road from Paragon (290 Orchard Road) to TANGS at Tang Plaza (310 Orchard Road), adidas Brand Centre Orchard, and Design Orchard
👥 Turnout: An estimated 200,000 fans over two days, according to adidas
🎟️ Entry: Free roadside viewing; garage tour, VIP Viewing Deck, and fan session places went to adidas promotion winners
👕 Vanda Bloom Collection: On sale since 27 August 2026, online and at selected adidas stores
🎁 BABYMONSTER Gift: With selected adidas purchases until 17 September 2026
🛍️ Pop-Up: Vanda Bloom at Raffles City Singapore during CapitaLand’s Race To Indulgence 2026, till 11 October 2026
🏁 Next Up: Singapore Grand Prix, 9 to 11 October 2026
The Orchard Road takeover is over, but the Singapore Grand Prix runs from 9 to 11 October 2026, and Vesti says he “can’t wait to come back” in his Vanda Bloom kit. Follow adidas Singapore on Instagram (@adidassg) and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team to hear first about the next Orchard Road moment. And set a reminder for 17 September if that BABYMONSTER gift is on your list.
Photos and Visuals courtesy of adidas.
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