Formula 1’s special F1 75 launch event on Tuesday at London’s O2 Arena was a stunning proof of concept on an extraordinarily large scale.
The event was met with scepticism, not least from purist fans and from within Motorsport Week itself.
A live show at London’s O2 arena, broadcast worldwide with musical guests, a comedian host and all 10 teams taking to the stage to present liveries for the 2025 season.
Anticipating the night ahead
Ahead of the big night, F1’s 20 drivers descended on the nearby InterContinental hotel to answer questions from the media.
The big talking point, what did they make of the event?
Some drivers were eager to see it come to fruition, Mercedes’ George Russell among them who said: “Formula 1 and what Liberty have done over these past few years has been incredible. And people were sceptical about Netflix in the beginning. Look what that’s done for the sport today. Some people probably don’t want to be here at another sponsor event. But I think this is going to be big for the sport.”
Someone in two minds was Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, acknowledging that F1 75 was important “to make the sport better and more accessible for everyone, for the fans, for our brands and sponsors,” but adding that it was perhaps, a “distraction”.
F1 75 delivered on atmosphere
Motorsport Week was in two minds until taking our place inside London’s O2 Arena mere minutes before proceedings kicked off.
The venue was packed, noisy and awash with giddy anticipation from fans representing several teams’ colours in the thousands of filled seats.
Lights, there were plenty of them, cameras too and action aplenty as the show kicked off with a sizzle real of iconic F1 clips and the emphatic narration of Alex Jacques introducing what was to come.
Jacques’ commentary made way for Machine Gun Kelly, an intriguing choice of performer given his bemusing exchange with Martin Brundle on the grid for the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix and reports he left before the race had concluded.
Still, MGK brought sufficient noise and energy to the scene even if his music wasn’t to everybody’s tastes before making way for the night’s host, comedian Jack Whitehall.
Anyone wondering whether Whitehall was up to the task needn’t have worried for he settled into the role like a well-oiled comic machine, a four-time Brit Awards host set to reclaim that title for a fifth time.
Immediately Whitehall settled into poking jabs at Max Verstappen and George Russell’s end-of-season squabble, Lewis Hamilton’s fashion sense and the perhaps ludicrous notion F1 had booked the O2 Arena to show off 10 liveries that were the same as they were last year.
His commentary drew laughs from the audience and set about assuring guests that this format had legs.
How the teams handled F1 75
The main attraction, of course, was the teams and drivers themselves and each presentation went off with varying degrees of success.
Sauber got us underway with drums and a dazzling green light show before unveiling a quiet evolution of its carbon and green design.
From there on the reveals had varying degrees of success.
Highpoints were the comedic skit Racing Bulls put on with Munya Chawawa dashing around London to see if people knew what VCARB meant.
Low points included a bewildering extended DJ set to introduce Alpine’s blue and pink design and Red Bull’s Christian Horner emerging to present Red Bull to a chorus of boos and then Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen not speaking to the fans whatsoever.
Aston Martin leant into its James Bond theme with a 007-inspired intro before Grammy award-winning singer Tems serenaded the arrival of the AMR25 on stage.
The biggest roar of the night came when Lewis Hamilton was presented as a Ferrari driver on a public stage for the first time, almost overshadowing McLaren’s neat presentation of title-winning cars throughout the decades.
There was also some fun pantomime booing when the FIA’s logo appeared on stage, and the fans in the O2 Arena were clearly energised throughout the two-hour show.
Bringing an end to proceedings was the legendary pop group Take That, or what’s left of it, performing a couple of hits as the crowd started to filter out, perhaps a sign an act with a younger demographic would have been better suited to bring the curtain down.
Despite some missteps in team presentations the whole night went off without a major hitch and leant favourably into entertainment.
Broadcast live across the world and on social media, F1 75 was an extraordinary first attempt at a show never before tried by the series and if this is the starting point, a welcome return of the format next year can only show signs of positive development.
READ MORE – Gallery: All the F1 liveries for the 2025 season
