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LONDON (AP) — Formula 1 kick-started its 75th anniversary season with music, glitz and glamor Tuesday as the race series aims to reach beyond a sports audience with a two-hour televised arena show.
Lewis Hamilton arrived wearing a tie in Ferrari red for his biggest event yet since joining the Italian team, before the seven-time champion emerged to rousing cheers in a full race suit to present the team’s livery alongside teammate Charles Leclerc.
Asked to pick a word to describe his mood ahead of the new season, Hamilton picked “invigorated, because I feel so full of life and so much energy, because everything’s new.”
"Just focused on what’s up ahead. I’m so proud to be part of the team, something new and exciting for me."
The F1 75 Live event at London's O2 arena was the first time the sport hosted its own large-scale launch event, rather than leaving it to the individual teams.
Drivers arrived on the red carpet for a show unlike any other event in F1 history which ended with all 20 drivers on a stage transformed into a grid, standing alongside cars in each team's 2025 livery.
Lavish team presentations included a James Bond parody for Aston Martin, a line of drummers with glowing sticks, cars sliding down the stage on motorized platforms, a parade of title-winning McLarens, and a comedy skit that played on Racing Bulls' sponsor-heavy full name.
The live crowd of F1 fans brought some unpredictability, with some boos for a mention of the governing body, the FIA, which has been in dispute with drivers over how it enforces punishments for swearing, and for Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
There were also musical acts like country singer Kane Brown, who introduced Haas, British band Take That. American rapper and singer MGK, also known as Machine Gun Kelly, gave the show a high-energy, guitar-heavy intro.
Teams presented their 2025 liveries, but didn't have to show off the actual cars they'll race this season. Teams are still allowed to hold their own launch events to present their 2025 cars, as McLaren and Williams did last week and Ferrari is expected to do Wednesday.
It comes at a time when F1 is keen to expand beyond a sports audience, with races in cities like Miami and Las Vegas, a movie called “F1” starring Brad Pitt releasing in June, and the ongoing popularity of the “Drive To Survive” series on Netflix.
“To have this many fans out shows that we bring the sport together away from the racetrack. There’s a lot of excitement,” McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said Tuesday.
"The Brad Pitt movie will no doubt create a huge amount of awareness for the sport. Netflix, I’m sure, knowing what happened last year, will be a drama-filled television show again, which has been great for all of us. So I think the sport’s going from strength to strength."
Drivers broadly welcomed the new launch show, though two-time champion Fernando Alonso warned it could be “a little bit of distraction” at a time when drivers and teams are fine-tuning their approach to the season.
Asked if he thought the launch would become a regular event, Horner said: “I’m sure if they think they can make some money out of it, we’ll be doing this most years.”
F1's preparations for the new season — which marks the series' 75th anniversary — continue with preseason testing next week at the Bahrain International Circuit. The first race is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
