Formula One (F1) officially kicked off the 2025 season with a grand and groundbreaking launch event at the O2 Arena in London. Lewis Hamilton's first global appearance as a Ferrari driver made him the undisputed center of attention.
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02-22, 2025Last month, Hamilton's first test drive on Ferrari's test track attracted the attention of hundreds of Italian fans. At Tuesday's two-hour launch event, Hamilton was undoubtedly the brightest star, winning the loudest cheers from the crowd. However, many other drivers were also warmly welcomed by the 15,000 spectators present, with tickets reportedly selling out in 20 minutes last year.
"Good evening, everyone," Hamilton said amidst the cheers of the crowd, marking the first time people saw the seven-time world champion in Ferrari red racing overalls. "It's amazing to be here with you all tonight. The word that comes to mind is 'energy.' I feel alive because everything is new. I'm focused on the future and very excited to be a part of this team."
Host Jack Whitehall jokingly addressed how the Mercedes team must feel seeing their former champion racing for a competitor. Hamilton previously drove for Mercedes and became the most successful driver in F1 history. Now, he has joined Ferrari, the sport's most prestigious and historic team, a collaboration that has already generated huge buzz with less than a month to go before the new season begins.
Whitehall quipped, "It's absolutely everyone's nightmare, the partner you've been with for ten years suddenly eloping with an Italian stallion."
After the launch event, Hamilton, teammate Charles Leclerc, and Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur immediately flew back to Italy to prepare for the official launch of Ferrari's 2025 car in Maranello on Wednesday. Like other teams, the car displayed at the launch was merely a show car with this year's livery, not the actual car that will be used in races.
Hamilton's goal in switching to Ferrari is to win a record-breaking eighth world championship, but the enthusiasm of the audience was not solely for him. Leclerc, Hamilton's British compatriot Lando Norris, McLaren's Oscar Piastri, Aston Martin's veteran Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, currently with Williams, and Mercedes' George Russell all received warm welcomes.
Leclerc was the subject of the most teasing from host Whitehall, who seized every opportunity to joke about the Monegasque driver's handsome looks. Norris even used a rude word in a joke during a friendly interaction with Whitehall. It is believed that FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem should not pursue the matter, as his campaign against vulgar language is widely regarded as unwise and poorly handled within the F1 community. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who has a commercial partnership with the sport, shared the same sentiment. "If it's said, it's said," Ramsay said in an interview in the VIP area. "Let them be real."
Ben Sulayem would be wise not to spoil the good atmosphere of this successful event. However, amidst this well-orchestrated event filled with genuine celebration of the new season, there was also a "gasp" moment: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was booed by the audience when he took the stage to host the Red Bull team's presentation.
If anyone wondered whether the boos were directed at Horner personally or at the entire team, the answer was quickly revealed: four-time world champion Max Verstappen's cheers drowned out the few boos.
Formula One (F1) went all out for this event, which was unprecedented. Nominally, the event was to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World Championship, but it is conceivable that F1's owner, Liberty Media, will likely push for similar events to be held again.
All 10 teams and 20 drivers were required to attend, although some were more willing to participate than others—especially as Verstappen is known to dislike such events—but everyone performed admirably during the seven-hour media event held at the hotel next door before the event and during the event itself.
Rock musician Machine Gun Kelly kicked off the event, while Take That closed the show, with other performances in between.
Whitehall, an enthusiastic and humorous host, joked about the "feud" between George Russell and Verstappen—"Who could have a feud with George?" he said. "He's the nicest man in the world."
Everything was well-organized, with each team using their seven minutes of the evening to showcase themselves in their own unique way.
Many F1 figures had questioned the significance of the event, but from the looks of the evening, the answer was obvious.
The usual pre-season consists of individual team launches, some of which generate more attention than others, but none have captured global attention like this event—the number of viewers on F1's YouTube channel peaked at 1.1 million, with a total of 4.6 million live views.
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff said, "This is a new milestone, it was an amazing event."
The presentations were conducted in reverse order of last year's team standings, so the last team to present was McLaren.
Norris said, "It's great to be here tonight. We're all excited. We've put in a lot of hard work, and today it all starts."
The last competitor to speak that night was his ultimate boss, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. He nailed it perfectly.
Brown said, "We never stop. Let's go racing."
