Watch Again - 'F1 LIVE' in London

Paul Jeffrey · Jul 12, 2017

The product of a very visible shift in marketing strategies by new owners Liberty Media, Formula One took to the streets of London today on a specially designed circuit at Trafalgar Square.

Bringing Grand Prix cars to the streets of London for the first time since 2004, 'F1 Live' has proven to be a resounding success with the British public, and reaffirmed the public desire to see the world's fastest open wheel racing cars up close and personal.

The event, where Formula One have created a special closed public road circuit around some of London's most iconic buildings, has been made possible by a recent change in law in the UK that finally makes racing and competition realistically possible again on closed public highway.

Designed specifically to promote the sport and upcoming British Grand Prix, the event has proven to be a resounding success with fans as Liberty Media and the Formula One group showcased some iconic cars from the history of the sport.

Before waffling on about who and what showed up, check out the full event again on the link below:

So, who, what and where?

The Cars

Ferrari SF15-T (2015)
Red Bull RB7 (2011)
Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid (2015)
Williams FW36 (2014)
Sauber C32 (2013)
Toro Rosso STR8 (2013)
McLaren MP4/6 (1991)
Renault RS01 (1977)

The Drivers

Jenson Button
Mika Hakkinen
René Arnoux
Nico Rosberg
Felipe Massa
Sebastian Vettel
Sergio Perez
Kimi Räikkönen
Valtteri Bottas
Stoffel Vandoorne
Daniel Ricciardo
Fernando Alonso

Plus lots more...!

Some pictures

Paul Jeffrey · Jul 12, 2017

EDIT: Looks like the video is down at the moment, keep checking and it should be back up once it has finished uploading to YouTube...

samcar304 · Jul 12, 2017

Truly brilliant, What Liberty Media have done in this short amount of time speaks for itself. We have a very bright future ahead for our sport

Shame Lewis could not attend...

EDIT: Not sold on the Music stuff... I just went back and re-watched the cars in action.

paracletus · Jul 12, 2017

Saw some of it earlier. Many Little Minx fans here i bet

8 Bit Racer · Jul 12, 2017

Nice event in my opinion. The music was not the best but still a good step in the right direction

But what do you guys think about Hamilton not showing up to this event ? Instead of not showing up to a Promo event in his HOMECOUNTRY infont of his FANS(some of them) days before his HOME RACE he was partying with some of his ''friends''.

For me this shows how much he cares about his fans.

BhZ · Jul 12, 2017

8 Bit Racer said:
Nice event in my opinion. The music was not the best but still a good step in the right direction

But what do you guys think about Hamilton not showing up to this event ? Instead of not showing up to a Promo event in his HOMECOUNTRY infont of his FANS(some of them) days before his HOME RACE he was partying with some of his ''friends''.

For me this shows how much he cares about his fans.

I don't like Hamilton, but i couldn't care less about it. All i care is racing. They are race drivers, not showmen nor stuntmen. Their job is to drive in the week end in a circuit.

Alex72 · Jul 12, 2017

Gaddam... Everyone in that pic hold up their arms taking phone pics while looking at the phone screen when standing NEXT TO THOSE CARS... Since everyone was taking pics and vids those will be available immediately and you can just enjoy without that pesky phone that suck all life out of people. Worst thing ever - people at concerts or even CLUBS who hold a phone and stand still while they really should be enjoying the moment.

/tired before bed rant, lol.

Good night!!!!

wowbagger · Jul 13, 2017

Hamilton detractors never miss an opportunity.

Was Joylon there today?

I hope the video comes back up - would like to see it.

samcar304 · Jul 13, 2017

Pudu said:
Was Joylon there today

Yeah all 19 out of 20 drivers were there. Rosberg showed up with his WDC trophy too. It was a great event for the fans that could make it, got to see nearly all the drivers and some cool cars. It's cool because I imagine not all people there would have been going to Silverstone, so they got some nice F1 fan interaction they would have not been able to get.

wowbagger · Jul 13, 2017

I read Rosberg's story about losing the WDC trophy in the post. That was funny

.

I hope these events bring in new fans to supplement Bernie's Rolex wearers.

Alex Townsend · Jul 13, 2017

F1 is a show and Fan interaction is a part of that. What happens to sport without fans? It would die a slow death I think. Yes you can say that they are drivers not showman. But if you're not known to anyone then how can your sport stay alive in the public image?
How many fans in the UK are actually supporting Vettel in the UK? Sounded like a lot more than Lewis when they called it.

He needs to have an attitude check imo. Not turning up to this event further damages his already precarious reputation in this sport.
Time to stop being a spoiled brat and get on with being there for the fans or he'll just continue losing the support.

So there could be trouble at Mercedes with him and also with the new owners by the sounds of it?
It's not the first time he's fallen out with a team making you wonder if he's actually not that great a person to get on with....

BhZ · Jul 13, 2017

Alex Townsend said:
F1 is a show and Fan interaction is a part of that. What happens to sport without fans? It would die a slow death I think. Yes you can say that they are drivers not showman. But if you're not known to anyone then how can your sport stay alive in the public image?
How many fans in the UK are actually supporting Vettel in the UK? Sounded like a lot more than Lewis when they called it.

He needs to have an attitude check imo. Not turning up to this event further damages his already precarious reputation in this sport.
Time to stop being a spoiled brat and get on with being there for the fans or he'll just continue losing the support.

So there could be trouble at Mercedes with him and also with the new owners by the sounds of it?
It's not the first time he's fallen out with a team making you wonder if he's actually not that great a person to get on with....

The only reason F1 has "fans problem" is because they decided their tickets costs 400 euros, their races are streamed on pay tv (not a cheap one), their regulations made the races boring. I dont watch football because the team i love has come in my city, i watch it because it's fun to watch. A show has no fans when the show sucks, not when the "showman" is missing in an event like that.

Andrew Harper · Jul 13, 2017

It was a great event and it looked brilliant on YouTube.

The crowd looked like they enjoyed the event and that was the idea in the first place.

Liberty have the right idea, F1 needs to connect to it's fan base more and events like this are perfect for doing that.

....and sorry, although I'm not the biggest Lewis fan he should have been there. I reserve judgment in case he was attending some sort of charity event maybe but every other driver made an appearance and for his home race in front of a largely British crowd (as some could obviously be holiday makers) he should have done the event.

davewilliams000 · Jul 13, 2017

I'm a Hamilton 'fan' but don't consider myself to be a 'fanboy'. My reasons for liking him are 2 fold: 1) He's one of the best drivers in F1 (along with Vettel & Alonso) at the moment. 2) He's British - I always support the Brits, being one myself, and especially when they have a chance of winning.

However, I do think he has damaged himself by not showing up for this when every other current F1 driver was there and in front of his home fans as well. I hope he will reflect on this and come to regret it.

I do agree with BhZ on the biggest 'fan problem' is that the tickets are way too expensive, which is why I've never actually been to a Grand Prix, and now given what's happened this last week, it seems unlikely I'll ever see one at Silverstone, as by the time I can afford it or the prices have come down a bit (wishful thinking

) then Silverstone won't have it anymore. I don't agree that the races are boring though, certainly not this year.

Also agree with everyone else who's said that events like this show that Liberty are taking a massive step in the right direction with what they're trying to do. They seem to be a breath of fresh air for the sport I love.

BhZ · Jul 13, 2017

davewilliams000 said:
I don't agree that the races are boring though, certainly not this year.

Neither do i, but you really have to be passionate about F1 to enjoy them. Just watch Formula 2 and you'll see what i mean for "fun". F1 is more entertaining than last years, but it's still far from enjoyable by many people (sadly).

samcar304 · Jul 13, 2017

Australia was the low point in the season for me, The race did not have much going on but every grand prix after that has been a lot better.

Timmy UK · Jul 13, 2017

Hey, that, looked fun.
Good stuff.
No Mr Lewis....
Too busy counting his money...
Lives in Monaco; may be he has nearly run out of his 'tax free' days access to the UK..
So, no show.

I am convinced Mr Lewis wants to go to Ferrari.
Better for his 'brand'...
The boy seems to becoming obsessed with money and image.
He has become a 'brand', because he wanted to.
Bizarre world we live in.
He wishes to be as well known as a, 'Big Mac'.

The quest for 'brand creation' when a person is involved, just crates a sense of detachment within the person. Perhaps this is why Mr Lewis can sometimes appear to believe that he is above us, and he should be 'worshiped'.

However, I always find it amusing that people say they dislike others, when they have never met them.
He could be quite sweet.
Unlikely, but he could be..
Funny.

Still, the show looked good.

thewarmer · Jul 13, 2017

Not my things very much the current showy hyped stunt driving & burnouts all very Americanized
Bling Bling .
Racing was & still is much better done on race tracks with drivers
battling it out for the win.
& not this Action movie Hollywood spit & polish.

Alex Townsend · Jul 13, 2017

BhZ said:
The only reason F1 has "fans problem" is because they decided their tickets costs 400 euros, their races are streamed on pay tv (not a cheap one), their regulations made the races boring. I dont watch football because the team i love has come in my city, i watch it because it's fun to watch. A show has no fans when the show sucks, not when the "showman" is missing in an event like that.

Well that is your opinion although I wasn't talking about the sport having problems with fans in general. I was talking about how damaging this failure to engage with the fans that watch the sport could be for one of it's sports stars. Sorry if that didn't come across properly in my post.
Can't really comment on football as I don't watch that, doesn't interest me at all.
Yes the tickets for F1 are expensive, but it's never really been cheap. I think I've heard my friends complaining of the same thing about season tickets to football games.
Yes the move to pay TV has hurt some people, myself included. But most high profile sport is on pay TV now correct me if I'm wrong of course.
If fans don't or can't engage with a celebrity then the celebrity don't get the exposure, the fans look elsewhere. The celebrity doesn't sell as many hats or T-shirts. I.e. their stock drops and they no longer become marketable. Sponsors lose interest, you lose your backing. Lose your backing you lose your seat to someone else that has it. That's what I was getting at.
Hamilton is walking a tightrope of his career at the moment. Bottas has already started to prove pretty quickly that he can pedal that Mercedes around a track and win in it. I'm sure there are a lot of young guys that would jump into Hamiltons seat whilst it was still warm if Mercedes lose interest in him due to his prima dona attitude and now starting to show signs of insubordination too...