Formula 1 fans could not hide their excitement after Ferrari shared a Pokemon themed social media post to introduce their SF-24 at the Japanese Grand Prix.
F1 has arrived in Japan this weekend as Max Verstappen claimed pole in qualifying at Suzuka. Away from the action, Ferrari caught the attention of fans with a tribute to Pokemon at the home of the iconic franchise.
As qualifying was about to get underway, Ferrari took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share a video of the team throwing a Pokeball at the garage. Yet rather than a wild Pokemon appearing, the Scuderia’s 2024 challenger emerged.
Accompanied with the caption, “SF-24, we choose you!”, it did not take long before fans of both F1 and Pokemon heaped praise on the team for what they saw as not only a brilliant edit, but also a classy gesture with the race taking place in Japan.
“Wow!! What a beauty. The sound is music itself,” commented one fan who picked up on the fact the video also included the iconic noise of a Pokemon emerging from the ball when sent out to battle.
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“That transition is absolutely amazing,” added another, while a third wrote, “This is awesome!”
SF-24, we choose you! ✌️ #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/bHC9zSKJ2l
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 6, 2024
On track, Verstappen took pole with a superb 1:28.197s lap of Suzuka, with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and McLaren star Lando Norris making up the top three.
Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso rounded off the top five as Oscar Piastri put his McLaren on the third row in sixth.
Charles Leclerc (eighth) split the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton (seventh) and George Russell (ninth), with home favorite Yuki Tsunoda lining up in 10th after a superb drive to get into Q3 in his RB.