Aston Villa Midfielder Boubacar Kamara Delays Honeymoon to Answer France Call 

Boubacar Kamara controls the ball during the French League One match between Marseille and Angers at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Sunday, May 16, 2021. (AP)
Boubacar Kamara controls the ball during the French League One match between Marseille and Angers at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Sunday, May 16, 2021. (AP)
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Aston Villa Midfielder Boubacar Kamara Delays Honeymoon to Answer France Call 

Boubacar Kamara controls the ball during the French League One match between Marseille and Angers at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Sunday, May 16, 2021. (AP)
Boubacar Kamara controls the ball during the French League One match between Marseille and Angers at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Sunday, May 16, 2021. (AP)

Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara was on his way to his honeymoon trip when he received a late call to play a couple of matches with France.

The 23-year-old made a quick decision: postpone the wedding trip and join Les Bleus.

Kamara's wife commented on their eventful Sunday on her Instagram account, saying their vacation was postponed “for the good cause.”

Coralie Kamara Porrovecchio said the couple was already on a plane headed for Paris and had to disembark to return to Marseille.

Kamara, who has three caps with France, joined Aston Villa from Marseille last year.

He was called by France coach Didier Deschamps on Sunday to replace the injured Adrien Rabiot ahead of European Championship qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece. France tops its qualifying group after winning its first two games.



Lewis Hamilton Steps Out in Red at Unprecedented 10-Team F1 Launch 

Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)
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Lewis Hamilton Steps Out in Red at Unprecedented 10-Team F1 Launch 

Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton appeared in Ferrari red for the first time outside of Italy as Formula One put on an unprecedented and spectacular 10-team season launch in front of 15,000 fans on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old Briton, who has moved from Mercedes, got the loudest cheer of the night when he took the stage for an event that coincided with the birthday of his Italian team's late founder Enzo.

"I feel so full of life, so much energy, because everything's new and I'm just focused on what is up ahead," Hamilton told his home crowd at London's 02 Arena.

"I'm so proud to be part of the team. Something new and exciting for me."

The two-hour show, with British comedian and host Jack Whitehall gently ribbing the protagonists, featured lights, lasers and musical acts including former boy band Take That and US country singer Kane Brown.

Liberty Media-owned Formula One said early in the evening that its YouTube channel had smashed through the one-million viewers mark, breaking a previous live-event record of 289,000.

"This event is all about the fans and without the fans there is no sport," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters before the show started.

"I'm sure it's probably the last place that the drivers want to be, paraded out in front of a stadium full of fans, but Formula One is an entertainment, it's a show, and it's the 75th anniversary (of the championship).

"So a huge amount of effort has gone into tonight by Formula One and all 10 teams."

There was a time when the teams struggled to agree even on what day it was, but Formula One's surging popularity and revenues have concentrated minds.

The success of Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive, and the arrival in cinemas later this year of Brad Pitt's Hollywood drama F1, led to tickets for the event selling out in a matter of minutes.

The show, featuring all 20 drivers, was broadcast live around the world and streamed on social media.

"It feels like there's a big rock concert about and ready to happen," American Zak Brown, chief executive of champions McLaren, told reporters earlier.

"I've been a fan for a while of doing more fan events, whether that's a launch or making the testing that we do a little bit more focused on the fan."

The teams each had just seven minutes to present their liveries - the cars either old ones re-painted or engineless shells made just for show that will not go anywhere near a circuit.

Red Bull's at least had an engine in it, but Sauber had announced well in advance that theirs would be auctioned off after the event.

New Zealand's Liam Lawson and four-time world champion Max Verstappen took the stage for Red Bull, but neither spoke.

Lawson is set to compete in his first full season in Formula 1.

Ferrari, last year's runners-up, will be launching their 2025 car at Maranello on Wednesday while McLaren and Williams ran theirs at Silverstone last week in interim liveries.