The ten Formula One teams are revealing their liveries at London’s O2 Arena, with F1 75 Live kicking off on Wednesday morning.
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The event started in hilarious fashion with presenter Jack Whitehall instantly ribbing Max Verstappen over his grumbles about attending the event, as well as his feud with Mercedes rival George Russell.
Poking fun at a less-than-impressed Verstappen, Whitehall said sarcastically in his opening monologue: “He is so excited to be here right now. Some drivers just want to drive … not this guy.”
He added: “Cheer up, it could’ve been worse, we didn’t seat you next to George Russell.
“Have you two kissed and made up yet? I’m absolutely loving this beef by the way.
“How could anyone beef with George Russell? He’s the nicest guy ever.”
Prior to the event, Russell told reporters that he hadn’t spoken to Verstappen since their feud last season, and had “no intention” to clear the air.
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The two-hour event, dubbed F1 75 in honour of the world championship’s 75th anniversary, is the first time Lewis Hamilton steps out publicly representing Ferrari after he sensationally jumped ship from Mercedes last year.
Australian Jack Doohan will be unveiled for Alpine ahead of his first season with a full-time seat, while countryman Oscar Piastri will be there for McLaren after recently being hailed as a potential world champion this season.
“I’m expecting a lot,” McLaren driver Lance Norris said of F1 75.
“It’s going to be crazy. The O2 is a cool place to do it. We’ve never done something like this before.
“It’s great for Formula 1, it’s great to kickstart the season rather than just going into testing to have more of an event.”
Teammate Piastri continued: “It’s going to be interesting to see what it’s like.
“We haven’t done anything remotely similar to that before. I’m excited to see what it’s like.
“It’s always important in anything in life to try something different every now and again. That’s how you make progress, whether that’s trying new things on the car or different things for the sport.
“I think it’s a good thing to try new things. Not everything is going to work – but it’s going to be an exciting thing to do.”
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