Top 5 craziest F1 launches

 5. An F1 revealed to the general public, 2011
In our opinion, this is the last original staging of a Formula 1 team. In 2011, McLaren decides to put his mechanics to the test. Their task is to build, block by block, the MP4-26 under the gaze of passers-by in the heart of Berlin (Germany) on Potsdamer Platz.

4. Renault in a solemn setting, 2004
The Flavio Briatore years rhyme with two world titles for Renault, but also with Italian splendor and good taste. Thus, the French team invests the opera Teatro Massimo in Palermo (Italy), the largest opera house in the country, to unveil the R600 in front of 24 guests. At the time, Fernando Alonso proudly wore long hair and a goatee of the most beautiful effect…

© DPPI / F. Flamand

 3. An F1 in Venice, 2001
“Leave the single-seaters in Venice”, one could say when looking at the images of the presentation of the Benetton B201 in the famous City of the Doges. For its last year in F1 (before handing over to Renault), Benetton is thinking big with an unveiling on St. Mark's Square. The car is transported by river, on a small boat to the heart of the city.

© F1

 2. A Jordan in the air, 2002
In 2002, Jordan welcomed a major sponsor. To mark the occasion, Eddie Jordan invites journalists to introduce themselves in a shed cold near Brussels airport (Belgium). In the middle of the pilots' polite speech, a message came from the control tower: “Eddie Jordan, we have an urgent package for you”. And there, an Airbus freighter appears on the giant screen, the doors open and the 52 meter long plane slowly enters the room. The side door opens, and the car EJ12 descends quietly on a palette, all to rock music. History of doing things properly, the founder-boss of the eponymous team had to provide a signature on the delivery note.

©DR

 1. The Spice Girls with McLaren, 1997

Yes, we're going to break your ears with a song that everyone loves (hates): "Wannabee" from Spice Girls. The British group performed well in the middle of the presentation of the McLaren MP4-12, relegated to the setting of the luxurious Alexandra Palace in London (England). At the time, the “girls band” made the headlines, it was the group that everyone wanted. The very serious Ron Dennis supported this project, and this is how the “spicy girls” (translated for non-English speakers) sang “If you want to be my lover, you have to get along with my friends / And forever, because friendship lasts forever” in front of specialized journalists.

Even better, the five members of the group (including Geri Halliwell, who married the director of Red Bull Racing Christian Horner) bombard drivers David Coulthard and Mika Häkkinen with questions that have nothing to do with the usual droning of pre-season conferences: “What are you wearing under your suit?” », asks Victoria (not yet Beckham) to the Finn!

© DR

5 people attended the ceremony, broadcast on the MTV music channel. A link between Formula 000 and music that will be reaffirmed this evening, with the presence of several musical guests during the two-hour show planned on the stage of the O1 Arena in London…