Hollywooding Formula 1

Formula 1 has been the pinnacle of motorsport for 75 years. It breeds champions in drivers and vehicle manufacturers.

Aside from the panache and bragging rights that come with success, many of the manufacturing greats have used the learnings from competition to improve their on-road offerings. Many would argue there’s no better development platform.

As a result, marketing of F1 involvement was proudly touted by manufacturers over the years.

But what about marketing from the organisers of F1. The reality is the rusted-on fans have been and will continue to follow, with the passion stemming from a love of all things motoring. The competition and drama that comes with it is a bonus. These traditional fans love the sport because of the vehicles and the history of pushing car and driver to the limit for the ultimate outcome; hoisting that trophy on the top step of the podium.

Not so long ago I was lucky enough to attend the Miami round of the season as part of a trip stateside. It was the second running of the event and I was excited to see the spectacle of the sport in a different locale. In true Miami style it was quite the setup, with plenty of glitz and glamour to appreciate alongside the main event. But it just felt, different.

The relatively new location, coupled with the sport simply not having the same following in the US was the initial assertion I made for the “different” patronage I observed. Having been to our home round at Melbourne Australia a couple of times, the vast proportion of patronage are hard-core motorsport fans. How do I know, well that’s a hard one too. I guess an elephant knows another when he sees one.

Sitting on the grandstand, I was surrounded by unique conversations – and that’s where it became much more obvious. The discussions between people were not around the details of the cars, rather they revolved around a common theme; the Netflix series Drive to Survive.

The series has been tremendously successful in media terms. It was also clear that it had succeeded to captivate many hundreds of thousands of eyes that previously really didn’t have much interest in the sport. I did watch a couple of episdoes and will say its very well done, and stacks on the drama.

In 2025 we have F1, the movie; and what a cast. With aging heartthrob Brad Pitt headlining, it has drawn similar reviews to the Netflix series. Motorsport fans either didn’t go or are slinging the proverbial at it, whilst the glitterati and influencer set are star struck. I’ve not seen it, and when my darling wife suggested we go, it was shut down quite quickly.

Much like the Fast franchise, I struggle to enjoy these sorts of things because I’d be forever picking up mistakes or inauthenticity. Things like the fact that an SR20 doesn’t go into a EM1 Civic, nor does Motec manufacture exhausts.

There’s no doubting the success from a marketing perspective though, another closet passion of mine. The sports’ coffers are pretty deep I’d say. How deep? I don’t really know. But ultimately with it being acquired by the Liberty Media Group in 2017 it’s unsurprising that these sorts of content plays are at hand. And it’s winning, because there’s more eyes looking at F1. This should translate to more profit and growth of the sport, along with longevity.

Maybe they should have fancy grandstands for the recently joined fans, think free selfy-sticks and special hashtags. The true motorsport lovers don’t need a lot, just keep the racing tight and the noise right.