Even though I tried my hardest (like recruiting my family and also me sitting at an airport waiting in the virtual line), I didn’t manage to get a ticket for the F175. Yet, as a F1 history junkie, I had to be there, this being a once in a lifetime thing (or at least the first of its kind), so I was dead-set to attend. And I mean, DEADSET. So what I did was look up all the online giveaways and play. Of course, I gave myself as many chances as possible, so I hereby apologize to my friends that I tagged on Instagram but are not at all interested in F1. My efforts were obviously crowned with success, otherwise I wouldn’t write this: I got 2 tickets from TeamViewer.
On the day, I couldn’t contain my excitement, so even though the gates were supposed to open at 6.30 pm, I was there at 5 pm. It turned out to be a good call as Aston Martin made the North Greenwich metro station their own. There were people dressed up as Aston mechanics (and you could take pictures with them), a photo booth and a show car. They even handed out free merch, though I unfortunately missed that because I was in line for the photo booth.
It started well, so when my friend arrived, I was already inside the O2 exploring. We got in pretty quickly and went into the arena itself as soon as we could, just to take a million selfies and videos before the show!
I am sure if you are reading this, you have watched the stream or you are planning to watch it back, so I’m not gonna explain what exactly happened. Being there in person was a dream come true – the atmosphere, the people, the monumentality of the whole thing! I really-really wish all concerts could be like this: starting on time, moving forward according to the schedule and ending at the time it is planned. Maybe I’m a grandma, but this made me feel so nice.
When the show finally started, and I don’t mean MGK (I never listened to his music, but it wasn’t half bad to be honest, but I didn’t come for him), I had goosebumps! Massive ones for minutes! My friend, who is currently in my project of me slowly turning her into an F1 fan but not quite there yet, felt the same.
I think the whole show had a great rhythm and I loved how differently the teams approached the task and most of them represented their culture and values pretty great – though I’m still not sure what Alpine was going for, but I have the feeling I’m not alone with this. Their livery though…! I have a weakness for pink cars!
Aston Martin was a great surprise for me, I probably underestimated them so far, but they blew my mind, so I can officially say now that they made me an Aston-fan (we are not exclusive though) – some James Bond movie nights are in the planning now.
I don’t want to talk about Carlos in blue and Lewis in red, Instagram has made me slowly get used to these sights (and what a sight they were!!), which they did well, otherwise I might have gotten a heart attack on the spot. As a Williams admirer (we are also not exclusive, but I was wearing a Williams hat, so I think this says something about the situation), their acknowledgement of their past, yet them looking into the future combined with how unserious both drivers and James Vowles was just made me love them even more!
If unseriousness, let’s talk about RED BULL!! Both of their teams did such a good job – bringing the fun, the casual but also the insane obsession of racing, I just loved it. What I didn’t like was the booing both for Christian Horner and Max. I don’t get mad easily, but the FIA could have fined me for swearing I had such a strong opinion about this. I don’t care who your favorite team or driver is or what you think of Abu Dhabi 2021, booing Red Bull is such a disrespectful, ugly thing – it says more about the person doing it than the person booed at. When you will be able to drive like Max or lead a team like Horner, then you will have the right to criticize them, but even then, only in a respectful way.
I had very high expectations towards Mercedes and Ferrari, but they both lived up to it, showing their legacy and their values, just like Haas did! (And yes, this was all about Ferrari and Mercedes, I have zero comments, because well-done!) So, I think Haas leaning into them being an American team is something that suits them – and as a person in love with the American ideals that is something I enjoy. Honestly, I had no idea who their narrator was, so please, do let me know if you do, but I could have imagined better ways to execute the vision. E.g. leaning into Ocon’s Marvel fandom and do something Captain America themed? (If this ever happens, you heard it here first!)
Sauber made me goosebumpy again after the initial one, though I am not mind blown by their colors (I just don’t like neon green, sorry), but Bortoleto was so endearing enjoying the moment that to me the car was only secondary to him and the Hulk. Yeah, Binotto was there too, I don’t care for him too much.
And McLaren! All their championship winning cars made me smile like crazy, but Lando being asked about being a champion this year – someone please do ask Oscar to teach him what the correct answer to this is! Because the man was a rambling mass denying even last year’s achievements…
I think that was all the teams, so let’s talk about Jack Whitehall a bit. I never heard of him before (my bad!), but I think he did a decent job, though some of his comments were a bit too much for me – the ones about Charles Leclerc, who was so visibly uncomfortable, that I could literally feel it. And poor Mike Krack, wherever he was!
Here we are at the end, I don’t know what the English customs are, but I think it is pretty rude to leave before the end of the show, which is exactly what a lot of people did: they started to stand up and go out even before McLaren (like that is literally one of your home teams and also the current champs!). But I only feel bad for those from whom they obscured a view with their standing up. Because those people who have left not only missed Take That but also all the cars and drivers on stage at the same time. I told my friend that this is the most beautiful view I have ever seen and I have seen the Grand Canyon, so it means something!! Those people who left, missed this!
A funny little story to the end: I don’t know who the group of people were sitting in the sector next to us, but they all seemed to know each other and had Mercedes boxes on their seats (maybe Adidas?). We tried to scout what was inside the boxes, but we couldn’t see. My friend noticed that at the end of the show, some boxes were left behind, so the stereotypical Hungarian we are (or at least in this sense), we decided to investigate. Some were empty, some had trash, but some had unopened leftovers and I even managed to find a completely untouched one. My motto these days is that “Fortune favors the bold” because it applies to much to my life these days, just like in this case – we managed to get one full box and the contents of another one: it was a bunch of fancy snacks and water – which we desperately needed by the end of the show.
So this was my review. I might have left mentally, but emotionally I am still there – I will probably also watch the stream, because I’m sure that I missed bits by being so excited that I couldn’t properly concentrate…
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