LL Cool J introductions were debated at feisty F1 drivers’ briefing in Miami
Rapper LL Cool J introduced each driver one-by-one onto the grid, while Will.i.am also performed his new F1-themed song, in a new theatrical element to race day.
But it left drivers divided - with the majority preferring it did not happen.
“We spoke about it as drivers on Friday night,” Russell said.
“Everybody has different personalities. It’s the American way of doing sport.
“Personally, probably, not for me. That’s just my personal opinion.
“I’m here to race, I’m not here for the show. I’m here to drive, here to win, but I guess we have to roll with it.
“It is distracting because we’re on the grid for half-an-hour in all our overalls in the sun.
“I don’t think there’s any other sport in the world that 30 minutes before you go out to do your business that you’re out there in the sun, all the cameras on you and making a bit of a show of it.
“I can appreciate that in the entertainment world, but we only want the best for the sport.
“We’re open to changes but I guess we wouldn’t want to see it every weekend.”
Lewis Hamilton enjoyed it, though: “It’s cool that the sport is continuously growing and evolving.
“They aren’t just doing the same stuff they have done in the past.
“They are trying new things. They are trying to improve the show always and I’m in full support of it.
“I grew up listening to LL Cool J! And you’ve got Will.i.am, who is an incredible artist!
“You’ve got Serena and Venus Williams standing there. I thought it was cool, it wasn’t an issue to me.”
Max Verstappen said: “I think this is just a bit of a personality thing. Some people like to be more in the spotlight, some people don’t.
“I personally don’t. So, for me, naturally what they did today is not necessary.
“I prefer to just talk to my engineers, walk to my car, put the helmet on and drive. But I understand the entertainment value.
“I hope we don’t have that every single time because we have a very long season so we don’t need an entry like that every time.
“But it also depends on the crowds in terms of what you want in terms of entertainment.
“So I think it’s just a personal preference from the drivers. For me? Personally not.”
Lando Norris claimed: “None of the drivers like it. But it’s not for us.
“We do a lot of things, we’re probably the only sport where we’re so close to the fans, we do so much publicity for the fans.
“As drivers we all just want to sit down and focus on what we need to focus on and not do so much TV.
“It’s a business so it’s what we’ve got to do. But adding more and more stuff like this? No driver likes it.”
Fernando Alonso said: “If we have to do it, I think we need to remove some of the other stuff we are doing like the parade lap.
“It’s in the middle of the preparation with engineers and the strategy meeting.”
Valtteri Bottas said: “There’s no other sport where the athletes do so much stuff before the start of the race or event. There needs to be a limit at some point.”
The Friday night drivers’ briefing, where the LL Cool J introductions were debated, also reportedly featured a forthright conversation on DRS zones.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
