The F1 75 Live launch event kicks off the 2025 Formula 1 season. The 2 hour show at the O2 Arena in London is a chance for each of the 10 teams to reveal their new cars, plus an opportunity for fans to see the drivers and team principals take to the stage.
The event, streamed live on the F1 Youtube, is being hosted by Jack Whitehall with additional hosting duties carried out by some familiar F1 faces like Lawrence Baretto and Laura Winter.
We were at the event and the crowds of F1 fans outside waiting to get in the O2 were all eager to have their photograph taken with a poster of one driver in particular:
In between each team’s car reveal are music acts including Machine Gun Kelly, American country music artist Kane Brown and British boy band Take That.
The fifth team to reveal their car were Alpine. They revealed their 2025 challenger and their drivers Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan, sporting identical haircuts, took to the stage along with team principal Oliver Oakes.
Once they left the stage there was a montage showing some of the Formula 1 feeder series action, include the F1 Academy which had a number of drivers present in the audience, along with its boss Susie Wolff.
Next, the camera moved to Laura Winter who began by expressing her gratitude, on behalf of Formula 1, to the marshals, volunteers and officials who keep the tracks safe and everyone to go racing. Rightly so.
Then the large screens in the venue flashed up the FIA logo, which resulted in a loud boo from the crowd. That was just Laura Winter began saying that “the FIA has been instrumental in their efforts over the last 75 years to improve safety on track”, which she had to stumble her way through.
Crowd boos as FIA is mentioned at the #F175 launch event 😬 pic.twitter.com/xnx8F70Ai3
— Desi Racing Co (@DesiRacingco) February 18, 2025
It was an unexpected reaction, but one that probably echoes the feelings of F1 fans around the world. Recently the head of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem has come under fire for trying to ban swearing in the sport, both in press conferences and in the heat of battle on driver radios.
This year he’s imposed stricter fines and penalty points for drivers caught swearing and that’s been met with nearly unified criticism from drivers, team members and fans. They all fear, quite rightly, that it will sanitize the sport and rid it of emotion, which it thrives off.
Ironically, later in the show, Jack Whitewall interviews Gordon Ramsay and asks what the chef thinks of the FIA’s ban on swearing. Ramsay, known for turning the airwaves blue said “look, these athletes are pushed to the extreme, so sometimes if it comes out, let them be real.” His answer was met by cheers an applause from the whole stadium.
In true Gordon Ramsay fashion he then went on to swear himself, saying “they’re driving at over 200mph, so if the s*** hits the fan…” before Whitewall quickly cut him off.
In addition to the FIA’s swearing ban, a number of high-profile FIA officials and stewards ‘left’ the organisation last year, but it was believed many of them were forced out by the FIA boss.
The first race of the 2025 F1 season is the Australian Grand Prix on the 13th to 16th March.
