Strutting out in front of 20,000 euphoric British fans, sporting the most striking of Ferrari red race suits, Lewis Hamilton placed a solitary finger to his ear and beamed.
Entering season number 19 in Formula 1, the 40-year-old knows he is now always the star of the show. And on Tuesday night at F1 75 Live, as F1 tried an event as razzle-dazzle as it was experimental in a nod to its 75th anniversary, the biggest transfer in the history of the sport made certain that their high-rolling London bet came up big.
And here’s the thing: Hamilton likes a catwalk. Every morning as he enters the Formula One paddock, wearing a high-end outfit from his extravagant wardrobe, onlookers stop and stare. And amid two hours, 10 teams and 20 drivers on stage at The O2 Arena in east London, there was no doubting who the crowd had come to see. Perhaps the only disappointment was the only utterings from the seven-time world champion came and went in under half a minute. Frustratingly, there was a tight schedule to keep to.
“The word I’m thinking of [for this season] is invigorated,” he said, radiating zeal on a night of constant acclaim. “I feel so full of life, I have so much energy because everything is new. I’m focused on what’s up ahead and so proud to be part of this team.”
But while there was no doubting Hamilton’s popularity ratings in F1’s latest sprinkle of sport and showbiz, Christian Horner could not help but chuckle as the Red Bull boss entered the stage to a chorus of jeers.
F1 fans will remember that, 12 months ago, Max Verstappen’s boss was under investigation by a female employee for “inappropriate behaviour.” The complaint was dismissed, twice, but with wife Geri Halliwell present on the red carpet, it was a moment for Horner to shrink in the spotlight. Admirably, the often embattled team principal soldiered on.
Most intriguingly, Verstappen (who had months ago joked he would be “ill” for tonight’s event and clearly does not revel in the limelight like his arch-rival Hamilton) and new teammate Liam Lawson were the only drivers who did not say a word to the crowd all night.
Yet that was perhaps one of few snags amid two hours of eye-catching neon lasers and deafening audio. All 10 teams, revealed from last to first as per last year’s standings, bought in fully with the pomp and the spectacle as they unveiled the mostly unchanged car liveries for the 2025 campaign. And Jack Whitehall, the night’s host who doesn’t even have a driver’s licence, did an exquisite job in balancing the often pernickety F1 status-quo with good old-fashioned mickey-taking.
George Russell and Max Verstappen’s heated squabble? Straight to it. A quip about F1 drivers avoiding tax? Tick. Russell labelled the second sexiest man from King’s Lynn after Martin Brundle? Big W. A love-in for the quirky figure of Williams boss James Vowles? Most popular. From inside the arena, the captivation of fans old and young, male and female, was clear from the get-go.
And they were a knowledgeable rabble too. Perhaps the biggest jeer of the evening was saved for the FIA, F1’s governing body, when their logo appeared on-screen. The FIA’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem would do well to take note, amid an oddly strict clampdown on drivers swearing.
Celebrity chef and long-time F1 fan Gordon Ramsey certainly made his feelings known, in conversation with Whitehall: “Let them be real! Come on, they’re travelling over 200mph, so if the s*** hits the fan... let it go!”
The show opened with American singer Machine Gun Kelly – an odd choice, perhaps, given his run-in on the F1 grid in Brazil two years ago with Brundle – and concluded with Take That, an obligatory musical burst amid the cars and personnel. Yet they weren’t the main event: that was left for man and machinery, in a brilliantly executed closing sequence on stage.
“I can hear the purists groaning already,” Whitehall bellowed at the start, energy omnipresent. Energy which, to be fair, rarely slumped.
Granted, perhaps it wasn’t a night for the petrolheads. At times, the repetitive nature of proceedings – ultimately, it was simply the colour of the cars and we did not hear an engine rev all night – was stale.
Yet for the wider, more diverse audience F1 has attracted – and continues to attract – in recent years it was a night of splendour, less than one month out from the 2025 season curtain-raiser in Australia. For Liberty Media, F1’s American owners who have changed the game with their Drive to Survive-inspired marketing strategy, it was a job well done ahead of one of the sport’s most highly-anticipated seasons.
And as Hamilton took his leave on his private jet to Maranello, ahead of his first outing in Ferrari’s SF-25 2025 car on Wednesday, his ears will be screeching still at the sheer volume in the arena. Amid popular Brits like Norris and Russell, Hamilton is still the sport’s household name.
If he needed any extra motivation for a record-breaking eighth title in 2025, he’s now got it.
