Why Ferrari’s 2023 F1 car launch was the best one yet this season

If the 2023 F1 title was handed out based on car launches, then Ferrari has already stolen the show. In a pre-season that has proven to be quite dull, Ferrari was a breath of fresh air. Apart from Alpine and Mercedes, every other team is done with the car launch so far.

In all fairness, these launches have been somewhat dull. Gone are the days when teams went out of their way to make a huge deal about car launches. Now, this has become an almost private affair where most of the stuff is hidden anyway.

This pre-season, though, appears to be just too lackluster. The liveries for the most part are the same and the cars that have been revealed are either stock cars or what the teams raced with last season. Worst of all is the slightly corporate nature of the proceedings as fans have felt hard done by and slightly unfulfilled with the proceedings.

Ferrari, on the other hand, has flipped the script. To understand the kind of impact the car launch had, here are some of the reactions on Twitter:

"Nobody does passion quite like @ScuderiaFerrari Fratelli d'Italia blasts out over Maranello, with an army of Tifosi providing the vocals!"

"Sensational launch from Ferrari. Brave to run the car for the first time during a live show. As you'd expect, their target is simple - win the championship #F1"

Contrary to almost every other team launch this pre-season, Ferrari's launch struck a chord with everyone that witnessed it.

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Ferrari nailed the 2023 F1 car launch

The car

Arguably the biggest pet peeve of the fans this year has been very simple. Most car launches are not exactly "car launches". It is often a stock car or a previous year's machinery painted with a new livery. In essence, the car launches these days are livery launches on the year-old car.

One of the major reasons behind that is the teams keeping their cards close to their chests until the last moment. The issue with that is the loss of interest from the fans because there's no takeaway over how the cars will look once we get to the racing part.

This time around, Ferrari hasn't concealed much. Sure, the most important parts will not be up for inspection, but the team gave the fans a complete view of the car. The fact that it is one beautiful machine helps as well.

The excitement from the drivers

Lawrence Barretto rightly pointed out that it was a risky move from the team to do the filming day during the live show. This was the first time the team was running the car and doing it in public was a major risk.

With major risk comes major rewards though, and the reward was hearing the excitement in the voice of the two drivers. Amidst all the corporate social media facades, fans forget that these drivers are nothing but racers and they just love their cars.

The giddiness in Charles Leclerc's voice was the excitement that these drivers felt when they drove the car for the first time since after the winter break. It was this human element that was put on display for the world to see and it made the entire event so captivating.

Most importantly, the passion

During pre-season car launches, what has left fans irked is that the product on display is just not for them. The car launches have turned into a corporate activity and the average F1 fan, be it of any team, has found it hard to relate.

Red Bull went to New York but contrary to the brand's persona, the entire event was quite dull. The team simply could not resonate with the fans in any way. McLaren brought in social media influencer Vikkstar123 but couldn't capture the fans' imagination in its 60th season in F1. Aston Martin did a really good job and threw in some fighting words, but it didn't resonate with the fans either.

Ferrari, however, opened its gates for the passionate Tifosi and filled the grandstand with scarlet red. F1 is a business and a competition. However, it is also a sport that is fueled by passion. The cheers received by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were heartwarming but the love and affection of the Tifosi did not limit itself to current Ferrari drivers.

Antonio Giovinazzi got a huge round of applause, and so did Robert Shwartzman and the other FDA members. They were Maranello's own and were treated like one. What Ferrari did during its car launch was reach out to its fans before it went to war. The team has one of the most loyal fanbases in the world and it did not disappoint. In a world of dull corporate-styled car launches, Ferrari dedicated its launch to the passionate Tifosi and in the process endeared itself to onlookers who would not normally support the team.

That's what a car launch is supposed to do, isn't it?