Lasting around two hours, the time was spent playing video compilations before showing the new liveries, meaning there was not enough time to interview any teams properly on their opinions of the cars. Instead, fans were met with fabricated PR answers saying the liveries looked good. Jack Whitehall presented the show, and whilst some of his jokes made fun of the drivers and team principles without making them feel uncomfortable, the over-sexualisation of Charles Leclerc clearly left him feeling on edge. The irony of this wasn’t missed by fans either – the fact that women get berated for watching F1 for the “great-looking young drivers” (as Horner once said) but a man can talk about finding Leclerc attractive and be invited to host the event, did not go down well publicly.
Aside from the cars, the music acts were underwhelming. The bands and artists they managed to get for the show were a strange mix and didn’t match their intended demographic. The lack of current relevant artists shows what little thought was put into making the ticket price worthwhile for the fans who paid to attend.
Little thought was put into making the ticket price worthwhile
However, F175 can be seen as a step in the right direction for making F1 a bigger name. Although F1 has never been an unknown sport, the push to circulate it in the media has been going on for years, with Drive to Survive and the new F1 movie which will release later this year. These productions are helping to make F1 bigger, which means more money to hopefully improve the sport for drivers and fans alike.
As well as this, the portrayal of F1 as the “greatest show on earth” has helped immensely with boosting equality within the sport. After W series had to be cancelled before the end of its season due to lack of funding, the introduction of the FIA endorsed F1 Academy has seen many more promising female talents become known by the media, backed by specific teams and supported in their careers. Although F1 Academy still has a lot of room for improvement, it wouldn’t have been possible without the funding from the FIA which was made possible by the media presence F1 has built.
The point of the show was to be just that – a show
No matter your opinion on F175, it must be remembered that this was a one-off event to mark 75 years of Formula 1 championships, meaning the point of the show was to be just that – a show. Car launches have always been a spectacle within the individual teams, and while combining them all into one night may have not been to everyone’s tastes, it certainly did its job to reflect on the past, and celebrate what’s yet to come.