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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Kieran Jackson

F1 75 Live: When is 2025 season launch event at O2 Arena in London?

The 2025 Formula 1 season will swing into life when the sport hosts a special 10-team launch event on Tuesday 18 February.

F1 announced last November that all 10 teams will be present at The O2 Arena in London for F1 75 Live – a nod to the sport’s 75-year anniversary.

Tickets quickly sold out for the one-off event which will take place less than a month before the first race of the 2025 season in Australia on 16 March.

The event will run from 8pm to 10pm (GMT), with drivers and team principals of all 10 teams – Alpine, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Haas, Sauber, McLaren, Mercedes, Racing Bulls, Red Bull, and Williams – expected to attend and reveal their car liveries for the new season.

Here is all the information you need to know ahead of F1 75 Live:

Who will be at F1 75 Live?

All 20 drivers, including six rookies with full-time seats, are expected to be present in east London on Tuesday 18 February.

Lewis Hamilton, who snubbed London’s last F1 event in 2017, is set to attend the event, which starts at 8pm (GMT).

Each team will have just under 10 minutes each on stage, with the team’s car livery revealed to 15,000 fans inside the arena and interviews set to take place with drivers and team bosses.

F1 have also stated there will be “top entertainment and special guest presenters”, though musical artists are yet to be announced.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “For the first time we will bring together our fans, all 20 superstars of our sport and some very special guests to officially kick off our new season and mark our 75th year of racing.

“With 2025 set to be a classic season following all the drama so far in 2024, this is a fantastic opportunity for fans of all ages to experience up-close the incredible entertainment spectacle that is Formula 1.”

The event will be run by creative company BrianBurkeCreative, who put on the opening and closing ceremonies for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023.

Are tickets still available?

Tickets for the event sold out in under an hour, with demand high ahead of the 2025 campaign.

F1 chiefs also warned fans to be wary of buying ‘fraudulent’ tickets on unofficial resale websites.

Where can I watch it?

UK rights holder Sky Sports will broadcast the event, with programming on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports F1 set to start at 8pm (GMT).

ESPN holds the rights to F1 in the United States though they are yet to confirm if they will broadcast the event.

Lewis Hamilton is teammates with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari this year (Twitter/X: @ScuderiaFerrari)

When are teams holding their launch events?

Williams - Friday 14 February (Silverstone)

Haas - Sunday 16 February (Silverstone)

Ferrari - Wednesday 19 February (Maranello)

Aston Martin - Sunday 23 February (online)

Mercedes - Monday 24 February (online)

McLaren - TBA

Alpine - TBA

Racing Bulls - TBA

Sauber - TBA

Red Bull - not staging team event

When is pre-season testing?

The official pre-season test takes place from Wednesday 26 February to Friday 28 February.

In line with previous years, the track will be open for eight hours each day, starting at 7am (GMT) and ending at 4pm (GMT).

The first race of the 2025 season, the Australian Grand Prix, is on Sunday 16 March (4am GMT).

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