Breaking down just how close the F1 grid came to causing an international incident last season
While the 2023 Formula 1 season was a rather static affair — Max Verstappen shows up to Grand Prix, Max Verstappen wins Grand Prix was the almost-weekly formula — the national anthem ahead of the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix last season was anything but static.
In fact, it was nearly pure chaos.
As the grid returns to Spa for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix we thought it was worth a moment to revisit that incredible anthem from a season ago. The anthem itself was ... an interesting performance we think it fair to say, with Belgian pop star Antoine Delie doing the honors complete with a large Belgian flag as a cape and some fascinating sunglasses. You can view the perfomance in its entirety here:
Now, let’s dive in and break down what happened ... and what nearly happened.
Charles Leclerc keeps his cool
We start with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who manages to stay calm, cool, and collected as the camera pans past him. There were some indications that the Ferrari driver was “baffled” by the performance, but from our vantage point — and given what we see from the rest of the grid — it seems Leclerc is one of the few drivers to keep it together.
Lewis Hamilton: Pure vibes
Next up? Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
If the old saw is true, in that a “picture is worth a thousand words,” then this is the definition of steely focus. Hamilton seems completely unfazed by the performance.
Or perhaps the sunglasses are hiding more than we can see.
Oscar Piastri teeters on the brink
Here is where things start to unravel.
Oscar Piastri, a rookie at the time, clearly knows something is different about this anthem performance. But he also knows that if he is the first to break down, it will undermine the image of a rookie beyond his years in the sport. So Piastri does his best to keep things together, but there is a hint of confusion in his expression.
It is not quite the moment from the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix where Piastri broke the fourth wall after a jet-pack operator took a tumble, but it is close.
Lando Norris holds on for dear life as Fernando Alonso lights the match
Now we are talking.
For many, this is THE definitive moment from last year’s anthem. We start with Fernando Alonso, as the veteran driver is doing everything he can to send the grid into shambles. Alonso knows that if he catches Lando Norris’ field of vision, the entire house of cards will come tumbling down.
And Norris knows it too. He knows we are just one shared glimpse away from an anthem version of this memorable press conference ahead of the 2019 British Grand Prix, and he is doing everything he can to prevent that from happening.
Eventually, however, Alonso gives up and looks ahead, still with a sly grin on his face:
But, we were just one shared glimpse away from a global incident.
Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen keep their composure
In the initial social media clips that made the rounds last summer everything after the above moment between Alonso and Norris was clipped out, largely because the focus seemed to be on Alonso nearly sending the grid into chaos.
But the extended version, which you can see above, has some incredible moments when the camera pans over some other members of the grid.
Not Carlos Sainz Jr., and Max Verstappen, however. Those two absolutely keep it together.
George Russell fights for his life and nearly loses
Yes yes, that’s the good stuff.
Only recently was this extended cut — the “Snyder Cut,” if you will — brought to my attention so only recently did I learn just how close we really came to the grid breaking down. And not because of Norris-Alonso, but because of Mercedes driver George Russell.
Russell is absolutely on the brink of breaking down in full-throated laughter, and as one member of “F1 Threads” noted on Wednesday, it almost looks as if the Mercedes driver is biting the inside of his mouth to keep from full-on laughter.
Whatever works.
Bleached-blonde Nico Hülkenberg does his best Fernando Alonso
That’s right ...
Nico Hülkenberg turned heads at the Hungarian Grand Prix a year ago when he arrived in Budapest with bleached-blonde hair. That opened up a whole host of questions ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix regarding whether Hülkenberg timed the new hair color for the release of the Barbie movie, but it also made Hülkenberg stick out like a sore thumb a week later when the grid took in this anthem performance.
And, as you can see above, once you get past Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly all managing to keep their cool, along with Kevin Magnussen doing the same, Hülkenberg seems to be doing to Logan Sargeant what Alonso was doing to Norris. Like his British counterpart, Sargeant keeps his focus straight ahead, as he knows full well if he catches Hülkenberg’s glance things will spiral out of control.
Will we see a similar anthem performance this weekend?
Here’s hoping.
