He F1 Miami GP This is an example of the product that F1 wants to point to, an event in the middle of the world’s major cities, which is a ‘show’ from start to finish on the track, attracting the attention of the crowd. VIP of the moment and viewers with high purchasing power. The entrances to The Paddock Club in Miami sold out despite the amount of money, at least $12,000. And despite being the event with the second most expensive ticket average of the entire season, second only to Las Vegas, the track was packed. The cheapest grandstand tickets are around $1,200. Almost nothing.
Besides, F1 once again tried to Americanize the pre-show with the official presentation of the drivers in purest WWE style in front of dozens of VIPs like ‘Kun’ Agüero, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Roger Federer, Vin Diesel, Irina Shayk, Tom Cruise, Shakira, J Balvin, Becky J, Maluma, Will I Am And a long etcetera.
The previous ceremony, with the 20 pilots leaving one by one in a corridor of ‘Cheerleaders’, presented by LL Cool J with an orchestra performed by Will.i.am himself, the pilots did not like it, or more importantly, they were in favor of doing it several times. Not so for Lewis Hamilton, who found it “great”.
“I think it’s great that the sport continues to grow and develop and they’re not just limited to doing the same things they’ve done in the past. They’re trying new things. They’re constantly trying to improve the program and I fully support this,” said the 7-time world champion.
“I grew up listening to LL Cool J and now LL Cool J is here and that’s great. Then you look and you’ve got Will.i.am who’s an amazing artist… there’s Serena and Venus Williams standing there. I thought it was great, it wasn’t a problem for me”added Hamilton in statements published by the portal ‘Race Fans’, but not all pilots think the same.
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Russell: “It’s a distraction”
One of the most critical of the preview presentation was George Russell, a Mercedes driver and head of the Drivers’ Association.
“We talked about it as drivers on Friday night. Everyone has different personalities and I guess that’s the American way of doing sports. Probably not for me. That’s my personal opinion. But I’m here to compete, I ‘m not I’ I’m here for the show, I’m here to drive, I’m here to win. But I think we have to keep going.”
To make this performance possible, the FIA changed the sporting regulations before the event in Miami so that the drivers arrived on the grid 10 minutes earlier than normal, something that was not liked, because at that time, drivers try to concentrate.
“It was a distraction because we were on the gridiron for half an hour with all our overalls in the sun. And I don’t think there’s any other sport in the world where 30 minutes before you go out to do your job, you’re out in the sun, with all the cameras on you and making a bit of a show of it. I appreciate that in the entertainment world, but like I said, we only want the best for the sport. We’re open to changes, but I don’t think we want to see this every weekend.”
“I don’t think it will be every weekend, I think it will be only in the big races. I’m not too sure, to be honest. I mean, what I want in every race is the national anthem, it’s something that respects the country we’re fighting for. But I have mixed feelings about the additional program.”
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Alonso does not believe that one race should be highlighted over others
“It’s a matter of personal preference for the pilots. Personally, I don’t prefer it”, said Fernando Alonso about the special ceremony before the start of the Miami GP, betting on equality between the races . Either it’s done at all, or nothing. Furthermore, he pointed out that if this type of ceremony had to be extended, F1 should remove, for example, the ‘Drivers Parade’ to give more time to the driver and team to prepare.
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“I understand everyone’s point of view, but I’m not a big fan of that kind of thing before the race. If we have to do it, I think we should eliminate some of the other things we do, like the parade lap or things like that, because honestly, at that point you’re in the middle of the preparation with the engineers and the strategy meeting.”
“If we’re going to do it, we have to do it everywhere because I don’t think the fans in Miami are better than the Italian fans in Imola or Spain, or Mexico, or Japan. I think we should all do our best to have the same rules and the same show before the race.”
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Verstappen: “No need”
“I have enough time to prepare in advance, to talk to my engineers before the race. It depends on the personality of each one. Some people like to be more in the spotlight and others don’t. I don’t want. So for me, it’s natural that what they did now is unnecessary. I’d rather just talk to my engineers, walk to my car, put on my helmet and ride. But of course I understand the value of entertainment ,” said Verstappen.
“I hope it’s not like this every race, because our season is so long, we don’t need a presentation like this every time,” concluded Max.
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Pérez: “As long as it’s not always done…”
“As long as we don’t do it many times, I think it’s good to do it once”, commented ‘Checo’ Pérez. get ready a few minutes before the start of the race and I think as long as it doesn’t happen too often, it’s fine.”
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Gasly: ”It took too long”
“I don’t know how other drivers feel, but I feel like sometimes you have to be in your own bubble right before you get in the car. But it was good to try and I’m sure we’ll make small adjustments the next time we do something similar,” said Pierre Gasly, who said the performance was “very long” and left him little time to prepare before come in. the car.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
