A company well known for its flashy antics, the breadcrumbs leading up to Red Bull’s Showrun in San Francisco today have not been subtle. Case in point: a branded Ford Raptor T1+ rally racer sailed in the sky in Pacific Heights on Thursday, while a multi-million dollar Formula One car spun donuts underneath – “we come with wiiings” Red Bull commented on a video of the stunt on Instagram.
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The Red Bull Showrun is a Formula One demo where F1 cars and other vehicles like the flying Ford Raptor will rush down Marina Boulevard. Drivers, including Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” star Yuki Tsunoda, will be showcasing their skills for a thrilling eight tenths of a mile. Nearly the entire stretch of street, between Baker and Buchanan streets along the waterfront, will be shut down from 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.
Crowds gather on the Marina Green in San Francisco ahead of the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Feb. 21. (Kasia Pawlowska/SFGATE)
The inaugural Red Bull Showrun took place in Nashville, Tennessee in October 2023 – This is the first time the event is taking over the streets of San Francisco. Along with its high-octane reputation, the sport is known for being prohibitively expensive: according to Finance Buzz, the overall average cost of attending an F1 weekend for American fans is $4,694. Even for more budget-conscious attendees the cost comes in at just under $2,000. By contrast, the showrun is free.
Red Bull’s test and reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull Showrun on Friday, Feb. 20 in San Francisco. (Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE)
By noon on Saturday, roughly 10,000Â fans turned out in the Marina for the event. Red Bull organizers are anticipating a turnout of 40,000 people lining the streets to view the event. Tsunoda, who is now Red Bull’s test and reserve driver, will be joined by Bay Area-native Scott Speed – yes, that’s his real name – and as well as off-road racer Mitch Guthrie and freestyle motocross rider Aaron Colton for the event. Not technically a race, the demonstrations are set to run from 1:10 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Red Bull’s test and reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull Showrun on Friday, Feb. 20 in San Francisco. (Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE)
Red Bull’s test and reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull Showrun on Friday, Feb. 20 in San Francisco. (Chris Partin/Special to SFGATE)
Speaking with SFGATE ahead of the event on Friday, Tsunoda seemed as taken with San Francisco as the crowds were with him. Having explored the city on foot for the first time in the morning, the Japanese driver described an unexpected workout from the city’s famously steep terrain. “I was sweating like hell because of that uphill and downhill,” he said, adding that the hills made for “definitely unnecessary” extra conditioning on top of his earlier training.
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Still, he was won over by San Francisco, which is called “a different world.”
“If you see the view from the top, it’s amazing,” he said.
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This article originally published at 40,000 expected as Red Bull F1 takes over the Marina.