Formula 1 will hold pre-race driver presentations at some races in 2023 following a change in the rules.
The FIA confirmed today the sporting regulations have been revised in order to extend the pre-race grid procedure. This will now begin 50 minutes before the formation lap is due to start instead of 40.
This has been done so that “at certain races, this additional time will be used for the presentation of the drivers to the fans”.
F1 previously tried holding a pre-race driver presentation at the 2017 United States Grand Prix, the first event held in America after the series’ commercial rights were taken over by Liberty Media. Famed boxing announcer Michael Buffer was brought in to introduce the drivers ahead of the race at the Circuit of the Americas.
No indication has been given which races the presentations will take place at. Such introductions are a familiar part of major motorsport races in the United States such as the Indianapolis 500.
There are three rounds in the USA on the F1 calendar this year. The first, in Miami, takes place in two weekends’ time. COTA’s race is scheduled in October and F1 will return to Las Vegas for the first time in over 40 years in November.
Some drivers were unimpressed by F1’s previous attempt to hold a pre-race presentation in 2017. Fernando Alonso described it as a “bad copy” of the Indianapolis 500, which he raced at that year and again in 2020.
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Gallery: 2017 United States Grand Prix driver presentation
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