Max Verstappen the pantomime villain as F1 celebrates 75th anniversary

Yesterday at 07:07 PM

Car unveilings prove a hit, underlining F1's ability to captivate – and make capital – even without racing

Cynics be damned. Against all the odds Formula One, it seems, simply cannot put a foot wrong. With the hope of spectacle, theatre and drama without so much as a wheel turning, F1 was taking an unprecedented leap into the unknown by launching the new season with its F175 show. Binning this bad boy at the first corner was a very real possibility.

Yet pull it off they did, an event where it was impossible not to be swept along in the backdraft of a sport that is hitting its marks to perfection. F175 was to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Formula One's inaugural grand prix season which had opened with the first round at Silverstone in 1950. It was the first time all 10 teams gathered under one roof to unveil the liveries of their new challengers with the fans able to revel in the extravagant reveal in what used to be the process of pulling a big sheet off a car.