On Feb. 18, 2025 Formula One (F1) fans were treated to a special commemorating the 75 years of the sport. It was a special television event bringing all 10 teams and 20 drivers together to launch the livery’s and start of the season. Many fans were very excited about this event, myself included. Many teams in the past have put on a show to launch their seasons livery and race suits but this was an event like no other.  

Watching the event was fun and did remind me of the “Hunger Games” a bit like people were saying online. Personally, I thought nothing of this being a bad thing. However, a certain creator on TikTok did not like the event. She took to the internet posting a video that this was the downfall of F1 and it was all becoming a big entertainment show. I disagree with this opinion and so did a majority of people online.  

We can start by saying that all sports are technically for entertainment and a sport that is geared towards the wealthy and upper class is definitely for entertainment. Every race week thousands of dollars are spent on champagne alone simply for the top 3 grid places can put on a show for the crowd. As a fan I will say it is also just a tradition, but it is a spectacle. Putting on a show to launch the livery’s is no new thing either. In 1997, Mclaren launched their livery with a Spice Girls performance.  

Some male fans decided to bring misogyny into the argument and say because the creator is a female she obviously has no idea what she is talking about. Or they brought up that fact that she did not start watching Formula One until 2022. Which I think is just downright stupid. It does not matter that she is a girl and it does not matter when she started watching, what matters is that she is saying this is the downfall of F1 while simultaneously profiting off of the “show” part. She has personally been invited to a Grand Prix weekend and was able to interview her favorite team and drive because she makes content, entertainment, about F1. She is saying that F1 will not be fun to watch anymore and just a show, when she gains things off it being an entertaining sport.  

Now I could keep going on and rant about how the Netflix show “Drive to Survive” is actually the “showy”, idiotic part of the sport but I will pass on that for now because a lot of people do enjoy it. I personally have never watched the show because I am more interested in the racing part than the drama part. I think the fact that there is a reality show around the sport adds to the fact that there is something for everyone with F1 and you definitely do not have to be a man or have been watching since birth to enjoy it.