F1 warns fans against season launch resale ticket fraud

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Fans have been urged not to buy tickets for Formula 1's 2025 season launch events from online resale websites, as they may not be for valid seats at London's O2 Arena.

For the first time, all ten teams will come together under one roof for a spectacular immersive evening launch event labelled F175 on February 18, just under a month before the first race of the year in Australia.

The show will feature the liveries being used by the teams and will be attended by drivers and team principals from all ten squads. It takes the place of - or possibly augments - individual events held over a period of two weeks in various locations.

Tickets for the event on sale on Friday morning, but such was the demand from fans that they were fully sold out in just 45 minutes, with demand hugely outstripping availability.

Few people were put off by the price range of £58-£113 plus booking fee, with some fans waiting online for hours ahead of the ticket booking window opening leaving desperate fans flocking to resale sites.

But F1 representatives have expressed concern that a significant number of tickets being put up by such sites are for seats that do not exist at the venue and therefore are not valid and will not be accepted on the day.

Read also: F1 to unveil teams 2025 liveries in epic London O2 launch

"We are aware that a few tickets for our season launch event at The O2 have been listed on unofficial resale websites," a statement from F1 organisers said.

"We can confirm that this is against the terms and conditions of sale and that any tickets bought through an unofficial resale platform are not valid for entry,"it continued.

"Working with The O2 we have also identified that a number of the listings are fraudulent. We advise all our fans to only buy tickets through theo2.co.uk or via AXS Official Resale."

©Formula1

While it is not illegal to resell tickets via third-party companies at an inflated figure, F1 and The O2 are hoping to discourage fans not to do so and risk falling to unscrupulous vendors.

The show will feature a full production created by Brian Burke of BrianBurkeCreative, renowned for his work last year on the spectacular Las Vegas Grand Prix ceremonies.

Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said the sport was aiming to deliver "a fantastic opportunity for fans of all ages to experience up-close the incredible entertainment spectacle of F1".

Fans will also be able to join the action remotely, with streaming and broadcast details to be announced soon

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.