Max Verstappen says his speech about jointly launching F1 in 2025, dubbed “F1 75”, was just a joke that everyone took seriously.
Formula 1 has announced an unprecedented launch event for the 2025 season, which will mark the sport's 75th anniversary, where all 10 teams will unveil their liveries under one roof on February 18. Tickets for the event sold out in less than an hour.
Verstappen joked about a stream he wishes he was on “sick” and therefore absent that day.
“No, I was joking on the stream and people always take it too seriously,” he said in Las Vegas.
“I think it's great for Formula 1 that all the cars are there with the liveries and everything is announced. We're here for that too so for me, no, it doesn't change anything. I made a joke saying I was hoping to be sick and everyone thinks it's going to be the case, if I really am, let's see how it turns out. This has never been done before.
Other drivers were also questioned today in Vegas about this event.
Lando Norris bounced back on Max's joke.
“I mean, if I’m told to be there, I guess I’ll be there!”
“Otherwise I would look to see where Max goes on vacation and join him. We might end up having the same illness or something. But it's a cool event. I'm happy for F1. The tickets sold out extremely quickly. It's cool for a lot of fans. It's an important event for Formula 1. I don't know how it's going to go, I don't know how it will go, and even if I prefer to be at home. relax and prepare for the season, we also have to do this.”
“I don't like that kind of thing. I'm not a public person. I like to relax and do my thing, but it's also our job. So in the end, we can't complain.”
"Lando said it pretty well," continues Liam Lawson. “To be honest, it's pretty cool for Formula 1 to bring everyone together. From the fans' point of view, it should be pretty good. It should be a cool event.”
Esteban Ocon doesn't beat around the bush: “To be honest, as a fan of this sport, honestly, it's painful to see a new livery every day, and sometimes you miss it because you're doing something else and you see it at different times.
“I think at least we have one day where we see all the cars, which, as a fan of this sport, makes me excited. Of course, it's one more event for us, which is not is not ideal at this time because there are going to be a lot of things to manage. We have to prepare ourselves completely before starting the season, etc. But I think it is much better organized than before, especially. when, you know, two teams were launching on the same day and it Wasn't well organized. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.”
Apart from Ferrari, no team has yet announced that it will hold another individual event to present its real F1 of 2025 because, in London, most of the cars presented will be 2024 models with 2025 liveries.
