F1 is officially making its return to the United States this weekend after a brief absence. And this year’s US GP has managed to coincide with the start of the new NBA season, hardly months after Milwaukee Bucks won their second league championship in the 2020-21 season.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Well, amidst the ever-growing Basketball fever around the western continent, F1 decided to play along with the American fans’ interest. Days after revealing NBA team-inspired custom liveries on social media, F1 affirmed a Basketball tournament for the drivers, and possibly the team bosses, at the Circuit of The Americas.
And this led to a video starring Ferrari’s team principal, Mattia Binotto, going viral on Twitter. Back in 2019, the Italian took part in a Basketball challenge. In the video, Binotto can be seen shooting basketballs into the hoop, with absolute ease.
Somehow, the video is back alive, busily circulating amongst social media. Motorsport tweeted the video with a rather hilarious caption.
“F1: *announces a basketball tournament at COTA*
Binotto: my time to shine.”
F1 Twitter reacts to the viral Binotto video
Of course, F1 Twitter is the best place to be when such videos show up out of nowhere. There were some amusing reactions to it. Here are a few!
Michael Jordan when he gets beaten by Binotto 🏀
My man was hitting absolute buckets that’s my ferrari master 🅱️lan
Ferrari: Binotto is working on the 2022 car Reality:
“Binotto is at the factory in Maranello improving the 2022 car.” Binotto: #F1
Mattia Binotto shootin’ his shot.
What is the Basketball challenge about?
Formula 1 recently revealed that the drivers will be taking part in a free throw challenge on Thursday ahead of the press conference. And the winner of the challenge also gains money for charity.
“On Thursday, Oct. 21, F1 Teams will battle it out off-the-track, in a free throw challenge at the NBA 75th Anniversary-themed basketball half-court, within the Circuit of The Americas paddock,” the statement read.
‘Honestly what are we doing here?! Football or basketball?’😅🏀 #F1 #USGP #Motorsport
Overall, this is certainly going to be an interesting weekend, with actions both on and off the track. But, let’s focus on the former. Most of the drivers are currently battling for a higher position in the championship table. And the desperation is likely to increase the chances of crashes from the upcoming weekend in Austin.
So, amidst potential incidents in the making, how many drivers are ultimately going to see the chequered flag on Sunday afternoon? Well, only time will tell.
Watch Story: Biggest Crashes From 2020 Featuring Leclerc, Vettel & Grosjean