F1’s attempt at capturing the attention of the American audience has been met with mixed reactions so far. American rappers Will.i.am and Lil Wayne recently worked together with F1 to release a song titled ‘The Formula’, a track inspired by the sport.
Will.i.am has been named as F1’s new ‘Global Artist in Residence’ as reported by multiple sources including WTF1 and will release multiple songs related to the sport throughout the year. The first song came out leading up to the Miami GP weekend, featuring Lil Wayne.
While most fans, especially from the United States seem to love ‘The Formula’, there are others who aren’t particularly fond of it. The catchy beat and lyrics didn’t do enough to please these fans, with some taking to social media to show their dissatisfaction.
Henry Mill on Twitter said,
“The new F1 song featuring will.iam and Lil Wayne is a perfect summary of the current state of F1. It’s a clownish money grab that doesn’t have anything to do with motorsport, just like F1 these days.”
However, it seems that most fans are in love with the song, and are revealing what their favorite parts of this single are.
Fans talk about their favorite parts from will.i.am and Lil Wayne’s songs
The lyrics of ‘The Formula’ revolve particularly around F1, with the rappers singing about fast cars moving around the circuit, mesmerizing fans. There are parts, where Lil Wayne mentions seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
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Hamilton being one of the most famous personalities both inside and outside F1, made this particular verse a favorite among most fans. Wayne also mentions two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the song, although it wasn’t repeated as many times as Verstappen.
Wow. This track is 🔥🔥. @iamwill @LilTunechi dropped this ahead of #miami #F1 @F1 @brandon_snow #theformula @LewisHamilton @Max33Verstappen @MercedesAMGF1 take the #checker today! https://t.co/cGLxuKCtxD https://t.co/3EyUkJcEJl
— scott cullather (@scullather) May 7, 2023
Overall, most fans in the US found this extremely catchy and memorable, which helps the cause behind which the song was made. Two of the biggest rappers coming together to release a single on Hamilton, Verstappen and F1, is surely going to draw in new eyeballs towards the sport.
“This is the Formula (One)”🎶
“Got a Mercedes like Lewis”🎵
“Driving like Max Verstappen”♩https://t.co/JwoyeCTJES & Lil Wayne | The Formula: https://t.co/YzJAgCcoGlDo you like the #Formula1 song? What did they have to pay #MercedesAMG & #RedBull to make this? #bigbucks😉 #F1 https://t.co/N01EZuHXc7
— StigSpielberg (@StigSpielberg) May 6, 2023
Drivers not happy with F1 pre-race introduction
Ahead of the Miami GP last Sunday, the drivers were asked to arrive 30 minutes early, fully suited up before the race. This was so that will.i.am could introduce them to the public, in extravagant fashion. A lot of drivers didn’t like the theatrics, since it messed up their focus before the race.
One driver who publicly slammed these pre-race introduction was George Russell. The Mercedes driver spoke to ESPN, and said-
“I don’t think there’s any other sports in the world that 30 minutes before you go out to do your business, you’re out there in the sun, all the cameras on you, and making a bit of a show of it.”
F1 and the FIA, however, were very strict about this. In fact, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez got a reprimand for arriving to the show late.