Verstappen found festivities with LL Cool J not so cool
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The Miami Grand Prix positioned itself as a unique event, and at least off the track that proved to be completely true. Once again, there were the fake swimming pools and the ground of the Hard Rock Stadium was where the hospitality units were housed. There were some festivities before the start that was typically American.
For Americans, the show element is the same or perhaps even more important than the sport itself. In the NBA, for example, it is perfectly normal for basketball players to be introduced one by one, before (as with every sports game in the US) the national anthem sounds. The national anthem of the organising country is played before every Grand Prix, but the extended introduction of the drivers was new.
In the spotlight
One by one, the drivers were called forward by rapper LL Cool J, while Will.i.am stood on a platform waving his hands. He reportedly conducted a group of musicians. Was it fun? Opinions differed on that: "Some people like to be more in the spotlight, some people don't. I personally don't. So for me, I think that naturally, of course, what they did today is not necessary," Max Verstappen, for example, said during the post-match press conference.
"I prefer to just talk to my engineers, walk to my car, put the helmet on and drive. But of course, I understand the entertainment value. So I just hope, of course, we don't have that every single time, because we have a very long season, so we don't need an entry like that every time. But it also depends a bit on the crowd, I think, in terms of what you want in terms of entertainment. So yeah, I think it's just a personal preference as well from the drivers. For me personally not."
Fun for once
Sergio Perez was also not exactly jumping on the benches with enthusiasm. "I think as long as we don't do it on too many occasions, I think it's nice to do it once for the crowd, but we also have to be very respectful of the drivers, that we need our own time to get ready. It's just minutes before the race start and I think as long as this doesn't happen very often, it's OK.," Perez told the media.
Fernando was most outspoken in his opinion: "I understand the point of view of everybody but I'm not a big fan of those kinds of things just before the race. If we have to do it, I think we need to remove some of the other stuff we are doing like the parade lap or something like that, because it's really in the middle of the preparation with the engineers and the strategy meeting. And I disagree a little bit if we do it, we have to do it everywhere because I don't think that the Miami fans are better than the Italian fans in Imola or in Spain or in Mexico or in Japan. I think we need to make everyone with the same rules and the same show before the race."