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 18 in Formula 1, the 40-year-old knows he is now always the star of the show. And on Tuesday night, as F1 tried an event as razzle-dazzle as it was experimental, the biggest transfer in the history of the sport made certain that F1’s 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, sporting a high-end fashion 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. “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, 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 from a female employee for “inappropriate behaviour.” The complaint was dismissed, twice, but with wife Geri Haliwell 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 new teammate Liam Lawson were the only drivers who did not say a word to the crowd all night.
Yet those were 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. And Jack Whitehall, the night’s host, did an exquisite job in balancing the often pernickety F1 status-quo with old-fashioned mickey-taking.
George Russell and Max Verstappen’s squabble? Straight to it. George Russell as the second biggest star from King’s Lynn after Martin Brundle? Big W. A love-in for the extremely likeable figure of Williams boss James Vowles? Most popular. From inside the arena, the captivation of fans old and young, male and female, was clear-cut.
And these 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 heed, amid an oddly strict clampdown on drivers swearing, amongst other things.
The show opened with singer Machine Gun Kelly – an odd choice, perhaps, given his run-in on the grid in Brazil two years ago with Brundle – and concluded with Take That, a necessary musical burst amid the cars and personnel. Yet they weren’t the main event: that was left for the cars and the drivers, in a brilliantly executed closing sequence on stage.
“The purists are shouting already,” Whitehall bellowed at the start, energy everywhere. Energy which, to be fair, rarely dissipated. And perhaps it wasn’t a night for the petrolheads. Granted.
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 genius, it was a job well done.
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 at Ferrari HQ, his ears will be screeching still at the sheer volume in the arena. Amid popular Brits like Lando Norris, George Russell and Ollie Bearman, Hamilton is still the sport’s household name. If he needed any more motivation for a record-breaking eighth title in 2025, he’s now got it.
