Down the Wing

Last week, we got to see the reveal of the “new” looks for the Formula 1 teams as tributes — er, drivers — lined up alongside their principals and cars to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Formula 1.

Whether it was seeing drivers visibly annoyed they had to partake in this event, cringy team openings or lackluster launches, the event had it’s awkward moments. But beyond that, fans were also able to celebrate some history, nostalgia and beautiful moments.

Whilst the drivers are the draw to the sport, the marketing and creative teams seemingly worked overtime to creative a shining spectacle to match the excitement of the evening. Did they all succeed? Mixed opinions from fans, but in my opinion… no.

Remember, my views are completely subjective, and if you fully hated or fully enjoyed what I did or didn’t, that’s okay!

With that said, let’s get into it because it’s going to be a long one.

Host with the Most

Jack Whitehall is not someone I’d ordinarily connect with F1, but I will say his lighthearted, sometimes silly, approach to the event added a more relatable feeling to an otherwise extremely flashy event.

Whether it was his swooning over Charles Leclerc’s good looks, stoking the fires of drama between Max Verstappen and George Russell or throwing shade a the FIA for its most recent unpopular rule change around swearing in F1, Whitehall created a fun and unique presence throughout the night.

He also kept the evening moving, even through the abrupt ending of Red Bull’s presentation bringing us right to the excitement of one of the most anticipated moments of the night: seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari Red.

Overall, I appreciated the non-technical host for the evening. Though over the top at times, it brought a different and unexpected vibe to the event.

Now to the teams…

Be Prepared… to Remember Kick Sauber

A millennial-flashback moment to Scar’s “Be Prepared” song in Disney’s The Lion King suddenly burst onto my screen. At any moment, we would realize we’re the hyenas being tricked into following a team that would not give us the success we’re so desperately seeking.

So prepare for a chance of a lifetime
Be prepared for sensational news
A shining new era
Is tiptoeing nearer
And where do we feature?

That being said, it was a truly enjoyable and energetic opening! Sauber did a great job of driving the energy and nearly making everyone forget that they only scored four points last season.

Is their ominous opening a way to warn other teams to take them more seriously this year? Possibly. With a new driver lineup and a fresh livery, will they see more success? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.

Sauber is putting all their faith in Nico Hulkenberg, a veteran driver whose wit is only topped by his determination to finally stand on an F1 podium, and possible future F1 superstar and 2024 F2 Driver Champion, Gabriel Bortoleto. Neither driver looked fully comfortable walking out on the stage, but they’re not paid to model on a runway.

If nothing else, Sauber brought a beautiful new livery with them and determination to be prepared this season by focusing on the future.

The Boys are Back in Town with Atlassian Williams Racing

Look, I’m going to level with you. I am fully in love with Williams this year. The cool and confident, yet exceedingly nerdy James Vowles, the sweet, silly, and adorable Alex Albon and the smart, strategic, and majestically handsome Carlos Sainz… I’m sorry… there was no fighting it. They are my heart’s team.

I say all this to forewarn you that this is when my bias will be in full view, but I’m going to do my best to work through it for some honest insights.

This year, Williams is looking to start their journey back to the top of the table. They’ve wooed an exciting partnership with Atlassian, which I’m also a huge fan of… so again, bias. Excitedly, this means more money and more focus on creating a team to beat.

Williams chose a different path than Sauber for their entrance, leaning heavily on nostalgia and inspiration. Honestly, the video worked for me. I found myself leaning toward the screen and feeling mildly emotional over the history of Williams in F1. But now to the present day.

Vowles knows what he has in these two drivers, and their much awaited reveal was perfectly timed and executed. Albon and Sainz walked out on the runway as if that were the sole purpose of their role within Williams.

Overall, the car looks great. Love the use of gradient, and the Atlassian logo looks at home on the livery. The performance wasn’t over the top nor something to shout from the rooftops, but the team is clearly redefining itself and where it wants to be.

If Williams doesn’t win trophies this season, it’s charismatic crew will definitely win some hearts. But it’s clear that they’re all determined to be the best they can be and set their sights on 2026 as their breakout year.

Obviously Not the Favorite Child: Visa CashApp Racing Bulls

VCARB joined the show with a great video featuring satirist Munya Chawawa, who absolutely nailed it. It made me laugh and enjoy a moment when VCARB was mentioned, which hasn’t happened since before I saw Daniel Ricciardo in tears at Singapore in 2024.

It proved that Red Bull is still a great producer of videos and willing to have fun. Spoiler alert, I enjoyed it more than the actual Red Bull video later in the show.

VCARB is lining up to have an explosive season, if not on the track, definitely within its cars. The ever fast and fiery Yuki Tsunoda and F1-newcomer Isack Hadjar are both determined drivers who wear their hearts on their sleeves and aren’t slow to show their passion when things don’t go their way.

In my opinion, I think the drivers deserved a little more fanfare once their video ended, but it felt focused on the livery and less on showing the world what they’re going to achieve this year.

The livery is beautiful. I loved the bull details at the back, and overall, the livery definitely makes a statement this year. Question is… will its drivers?

Always pulling for Tsunoda, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Hadjar brings to the scene this year.

A Drive that Defines the American Way… Haas

Haas, an American team with no American drivers but promises to define the “American way”, leans heavily into its American roots with its reveal video. While initially giving post-apocalyptic, Haas quickly shifts into a heavily narrated view of their history within Formula 1, giving us quick shots of their highlights since 2016.

All in all, given their lack of wins in their history and no American presence in their drivers, the video felt a little off. The focus on Romain Grosjean jumping out of his fiery accident, while emotional and terrifying, felt like it was being used as an example of a setback or challenge, which also felt a little weird. I just didn’t connect with the video.

Haas seems to be hoping this year will be a new start. With the new driver lineup sporting the exciting Ollie Bearman, whose enthusiasm and talent has shone through last season, and the experienced Esteban Ocon, who looks to redefine himself and show off his talents, Haas is shaking up their team in hopes of bringing more success in 2025.

The livery was… fine. It wasn’t a big difference from years past and nothing really to write home about.

The drivers, however, looked great. Ocon looks so much happier in a Haas racing suit, and Bearman looked happy just to be included. I’m excited to see how they both do this year, and I hope Haas supports the growth of Bearman’s skills and career.

Are We Dreaming… about Alpine?

Whilst the show lacked an obvious amount of the color pink, the “Are We Dreaming” performance by Brian Tyler (composer of the F1 anthem) was electrifying and drove the energy for the reveal.

However, it felt like there was more focus on the music than the reason for the music. I sort of forgot this wasn’t just a musical guest and was actually there specifically for one team.

But as the blanket was lifted off the car, we’re quickly reminded that we were called here for a specific purpose: the introduction of the Brotherhood of the Travelling Car.

I think the look of the livery is great. I love the lean into more blue to go with the pink this year. It’s less abrupt than last year’s black and pink. Alpine’s clear focus is showing off its new livery, as it slides on stage alone for quite sometime.

After the drivers nonchalantly join their car on stage, Pierre Gasly misunderstands the joke about matching haircuts, and Jack Doohan makes his first appearance in the Alpine suit and tries to loop back around to connect the joke to a comment.

Because of their full focus on the musical talents at the beginning, we don’t get much more from Alpine except their Team Principal Oliver Oakes stating, with a chuckle, that the team needs to “rise higher” this year. No notes, Oli; no notes.

Halfway Point – A Spotlight on the Future

I really enjoyed the break from the show to see a nice spotlight on upcoming talent in Formula 3, Formula 2, and F1 Academy.

Always supportive of young talent, and it was special to see F1 Academy, especially Abbi Pulling and her incredible season, being highlighted at such a large and widespread event.

What a difference it would have made to see something like this when I was younger, and I’m excited for girls growing up now to be able to see more representation.

Now back to it…

Awkward Beginnings for Aston Martin

Aston Martin’s reveal is four parts. The first part was focused on a James Bond theme (complete with a Bond-style boat chase scene) to reveal its drivers, who arrived not in their racing suits, but in regular suits. This could have worked if both drivers carried a charismatic presence… as it was, it came off clunky and awkward. Quite a bit of cringe felt during this dragged-out performance.

The second part allowed time for the drivers to change into their suits and featured what felt like an AI-designed video focused on a villain’s origin story.

This video led to part three of their performance, which felt like they could have started with this and created a beautiful and classic introduction to their 2025 livery and team. The song by Tems is absolutely beautiful and the violins are a nice touch to bring more drama to the reveal of the livery.

The fourth part is the walkout from the team to talk through the livery, and the awkwardness of Lance Stroll is saved only by the charm of Fernando Alonso. What can I say… the man knows how to work a crowd.

The livery looks great for the season. Really enjoy the yellow highlights on that green. Aston Martin can make a pretty car, that’s for sure.

Every Dream has a Team in Mercedes

Whilst their “Every dream needs a team” slogan caused a bit of drama toward the end of last season, Mercedes has chosen to stick with it for the season, and their introduction video brought it full focus.

I was prepared to love the video. Mercedes has been great at evoking emotion, looking at how they sent off Lewis last season, but I found the video a little less than what I had hoped for.

Maybe it was too fast-paced for my preference, but it was a nice message either way. I did love the celebratory end with George Russell. It really sets him up to be the leader of Mercedes.

The Tiffany Green smoky reveal of the car with “engineers” ushering it out looked amazing, and for a second, I thought we were going to get a really cool changing of the tires. But unfortunately, it was done slowly and one of the front tires got stuck, which made it look clunky. Disappointing. Again, something I thought I’d love, and it was… okay.

The livery looks beautiful though. I love the sleek look of the car, and while there is not a ton of change in looks from last year, there really didn’t need to be. The car was definitely the star of the show as we didn’t even get to see the driver and Toto Wolff reveal. They were already out and meandering their way onto stage before we cut back to them.

Knowing how big Wolff’s following is, and how much the internet regularly thirsts over him, I’m mildly surprised they didn’t start with him, sleeves rolled up leading the car out through the smoky reveal. But I suppose the car is far more important than internet thirst.

Russell came out walking like a driver who knew he was the number one driver this season for the first time in his career. He looked ready to lead and ready to fight. Kimi Antonelli looked as you’d expect him too, mildly nervous, but confident that he deserved to be there.

The two drivers are ushering in a new age for Mercedes, one that now includes the familiar three stripes of Adidas applied anywhere and everywhere the company can get away with.

Whilst one might think Antonelli has a lot to live up to, I’d argue that Russell is the one who has something to prove this year. He was successful last year, matching his teammate throughout, but when you replace the legend that is Lewis Hamilton, there’s a lot of expectation. That situation combined with his most recent outspoken feud with a certain Red Bull driver will definitely create a lot of watchful eyes all directed at him.

The Villain in Your History: Red Bull Racing

If there’s one thing for certain, Red Bull is going to get a reaction out of a crowd. Some people live, eat, sleep, and breathe Red Bull. Some believe them to be the perfect team. Whilst others… to put it nicely, they wish a lot of terrible things for the Team Principal Christian Horner and his star driver Max Verstappen. We see this best through the boos experienced whenever Horner speaks in a gathering like this.

Anyway, once Horner showed the crowd that their boos only fuel his ego and success, the video introduction to the team is about all you get for your money here. It’s a long-winded tale about their season being focused on the car-loving motorheads, petrolheads, gearheads or whatever else you call them.

Whilst some of the visuals were extremely well done, like when they turned the stage into a garage. I loved that it showed all of the individuals arriving to the show. But it just felt overdone and a little too much like they were patting themselves on the back for being amazingly popular and less about the community they were hoping to uplift. Again, could just be my take, but it felt self-serving.

When they all appeared and walked out on stage with the drivers, that was great for them, but the abrupt ending was awkward.

Look, we ALL knew Verstappen didn’t want to be there; he made that perfectly clear. We all knew he was forced to be. But if I were a Red Bull fan who paid all that money to go see my favorite driver and then missed him because I blinked… it would be more than disappointing.

Completely fair that he didn’t want to engage, and knowing how Verstappen feels about events like this, it’s completely understandable. But to not even let your new driver answer a question; it seemed so pointed.

People have already questioned whether Verstappen’s teammate truly matters, and this felt like a resounding “nope” from Red Bull. Liam Lawson has quite the year ahead of him, and hopefully, he manages to outstay the young driver curse that has plagued Red Bull recently.

Driving the Energy and Innovation with Ferrari

Ferrari put up a strong showing to walk us through the history of its racing cars. It was an energetic video, well.. more than that… an experience that relied on the beauty of its cars throughout the years. Ferrari uses all surfaces to drive a narrative of innovation that started with the dream of one man: Enzo Ferrari.

Whilst it was a change from the narrative-heavy videos before them, I was mildly surprised Ferrari didn’t lean into the emotional side of their history. I suppose, as they set their eyes on the World Championships, they don’t have time for such romantic notions. Don’t get me wrong, it was still beautiful.

The livery was Ferrari-esque, but unfortunately slathered with a large white stripe owned by HP disrupting its classic and sleek look. So, it looks fine, but I preferred last year’s look. HP definitely takes away some of the magic for me.

However, the truly emotional moment of the night was seeing Lewis Hamilton walk out onto the stage in Ferrari Red. You could feel it in the atmosphere. Everyone’s faces were turned toward the opening awaiting his reveal, and sure enough, the world erupted when Hamilton came into view.

Charles Leclerc brings a lot of star power to the team as their Prince of Monaco, but it will be extremely interesting to see how he works alongside the current most influential and famous F1 driver. He’s used to being number one, and I’m interested to see how Fred Vasseur and Ferrari manage to balance expectations and egos of their drivers this year.

A Walk through History with McLaren

The recently crowned Constructor World Champions McLaren focused on spotlighting their history through video. We go on a trek through time with each car iteration, seeing the McLaren celebrations and the familiar faces and helmets of F1 icons. At the end, we see all the McLaren iterations racing one another, ending with Lando Norris celebrating with “Wooo! Papaya on top!”

We’re then back at the stage as the cage lifts to reveal several of the McLaren cars and a memory they are tied to. At the end of the runway, you see the Constructors Trophy as Andrea Strella, Team Principal, and Zac Brown, CEO, walk down the runway greeting the crowd. Zac inadvertently stands directly with the trophy in the camera’s line of sight, so there’s some awkward arranging to make sure they could get him on camera.

After some chatting, they pull off the cover and reveal their 2025 livery, which doesn’t look all that different from last year. They are, notably, the only team who didn’t have a driver’s number on the front of the car.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri join them on the stage. Because they are at the very end, there’s a ridiculous amount of waiting to be done for the drivers to reach them, as Martin Brundle does his best to fill the blank space.

Lando seems much more polished and practiced with his answers, looking to avoid any pre-season faux pas? Oscar was his normal calm self, ever diplomatic and ready to just get to it.

Their portion closes out with famous Zac Brown thumbs ups and general American optimism.

Overall, it didn’t blow me away, but it was nice to see the cars and memories throughout the years. The laser McLaren logo at the end was a nice touch, but we’ll see what happens when they get on track this season.

Conclusion

Overall, it seemed to be an enjoyable event. I’m glad I watched it from home. I just don’t see how, for me, I would have found it worth the price and travel to see in person. We did get to see some great new liveries and celebrate the new driver lineups; if you want to see them up close, here’s the F1 page with all of them or watch the whole broadcast here.

Will F1 continue to do events like this in the future? Considering how much money they likely got from it, probably, but we’ll see. Many of the drivers were clear they didn’t enjoy the showiness and being a part of the spectacle. I’d rather it be done in a more driver-friendly way.

I’m just ready to see these drivers where they do their best work: in the car and on the track. The countdown to the Australian Grand Prix is creeping ever so slowly down.

What were your feelings on the event? What did you love? What did you hate? Do you think F1 should do more of these types of events in the future?