Max Verstappen clarifies his ‘sick day’ joke as drivers highlight the excitement of F1’s unprecedented season launch event for fans.
Verstappen clarified that his comments about the joint F1 2025 launch event, dubbed “F1 75,” were just a joke that people took seriously.
Formula 1 has announced an unprecedented launch event for the 2025 season, marking 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 under an hour.
During a stream, Verstappen joked that he might want to be “sick” to avoid attending.
“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 will be there with the liveries and everything announced. We’re here for that too, so for me, no, it doesn’t change anything. I made a joke saying I’d hope to be sick, and now everyone thinks I actually will be. If I am, I’ll be in trouble! Let’s see how it goes. It’s never been done before.”
Other drivers were also asked about the event today in Vegas.
Lando Norris responded to Max’s joke:
“I mean, if I’m told to be there, I guess I’ll be there!”
“Otherwise, I’d look for where Max is going on holiday and join him. We might end up with the same illness or something. But it’s a cool event. I’m happy for F1. Tickets sold out incredibly quickly. It’s great for a lot of fans. It’s a big deal for Formula 1. I don’t know how it’s going to go. I don’t know the schedule, and while I’d rather be at home relaxing and getting ready for the season, we have to do this too.”
“I don’t like these kinds of things. I’m not a public person. I prefer to relax and do my own stuff, but it’s part of our job. In the end, we can’t complain.”
“Lando put it quite well,” added Liam Lawson. “To be honest, it’s pretty cool for Formula 1 to bring everyone together. From a fan’s perspective, it should be quite good. It should be a nice event.”
Esteban Ocon was more direct: “Honestly, as a fan of the sport, it’s frustrating to see a new livery every day, and sometimes you miss it because you’re busy or see it at different times.”
“I think at least having one day to see all the cars is exciting as a fan of the sport. Of course, it’s another event for us, which isn’t ideal at this time because there’s so much to manage. We need to prepare, we need to be fully trained before the season starts, and so on. But I think it’s much better organized than before, especially when two teams would launch on the same day, and it wasn’t well-coordinated. So yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
Aside from Ferrari, no team has yet announced plans for a separate individual event to present their actual 2025 F1 car, as in London most cars shown will be 2024 models with 2025 liveries.
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F1 75 Launch: Teams Unite for Fans in Landmark Event F1 75 Launch: Teams Unite for Fans in Landmark Event
