Formula 1 has finally achieved its long-held goal of holding a single pre-season launch event attended by all the teams.
F1 75 Live was held at The O2 arena in London and broadcast on a free live stream worldwide. All 10 teams participated, each of which presented its livery for the upcoming season. Some, like Ferrari and Haas, also used the opportunity to distribute images of their 2025 chassis.
Previously, teams have held their own individual launch activities to uncover either their new cars or their latest liveries. Some are continuing to do so: Williams held a full launch for their car last week and Ferrari will officially present their 2025 F1 car tomorrow.
So was F1’s latest innovation a worthwhile addition to the pre-season build-up? Or is launch season more fun when the teams’ activities are spread across a longer period?
I say
F1 75 Live presenter Jack Whitehall kicked off proceedings by joking that most of the teams hadn’t changed their liveries. With a few notable exceptions, that was true, which was always going to be a risk with this kind of event.
However F1 pulled it off with undeniable flair and polish. There were a few genuinely entertaining moments, not least from Whitehall, who managed a few cheeky digs at the expense of the drivers. At its best, there were times when it felt like watching the celebrated Clive James TV special which greeted F1’s 1997 move to ITV in the UK.
It felt grimly corporate at times, however. The sponsor name-dropping reached truly crass levels, particularly when Racing Bulls appeared. Some of the attempts to shoehorn in references to F1’s partners felt woefully contrived. That would have had me reaching for the ‘off’ button had I been watching as a fan, and I didn’t feel the musical performances added anything either.
Still, I’m sure I enjoyed it more than FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Not only was his staunch anti-swearing stance mocked by Gordon Ramsay, but the federation was loudly booed after one appreciatively mentioned its role in ensuring safety.
My opinion of F1 75 was always going to be skewed by the fact having multiple launches spread over a longer period suits me better as a website owner. As a fan, would I have sat through two hours of this, or stuck a film on and looked for the livery pictures later? Truthfully, the latter – especially if I was already planning to set 24 weekends aside to watch all the races.
Now it remains to be seen whether F1 75 Live is the shape of things to come, and a concept which could be repeated in other countries, or, like F1’s 2017 Live London event, it is destined to be a one-off.
You say
Was Formula 1’s new pre-season livery launch event F1 75 a success? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments:
Do you think Formula 1’s pre-season livery launch event was a success?
- No opinion / did not watch (13%)
- Strongly disagree (50%)
- Slightly disagree (13%)
- Neither agree nor disagree (6%)
- Slightly agree (13%)
- Strongly agree (6%)
Total Voters: 16
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