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