Sanitised F1 75 launch event was saved by its edgy host Jack Whitehall
You can almost imagine the planning meetings at Formula 1 headquarters ahead of the sport’s first live season launch event, held at the O2 Arena in London last night. What would appeal most to broadest possible demographic of new, young fans? Smiling drivers and team principals. “Inspirational” brand videos from each team. And live music. Young people still like Take That, right?
Formula 1 used to have a raw feel to it. What made the great races and championships of the last 74 years wasn’t flashy on-screen graphics or feeling like you were on first-name terms with the drivers - it was how much motorsport from top to bottom felt like a big club of geeks tweaking designs and setups, speculating on strategy, and enjoying the thrill of the on-track action.
Since then - and especially since Liberty Media’s acquisition of F1 in 2017 - that feeling has become a lot more corporate and… well, boring. Drive to Survive has turned the paddock into a reality show, and drivers have become increasingly censored to protect sponsorships - see the FIA’s recent ban on swearing.
In short, old F1 was about both spectacle and substance, but in an attempt to capture a wider and younger audience, the balance has been pushed much more towards the former - even to the extent of producing artificial spectacle when on-track action is not enough. If it’s not TikTok-friendly, it’s out.
I was skeptical when F1 75 was announced. Heading into the sport’s 75th season, a two-hour live event would be held to unveil all ten teams’ liveries (not cars, liveries). It felt a lot more dinner suits and Instagram snaps than oil fumes and telemetry print-outs, and many long-time fans questioned what the point was.
The core of the evening was as bland as you’d expect. Each team’s allocated timeslot was filled with some kind of forced-inspirational video, after which their new paint job was unveiled and the drivers and team principal would be wheeled to the front of the stage for another rendition of the same interview about how happy they were to be there and how excited they are for the new season.
In between, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali spoke about how thankful he is to the fans (despite his apparent ignorance of their feedback on his attempts to dismantle what made the sport great) and we were treated to an eclectic collection of live music performances, culminating in the three remaining members of your mum’s favourite boy band performing their biggest hits from 15 years ago.
It would all have been very dull if it wasn’t for one unexpected factor announced just days beforehand: The gala was hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall.
While Whitehall can be a bit love/hate, he did an excellent job of salvaging some entertainment from F1 75. He opened the night with a roast of several drivers and their bosses, and probably provided the highlight of the evening when he quizzed famous expletive-utterer Gordon Ramsay about the swearing ban - the celebrity chef received cheers from the crowd as he said drivers should be free to say what they want, then got his microphone cut when he dared to swear himself.
The other main moments of interest also originated from events outside of F1’s control - most notably when fans booed a mention of the sport’s governing body, the FIA, due to its recent unpopular decisions. This sparked an unmistakable smirk from presenter Laura Winter as she did well to retain her flow.
Did these glimpses of spontaneity make F1 75 a worthwhile endeavour? No - they were too few and far between. Would I try to get to the O2 Arena if it happened again? No - now I know exactly how little I’d get with one of those £58 nosebleed seats. Should it ever happen again? Likely not. It’s probably best left as a one-off to celebrate F1’s 75th anniversary - although I wonder whether the management will be able to resist the temptation to run the event annually.
What I will say is that I enjoyed F1 75 more than I thought I would, and that was largely due to it being a little rough around the edges at times - something that those in charge seem set on driving out of the sport at all costs.
