F1 Steals the Show at Sold-Out O2 Arena
With 15,000 fans in attendance and a million watching online, the stars of Formula 1 dazzled in this year's unique launch event.
The Morning Warmup
Feb. 19, 2025
Hey race fans!
I thought it would be a quiet start to this week. It often is outside of NASCAR in the first few days after the Daytona 500. But between a glitzy Formula 1 launch and some stories from around the open wheel world, there was actually news to discuss.
So let’s jump right in.
Today’s Top Stories
1) F1 steals the spotlight with 75th anniversary launch event (F1)
The stars of Formula 1 flocked to a sold-out 02 Arena in London on Tuesday night for a new-look event, celebrating its 75th anniversary season with a special launch event for the full field.
Over the course of two hours, all 10 F1 teams got time in the spotlight to showcase their cars and drivers on the stage. Along the way came banter, a curse from Gordon Ramsay (no one tell the FIA) and music performances from Machine Gun Kelly and Kane Brown.
British drivers were expectedly cheered, with Lewis Hamilton easily receiving the most adoration. Ever the bad guys in England, Red Bull Racing’s reveal was met with boos. Some teams brought video packages that entertained or touched on their history. Aston Martin went with a James Bond-themed entrance while Alpine turned the venue into a temporary rave with a DJ.
Through it all, F1 entertained fans and showcased the cars and stars that will make up the 2025 season, with over 1 million fans tuning in on YouTube to partake in the festivities.
You can view the entire event on YouTube. But for those just interested in the cars, here’s a run through the liveries.
(Source(s): Becky Hart / F1.com, Adam Stern / Sports Business Journal)
Other notes from the launch:
Here’s what we learned from the unique launch event, beyond just the liveries. (Scott Mitchell-Malm / The Race)
RACER’s Chris Medland argued that the event mostly hit the mark after a successful night.
The Athletic’s Luke Smith and Madeline Coleman broke down the hits and misses from a unique night for the F1 paddock.
News and Notes
NASCAR
Let’s start with some final stories and takeaways from the Daytona 500:
FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass wrote a breakdown of the race, from William Byron’s pleasant surprise to Ryan Preece’s frustration after flipping.
The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck touched on the struggles of modern superspeedway races and a potential date threat from an expanding NFL calendar.
Once again, RACER’s Kelly Crandall found that Daytona put NASCAR’s biggest flaws on display.
Cole Custer defended his decisions after coming under fire for his role in the final two big crashes on Sunday evening. (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)
It was a dominant Daytona 500 effort for Team Penske, but the race ended in frustration after all three drivers crashed out. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
Motorsport’s Nick DeGroot took the time to break down the race-ending crash with input from drivers involved.
Sportsnaut’s Matt Weaver used a scathing column to write about the general stupidity of various aspects of the race.
Kyle Larson was out of the mix and ended up crashing once again in a superspeedway. Jeff Gordon feels the defeats are “getting in his head.” (Jenna Fryer / Associated Press)
The last lap was a “what if” moment for many and the perfect set of circumstances for winner William Byron. (Dustin Long / NBC Sports)
Jimmie Johnson was left “so satisfied” by a strong run for himself and all of Legacy Motor Club. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
NASCAR has posted its “Radioactive” video from Daytona. Per usual, it’s a fun watch.
Could we see a “Days of Thunder” sequel? Jeff Gordon admitted in Daytona that he’s had talks with Tom Cruise about it. (Zach Catanzareti / Kickin’ the Tires)
Here are the entry lists for this weekend’s races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, all from Frontstretch’s Landon Quesinberry:
The CW Network pulled a solid 1.8 million viewers for the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ season opener in Daytona - the most-viewed opener since 2020. (Catchfence)
Timmy Hill, who you might remember from his Texas win during 2020’s pandemic-fueled eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series schedule, is going ARCA Menards Series East racing this year with his Hill Motorsports team.
NASCAR Daily is back for the 2025 season. I won’t post this every day, but you can find it on NASCAR’s YouTube channel if it interests you.
IndyCar
Marcus Armstrong was quickest in Monday afternoon’s test session at Sebring International Raceway, leading Conor Daly, Will Power, Colton Herta and Callum Ilott. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
There have been a host of small announcements this week:
IndyCar officials will confiscate custom-molded driver’s seats and seat belts after crashes exceeding 65Gs of force to improve series safety. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
The tour is also making an adjustment to its tire allocation, with Firestone bringing one additional set of higher-grip alternates and removing a set of primary tires at road and street circuits. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
Proposals for less expensive aluminum wheels won’t bear fruit until at least 2027, with IndyCar putting the idea on pause for now. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
By request of its engine suppliers, IndyCar is implementing a new mandatory fuel flow meter within every chassis for the 2025 seasons. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
The cockpit will see a small tweak, now displaying when local yellows are acting on road and street courses through an EM Marshaling System. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
FOX’s Drivers’ Eye cameras will be placed inside the helmet at four of 17 races this year. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
There are other details as well. You can read through the list courtesy of The Race’s Jack Benyon.
F1
In an effort to make the Monaco Grand Prix better, the Formula 1 Commission is increasing the number of mandatory pit stops in the race. (Jake Boxall-Legge / Motorsport)
So… How have Lewis Hamilton’s first weeks at Ferrari actually gone? (Jon Noble / The Race)
Speaking of Hamilton and Ferrari, the company posted a behind the scenes video from the Briton’s early days with the Prancing Horse.
Red Bull was strong enough to carry Max Verstappen across the finish line for the 2024 F1 title, but the company has big questions to answer in 2025. (Edd Straw / RACER)
Mercedes’ George Russell isn’t planning to chat with Verstappen or alter his approach to racing the aggressive Dutch star moving into 2025. (Associated Press)
It would be fair to be concerned by the arrival of Franco Colapinto at Alpine, but incoming rookie Jack Doohan claims he doesn’t feel any additional pressure in the “cutthroat sport.” (Chris Medland / RACER)
Supercars
Walkinshaw Andretti United has confirmed Jayden Ojeda and Fabian Coulthard for Supercars’ endurance races this season. (Andrew van Leeuwen / Speedcafe)
In a surprising move, Jack Smith is making a return after taking a 2024 racing hiatus. He’ll co-drive his family’s entry for the Endurance Cup. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
Brad Jones has questions about the way Supercars has laid out its test schedule for 2025, saying it “gives me brain damage” logistically. (Will Dale / V8 Sleuth)
Sports Cars
In a bit of a surprise, ex-F1 driver Logan Sargeant has pulled out of his European Le Mans Series plans and could be done racing altogether. (R.J. O’Connell / RACER)
FIA World Endurance Championship teams have begun rolling out liveries ahead of next week’s Qatar 1812km opener. (Davey Euwema / Sportscar365)
Super GT is bringing a capacity, 43-car grid for its 2025 season. (Daily Sportscar)
Falken Tyre Europe GmbV has upped its investment into the Nurburgring Nordschleife, sponsoring section signs around the circuit. As a reward, one of the turns has been given the name “Falkenbogen” moving forward. (Daily Sportscar)
JMF Motorsports’ first GT World Challenge America campaign will come with Mikael Grenier and Michai Stephens behind the wheel. (Daily Sportscar)
Maxime Martin is joining Boutsen VDS for the GT World Challenge Europe campaign after switching allegiances from BMW to AMG. (Daily Sportscar)
Dirt
This is one for dirt and short tracks. FloRacing’s Brandon Paul took a moment to reflect on the now-complete Florida Speedweeks and rank the top 10 short track drivers from the stretch.
Moto
Five years removed from his 2020 title, Joan Mir admits he struggled to remain motivated at Honda after being “spoiled” by early success with Suzuki.
Ducati made big sacrifices to keep Marc Marquez in the fold and place him on its newest bikes. But now that he’s on a one-year-old bike after all, was the price worth paying? (Simon Patterson / The Race)
Not long ago, Jack Miller thought his MotoGP career was winding down. But he’s found a lifeline with Pramac-Yamaha, leaving the 30-year-old optimistic for the future.
Here’s what Supercross riders had to say after Saturday’s races in Detroit. (Dan Beaver / NBC Sports)
Drag Racing
Congratulations are in order for John Force, who has been inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame. (Drag Illustrated)
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On Track
After a quiet start to the week, we do have some racing for the next couple nights. I hope you like drag racing.
All Times ET
Wednesday, Feb. 19
Drag Racing
Lights Out 16 (South Georgia Motorsports Park): 4:00 p.m., FloRacing
-
Thursday, Feb. 20
Drag Racing
Lights Out 16 (South Georgia Motorsports Park): 4:00 p.m., FloRacing
Number of the Day: 4
Four of the first six Cup races at the new-look Atlanta Motor Speedway have been won by Chevrolet drivers, with Hendrick Motorsports claiming three wins and Daniel Suarez taking the remaining one. The other two race wins came from Joey Logano, who used last fall’s victory to kickstart a title-winning playoff run.
Resources
Series Websites
Schedules
Media Outlets
Associated Press (NASCAR, F1)
The Athletic (F1, NASCAR)
Catchfence (NASCAR)
DIRTRACKR (Dirt Racing)
Dirt on Dirt (Dirt Late Models)
Dirt Track Digest (Dirt Racing)
DirtVision (Dirt Racing)
Drag Illustrated (Drag Racing)
Dragzine (Drag Racing)
FloRacing (Dirt, Short Tracks)
FOX Sports (Primarily NASCAR, IndyCar likely in 2025)
Frontstretch (NASCAR, Open Wheel, Sports Cars, Short Tracks)
Kickin’ the Tires (NASCAR)
Motorsport (General, wide-ranging racing coverage).
NBC Sports Motorsports (Dirt, MotoGP, SuperMotocross)
Ohio Dirt (Dirt Racing)
Outside Groove (Dirt Racing)
RACER (Open Wheel, Sports Cars, NASCAR, Drag Racing,Off-Road/Rally)
The Race (Open Wheel, MotoGP)
Short Track Scene (Short Tracks)
Speedcafe (Australian Motorsports)
Sportsnaut (NASCAR)
Sprint Car Unlimited (Dirt Sprint Cars)
TobyChristie.com (NASCAR)
Traxion (Sim Racing)
V8 Sleuth (Supercars)