Sidemen member Vikkstar123 announced as Team Launch host for McLaren F1 team

Sidemen member, gamer, and YouTuber Vik "Vikkstar123" has been named as a co-host for the 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Team's launch. F1 presenter and podcaster Ariana Bravo will also be joining the YouTuber in hosting duties.

For those unfamiliar, the McLaren F1 team currently have Lando Norris as their number one driver (with Oscar Piastri being the second driver). The British YouTube community are already aware that this isn't the first time that Lando has collaborated with Vikkstar123. In the past, the former has streamed Warzone and Among Us alongside the YouTuber as well as having his own functional Twitch channel, which, at the time of writing, has over 1.3 million followers.

Despite Vik being a long-time F1 lover and frequently collaborating with Lando Norris, his latest partnership comes as a surprise to many. The McLaren F1 team posted:

"You heard it here first! Introducing your 2023 McLaren Team Launch hosts, @Vikkstar123 and @ArianaBravoF1."

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The gaming and racing community react as Vikkstar123 is set to feature in the team's promotional event

Popular YouTuber and Sidemen member Vikkstar123 will soon add yet another feather to his already illustrious hat. The YouTuber, who boasts around 7.6 million subscribers (as of February 2023) on his channel, has been a long-time patron of the McLaren F1 team. In fact, the creator has, in the past, paid visits to F1 races to watch Lando Norris take on some of the best racers around the globe.

The post announcing Vikkstar123's addition as a host has already garnered over 250 retweets and 100 comments. Fans were clearly excited to see the creator take on a hosting role for the upcoming launch event. Here are some of the most relevant reactions:

One user chimed in with a suggestion for a Sidemen video from McLaren HQ:

A few fans shared appreciative words towards Ariana, the second host of the upcoming event:

Vik's partnership, despite coming as a surprise, was certainly well-received by netizens:

The announcement post was shared on the Formula 1 subreddit as well, with some reactions from Redditors included below:

Some community members were unaware that Vik was a fan of F1 or that he was present at the Singapore GP in 2022:

One user took to the reply section to explain how Lando Norris and Vik's friendship came about:

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McLaren's recent announcement of partnering up with a gamer isn't the first time that the two worlds have collided. In January 2023, the Alfa Romeo F1 team announced a "decisive entry" into the streaming world by partnering with Kick.com, a brand new livestreaming platform spearheaded by Tyler "Trainwreckstv."