At the moment, it’s fair to say that the whole affair has been somewhat dull as other than liveries, there’s not much of a takeaway from launches. It wasn’t always like this, though. In yesteryears, car launches were a huge event that was more often than not a strange mixture of scientific excellence and mainstream media.
In this piece, we will take a look at some of the best car launches in the history of the sport.
#5 Jordan (2005 F1 season)
Jordan was the perennial underdog in F1 for over a decade. With the shrewd businessman in Eddie Jordan heading the affairs, the team had achieved a lot more than a team of that size or funding could ever hope for. By the 2005 season, however, walls were closing in on the team.
The sponsors had been drying up in the previous few years. As a result, the team’s competitiveness also nosedived. Jordan had won a Grand Prix (Brazilian GP) as recently as 2003, but in 2005, the team featured two drivers who had basically paid a huge sum to secure their seats with the team.
In what turned out to be its last season on the grid, Jordan rolled out a special and went to the Red Square in Moscow of all places to conduct what would prove to be its final car launch in F1.
#4 Force India (2008 F1 season)
Force India during its stay in F1 turned out to be one of the best underdog stories on the grid. Yet it all started in 2008 when Indian billionaire (at the time) Vijay Mallya bought Spyker F1, a fledgling backmarker team, and turned it into India’s first F1 team.
The billionaire, famously known as ‘The King of Good Times’, introduced the very first edition of Force India in India itself. The car was launched with significant fanfare at the Gateway of India in Mumbai as people came to grips with what it meant for the country to have its car competing on the biggest stage in motorsports.
#3 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (2007 F1 season)
Going into 2007, McLaren were in a good position. It had Fernando Alonso, the two-time reigning world champion in their team. To add to that, it had secured a new title sponsor in Vodafone. Introducing a new livery and a new driver to the world, the team chose Valencia as the perfect spot.
In a large-scale launch that featured close to 250,000 people, McLaren launched its 2007 challenger and new title sponsor. The two McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, also took to the streets for a demonstration with the new car. In terms of grabbing attention and endearing itself to the Spanish audience, this was a great first step.
#2 British American Racing (1999 F1 season)
BAR had one of the more intriguing debuts in F1. The tobacco company’s foray into the sport was nothing new, but what was new was how lofty the goals set by the team were. The team, even before it made its debut, was making all the wrong noises by talking up its chances in the very first season and targeting race wins.
The most striking part of BAR’s debut season, however, was its car reveal. The team bucked the trend and introduced not one but two different liveries for its two brands ‘Lucky Strike’ and ‘555’. With Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion, and Ricardo Zonta, the team stood out in the way it approached the car launch as it was something of an outlier compared to the other teams on the grid.
#1 West Mclaren Mercedes (1997 F1 season)
Ever wondered what it would look like if BTS performed at the launch of Red Bull? Well, something similar was brought to life by McLaren in 1997 when the Spice Girls performed for McLaren’s car launch. The team had moved on from what was a two-decade-long relationship with Marlboro and had tied up with West as their new title sponsor.
Ron Dennis, a man famous for sending out strong signals, spared no expense in letting the world know about the development and was riding the high wave with West.
The spectacle of the British girl band performing at the car launch with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard looking awkwardly out of place was quite the spectacle of the time.
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