Formula 1 is coming back in style on its 75th anniversary with the F1 75 Live event. Taking place in The O2 in London, it was entertaining all night hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, music guests MGK, Tems, Kane Brown, and Take That, celebrity pop ups, and seeing the drivers in their new colors for the season. The main reason for the gathering of all the top dogs was to reveal the livery designs for the year (though many were extremely similar to last season.
The event kicked off with a performance by Machine Gun Kelly. He sang one of his songs, but proceeded to replace many of the words with Formula 1 buzzwords. His performance was then followed by the start of the livery reveals. A video was shown showing previous successes and introducing the lineup of the team, the car was then brought out followed by the team principal and two drivers. Most of the drivers were given a short time to thank the crowd and their team, as well as share their excitement for the upcoming season.
Only a few teams strayed from the format. Alpine was the first with a long DJ segment by Brian Tyler, the Emmy-nominated composer who created the official F1 theme. Aston Martin had an interesting reveal with a James Bond themed segment. As the iconic music started it built suspense all the way to the reveal with both drivers, Stroll and Alonso, taking off their helmets amongst the crowd. Mercedes attempted a practice pitstop on their new car, but embarrassingly enough had problems. One of the wheels was stuck on, meaning the slow pit stop took longer than expected (hopefully this doesn’t happen during an actual race). The Red Bull reveal was different in the way that neither drivers were given microphones and had no speaking time. This was most likely a suggestion from Max Verstappen, who had his hate of events like this joked about earlier in the evening.
One of the most entertaining parts of the night was the different reactions from fans depending on who was showing up on screen. Everytime the FIA, the governing body of F1, was mentioned, a chorus of boos would erupt amongst the crowd. It was clear that the people were upset with how the FIA has been conducting and governing the sport over the past seasons. Others that were booed included Christian Horner and Max Verstappen, the team principal and number one driver of Red Bull Racing respectively. Fans have been upset with Horner after rumors spread after an investigation was conducted due to the allegations that he was having inappropriate relations with a woman on the team. Verstappen has always had problems with his public image, sometimes receiving jeers when receiving trophies after winning a race. One of the good reactions of the night came when Pirelli was mentioned. Pirelli is F1’s official tire of choice, and will be celebrating 200 races together at the Dutch grand prix later this year.
There were many mixed feelings about the event from fans and celebrities alike. It was good publicity for the sport and brought excitement for the upcoming season, but there was negative feedback from many. The event was seen as too sparkly and showy, like it was getting away from the sport and had started turning into a show. It’s hard to agree with a statement like that, because F1 has always been one of the most show-like sports. The glitz and glamour is one of the big draws, but this kind of event should be kept to special anniversaries.
