Formula 1's first-ever collective season launch event may not be aimed at "hardcore fans," according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
On Tuesday, F1 will break from tradition by unveiling all ten teams' 2025 liveries at a sold-out O2 Arena in London. Instead of individual launches, Liberty Media has mandated that all teams, drivers, and bosses participate in a single large-scale event.
The change has been met with mixed reactions. Max Verstappen jokingly said he hoped he would be sick on the day, while McLaren's Lando Norris admitted he would rather skip the event altogether.
"It's cool for a lot of fans," Norris said. "It's a big thing for Formula 1.
"But I'd rather be at home and relaxing and preparing for the season."
Wolff acknowledged that hardcore F1 enthusiasts may be disappointed by the format, as only the new liveries will be showcased on old or 'show' cars rather than actual 2025 race machines.
"There will be lots of media buzz around it," he said.
"But maybe some of us hardcore fans will be a little bit disappointed at not seeing the end-product.
But the truth is you will not see the end product until the end of the test, anyway," Wolff added, referring to the full Melbourne-spec 2025 cars.
However, he defended the event as a fan-driven initiative.
"At least the fans are pleased. You know, I'd also rather not have sprint races, but the data says that fans like them. Fans like these events too.
"We're in a data-driven sport, and if the data says that it's good, then let's give it a try."
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur also played down concerns over teams presenting their new liveries on old cars.
"It's not the first time that the teams will launch a car with the car of the previous year," he said. "I think we've all launched a car with fake parts in the past.
"I think it's more for the fans. We don't have to criticise everything."
Each team will be given just seven minutes for their segment of the launch event. Haas driver Esteban Ocon believes consolidating all livery launches into a single event is a more efficient approach.
"As a fan of the sport, honestly it's a pain to be watching a new livery every day, and sometimes you are missing it because you are doing something else," he said.
"Of course, it's one more event for us, which is not ideal because it's going to be very busy. We need to be fully trained before we get into the season.
"But I think it's much better organised than how it was before when two teams were having the launch on the same day.
So I'm actually looking forward to it," Ocon added.
