Guenther Steiner backs pre-race shows while Christian Horner bashes the gala, urges F1 to be ‘respectful’ to drivers
Christian Horner and Guenther Steiner differ in their opinions on allowing pre-race shows to be held before every F1 Grand Prix.
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The Miami Grand Prix turned into a massive festival of sorts as Formula One left no stone unturned to provide fans with a huge spectacle. Even though the ticket came with an exorbitant price, the race that the audience got to experience made it worth it. In order to attract more fanfare, the F1 authorities held a pre-race conference which saw the likes of Maria Sharapova and Lewis Hamilton engage with their supporters. Next, arrangements were also made for a pre-race show to introduce every driver–and this extravaganza did not get support from the racers and many of their fans.
The arguments put up against the pre-race show claimed that F1 was trying to emulate Hollywood in the US and not letting the drivers focus on the racing part. Lando Norris claimed the authorities should not be allowed to make the racers do whatever they wanted ahead of a 57-lap-long race that needed immense concentration. Other racers slammed the idea of the pre-race show as well, and Fernando Alonso suggested F1 should remove the drivers’ parade if they wanted to keep the show since everything cannot be put into the schedule at once.
When it came to the Team Principals, the opinions were divided as some believed the pre-race show should be continued while others felt it to be a ‘distraction’. Guenther Steiner supported the idea, welcoming the touch of entertainment to F1 as he said, “I think entertainment here got a lot better from the old days. In the old days, we went racing, cookie cutter racing, we do one race, we do the next one, we do nothing around it, we go racing for the motor sport fan.” But Christian Horner did not agree with this view.
Christian Horner does not like the idea of a pre-race show for the F1 drivers’ same
Christian Horner is currently leading the most successful F1 team of recent times, and he knows the mental toll it takes on a driver when he goes out to race. Thus, he believes Formula One should let the racers have time to focus rather than get involved in meaningless pre-race shows where they have to shake hands with celebrities. He said, “It’s quite tough for the drivers to be running through dry ice and high-fiving A-listers that they’re probably not quite sure who they are, then thrown into the national anthem and then expected to deliver. And so I think we need to be respectful.”
In other news, the Las Vegas GP that is scheduled to take place during the second week of November is expected to be an even bigger phenomenon than the Miami race. The reports have claimed it to be the costliest F1 Grand Prix of all time, and it will attract even more celebrities. Now, it is to be seen whether F1 will arrange for a pre-race show on the Vegas strip too, or if they will leave the drivers alone so that they can focus on the race.
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