Skip to main content

F1 75 Live: the season launch at the O2 Arena in London

F1 75 Live brought fans close to the energy and individuals of Formula 1

F1 75 Live all teams and cars on the extended stage at the 02 Arena in London.
Courtesy of F1

If there was any doubt about the enthusiasm for the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship season, Machine Gun Kelly’s hard-driving rapper rock opener settled the question at F1 75 Live at the O2 Arena in London. F1 team members and a lively assortment of sports and entertainment celebrities turned out for an extravagant group unveiling of the new livery for 2025’s race cars.

Host British actor and comedian Jack Whitehall noted in his opening remarks that most of the new F1 cars looked quite like the 2024 entries, but that didn’t hamper the excitement.

Recommended Videos

Preceded by red carpet arrivals of the drivers, team principals, and other notables, the two-hour-plus launch of Formula 1’s 75th anniversary season was energetic and entertaining. London’s cavernous O2 Arena centered on an extended catwalk stage long enough to position ten cars on a simulated Grand Prix starting grid at the finale.

Why F1 75 Live?

F1 75 Live - Host Jack Whitehall chatting with F1 TV commentators Laura White, Baretto, and Ariana Bravo near Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc's table.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (left) at his table while F1 TV commentators Laura Winter, Lawrence Barretto, and Ariana Brava listen to Host Jack Whitehall Courtesy of F1

Beyond the musical entertainment and the introductions of the F1 team, F1 75 Live was a clever strategy to bring fans and casual viewers closer to the energy and individuals of Formula 1. The Netflix series F1: Drive to Survive continues to introduce viewers to the world of elite motorsports. Like any other carefully orchestrated reality show, Drive to Survive builds viewer engagement with the drivers and, therefore, with the sport.

The event began with a video retrospective of 75 years of F1 racing, followed by team-inspired presentations of their livery and drivers, including multimedia presentations created by each team for their season introduction. Several teams presented musical accompaniments or historical video montages of past F1 race cars and drivers, while others were more low-key.

An additional element in the celebration was using inspirational slogans as themes. For example, Kick Sauber’s slogan was, “Hustle harder.” Williams Racing introduced their car and drivers, saying, “That was then, this is now. Are you ready?”

F1 75 Live - Stake Kick Sauber 2025 drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto with Team Principal Mattia Binotto and Laura Winter.
Stake Kick Sauber 2025 drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto with Team Principal Mattia Binotto and F1 TV’s Laura Winter F1
F1 75 Live - Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon with Team Principal James Vowles and presenter Ariana Bravo.
F1

Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon with Team Principal James Vowles and presenter Ariana Bravo

The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls segment opened with a video asking pedestrians about the team’s name, poking fun at the number of name changes in recent years.

F1 75 Live - Visa Cash App Racing Bulls 2025 livery.
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls 2025 livery Courtesy of F1

The Haas Racing segment followed a performance of country-western singer Kane Brown singing Miles On It. A Haas video made a big deal about it being an American team.

F1 75 Live - Haas Racing 2025 livery.
Haas Racing 2025 livery. F1

BWT Alpine’s 2025 livery following a performance of Supernova by composer Brian Taylor in his Are We Dreaming DJ persona. The Alpine slogan was “Rise higher,” which Team Principal Ollie Oakes used when he said, “I guess it means we have to rise higher, doesn’t it?,” when asked about the challenge for the new season.

After the Alpine presentation, there was a shout-out to the F2, F3, and F1 Academy programs to train new drivers. F1 Academy is exclusively for women who want to progress in racing. Susie Wolff, the Managing Director of F1 Academy is a former racer.

F1 75 Live - Susie Wolff, the managing director of F1 Academy.
Susie Wolff, Managing Director of F1 Academy Courtesy of F1

Aston Martin played up its James Bond connection in a video, with drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll entering wearing suits and helmets. The singer TEMS, backed by a small orchestra featuring stringed instruments, performed while the 2025 Aston Martin race car livery was revealed.

F1 75 Live - Aston Martin 2025 livery with drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Aston Martin 2025 livery with drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso Courtesy of F1

Mercedes AMG presented their new car with the slogan “Every dream needs a team,” following a video montage of historic Mercedes race cars.

F1 75 Live - Mercedes 2025 livery with drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, and Team Principal Toto Wolff in the background.
Mercedes 2025 livery with drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, and Team Principal Toto Wolff in the background. Courtesy of F1

Jack Whitehall and superchef and huge F1 fan Gordon Ramsay had a short interaction in which Whitehall warned Ramsay to be careful with his language, which was a jibe at the F1 organizations for penalizing both four-time World F1 Champion Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for swearing.

F1 75 Live - Host Jack Whitehall joking with Gordon Ramsay.
Host Jack Whitehall joking with Gordon Ramsay Courtesy of F1

Red Bull Racing had one of the most entertaining videos of the evening. CEO and Team Principal Christian Horner explained that the team plays the Rolling Stones Start Me Up after every victory, making the point that they won more Grand Prix than any other team in the past three years. Horner then spoke of everyone involved with F1 being part of car culture, a lead-up to a video that showed an Oracle Red Bull truck driving through London with the 2025 race car, escorted by many styles of performance vehicles.

An Oracle Red Bull truck carrying 2025 Red Bull Racing F1 car with new livery to the O2 Arena.
An Oracle Red Bull truck carrying 2025 Red Bull Racing F1 car with new livery to the O2 Arena. Courtesy of F1

Ferrari’s words for the night were “Dream, Passion, and Innovation,” and a video showing the evolution of Ferrari race cars in the 75 years of F1 portrayed those themes. Ferrari is the only team that has raced every season. Former Mercedes driver and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton’s joining Ferrari in 2025 to share driving duties with Charles Leclerc was one of the most mentioned items of the evening.

F1 75 Live - Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with Team Principal and Ariana Bravo.
Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with Team Principal and Ariana Bravo. F1

McLaren won the 2024 F1 World Constructor’s Championship and was the last to present the 2025 car. McLaren’s theme for the evening was “Never stop racing,” like several other teams, McLaren opened with a video of past cars and victories.

F1 75 Live - McLaren's drivers Oscar Piasrti and Lando Norris and former F1 driver, presenter Martin Brundle.
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris with former F1 driver and presenter Martin Brundle. Courtesy of F1

The 123-minute F1 75 Live event closed with a tribute to F1 fans. The final musical performance was by the British pop group Take That.

Bruce Brown
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A Digital Trends Contributing Editor and Contributor for TheManual.com, Bruce Brown writes e-mobility reviews and covers…
Feel the speed: F1 X brings legendary F1 race cars to Las Vegas Grand Prix Plaza
In F1 X, fans use interactive tools to design and construct an F1 race car.
Aston Martin AMR23 at F1 X in Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas.

When the Las Vegas Grand Prix Plaza officially opens its doors on May 2, the massive F1 X interactive exhibit will feature three of the most famed race cars in F1's 75-year history. None of the cars has been displayed previously in North America.

Spanning 20,000 square feet, F1 X provides guests with numerous opportunities to immerse themselves in F1. Among the activations available at F1 X, fans will learn about the workings of F1 today, including experiencing F1 simulator seats and spending time on an interactive pit wall, listening to virtual race engineers converse and strategize on team radios.
An iconic race car sampler on view at F1 X

Read more
F1 in the Americas 2025: six Grand Prix Championship races from May to November
The Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix is the first of six F1 races in the Americas in 2025
Aerial shot of the 2023 F1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.

F1 moves to Florida for the Miami Grand Prix, May 2-4. The Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2025 is the first of six races in the Americas in the 2025 F1 schedule.
Why F1 races in the Americas matter

Formula 1 has a global scope, but the most significant growth in the motorsport's popularity has recently been in the Americas, particularly in the United States.

Read more
F1 engineer reveals how he found a job and fulfillment with the Red Bull pit crew
Nicholas provides plenty of evidence that work in an F1 pit garage is a high-pressure job
Life in the Pitlane by Calum Nicholas bookcover shot against road with yellow centerlines.

Anyone who aspires to work for a Formula 1 racing team would do well to read Calum Nicholas's new book, Life in the Pitlane. Nicholas, a senior engineer who has been part of the F1 Red Bull Racing team since 2015. He is also a member of the pit crew that held the 1.82-second world record for the fastest Formula One pitstop from 2019 until 2023.
How Nicholas found a job with the Red Bull F1 pit crew

Nicholas details his journey as a young man growing up in England. He had an interest in cars, but lacked direction until he attended the Formula 1 2009 British Grand Prix at Silverstone with his mother. Prior to the race, they walked the pit lane, an experience Nicholas now describes as a "light-bulb moment."

Read more