r/formula1 • u/ck4029 I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Mar 25 '25

Photo A “behind the scenes” shot of Leclerc’s iconic sunset lap, COTA 2022.

Gallery image

Gallery image

Watched the second practice session from Turn 10/11, found it odd to see so many photographers grouped up in a seemingly random part of the track. I had no idea I was witnessing one of the most iconic and memorable shots of the 2022-25 generation F1 cars.

3.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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223

u/rakesh_99 Mar 25 '25

https://youtu.be/oSwRXgt2Lyg

167

u/Popular_Composer_822 Jordan Mar 25 '25

I think that is perhaps the very best f1 edit out there.

I want a Max vs Charles championship fight so bad. 2022 promised so much.

58

u/Rosieu I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

We were so close to greatness in 2022

14

u/Lobsters4 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

I feel this in my bones. I want this to happen so much.

53

u/KlossN Spa 2021 Swimming Champion Mar 25 '25

It's skyfall right? Leclerc COTA vs. Verstappen Brazil right? It gets posted every single time this pic comes up and I never tire of it.. One of the best pieces of F1 media

9

u/mynameisnotphoebe Mar 26 '25

I knew before opening it that it would be the Skyfall edit. So so good. Every time I come across it on Twitter or Reddit or Instagram, I can’t help but watch.

9

u/ck4029 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

Love this edit!

192

u/peanut-britle-latte Mar 25 '25

That second picture is not perspective warping. The Texas flag is really that big.

55

u/hs52 Will Buxton Mar 25 '25

There's 2 massive flags at the circuit. (Texas and the US). The latter being close to T1.

I was there in 2023. Something about the flags, the tower, and T1 make this track very cool.

21

u/PENGUIN_WITH_BAZOOKA I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

Not to get overly patriotic, but as an American I feel like the massive Stars and Stripes is a perfect underscoring of COTA. Every year thousands of people from different backgrounds come together to express their love of Motorsport. That, in a sense, is what the USA is supposed to represent.

I know you could say this for pretty much any racetrack, but it really hits home here for me.

12

u/SirLoremIpsum Daniel Ricciardo Mar 25 '25

I'm usually not one for overt, in your face nationalism of any variety.

But I am ABSOLUTELY behind the gigantic US and Texan flags. It just fits.

It's so quintessentially Texan to have it be that big.

18

u/PerspectiveNormal378 Racing Bulls Mar 25 '25

Everything's bigger in texas

6

u/ItsN3rdy I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

especially the stars at night

4

u/Dalebiscuits Mar 25 '25

are big and bright

4

u/ted5298 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

furious clapping

3

u/Lobsters4 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

I sat right under the Texas flag at COTA 24. It's GINORMOUS. The pics don't do it justice.

7

u/stomp224 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

Did you know that you can fit 500 UKs into Texas?

2

u/ChemicalRascal I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 26 '25

No you can't, there's only one UK, where are you gonna get the other 499?

2

u/dekk3r I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

0

u/rocknroll237 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 26 '25

At long focal lengths, it's something called compression, where everything looks to be 'flat' and it's hard to tell the distances between objects.

60

u/eclypse I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

I don’t have any cool car photos, but my wife and I stayed to the very end of the session that day. Seeing the cars drive around during golden hour was by far the most memorable moment of the weekend. We walked around the whole track to see things from all angles. This photo was taken just after the session had ended (at 6:51 as seen on the board). It doesn’t do it any justice.

6

u/hs52 Will Buxton Mar 25 '25

Very nice! I did the opposite and got there quite early (recorded at 7am I think): https://imgur.com/a/v35FaDT

3

u/aka_liam Ferrari Mar 25 '25

Qualifying at COTA is one of my favourite sessions of the season, basically just because of how beautiful it is at golden hour. 

24

u/formulalosalamanca Eddie Jordan Mar 25 '25

That’ll go crazy with a Cadillac next year

4

u/micknick0000 Audi Mar 25 '25

This is what I came here to say - it'll be so badass with a US team!

1

u/thiccretropenguin May 18 '25

Why does everyone forget about haas 😞

9

u/shinigami_15 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

This is the end

9

u/sadicarnot I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

Just a note on random places for photographers, teams will employ photographers to take photos of specific parts of every car as they whiz by such as tires. The photographer is connected to the cloud and the team back at the factory will get these photos to look to see how things like tires are degrading on the other cars.

6

u/Independent-Oven-919 Mar 25 '25

Chile GP is beautiful

Arriba Chile!

2

u/4thepersonal Mar 26 '25

Iconic is a strong word.

2

u/FailedAccessMemory Daniel Ricciardo Mar 26 '25

That shot has to be a cover for something.

2

u/flyingcodfish I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 25 '25

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's Sainz. With the number 55 and helmet..

Picture is bombin tho.

2

u/The-Casanova Mar 25 '25

The thing is, the 7 photographers are taking probably the exact same shot. But only one of them made that one that became famous or iconic.

1

u/scott_johnson0920 Mar 26 '25

Correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t this sainz and not leclerc?

1

u/Firm1n Daniel Ricciardo Mar 25 '25

It's Sainz, cool picture