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Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, McLaren meet the Spice Girls
Prime
Opinion

How glitzy car launches can help sustain the F1 boom

OPINION: Formula 1 car launches have lost their spectacle over the years, as Spice Girls-fronted unveils gave way to boring PR exercises where nothing more than a livery on a show car was revealed to the world. As F1's popularity continues to grow, however, perhaps the glitzy car launches of old can once again have their place - but in a much more inclusive way

It was only a handful of years ago that showy Formula 1 car launches appeared to be a dying art. Unveils had become little more than afterthoughts. Never mind appearances by the Spice Girls and Jamiroquai; forget demonstration runs in major cities; there wasn’t even a split livery as a talking point. No, official reveals were largely reduced to whipping off a dust cover on the first day of pre-season testing while a press release was sent out but lost almost immediately amid the on-track running.

But, as another small indicator of F1’s current popularity boom, there’s been something of a recent return to form. In these times of ‘more is more’, there’s an appetite for any kind of spectacle. Car launches provide another source.

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