Formula 1 is ramping up its off-track commercial activities as the global car racing series leans into pop culture to pull in new fans, keep their interest and increase revenues.
F1, which is controlled by the US group Liberty Media and whose season starts this weekend, is betting on experiences, merchandising and retail as part of a wider strategy focused on crossing into the entertainment industry.
Under Liberty Media ownership since an $8bn takeover in 2017, F1 has reached new audiences by putting the focus on the drivers, showcasing their personalities through the likes of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive.
At a launch event in front of 15,000 people at the O2 Arena in London in February, all 10 teams presented their cars ahead of the new season. Music artists Machine Gun Kelly, Kane Brown and Take That performed, hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall under light displays and films that honoured F1’s history and connected it to the present.
The F1 75 event was another instalment in a series of immersive experiences being offered to fans. It comes on the back of the travelling F1 Exhibition, which showcases cars and other mementos from the sport’s history, and the gaming-bar business F1 Arcade, which is also backed by Liberty Media.
F1 chief commercial officer Emily Prazer says the experiential approach was a “huge focus” in efforts to engage with fans and audiences outside the racetrack, in a cost-efficient and tangible way.
“Our sport — you need to be able to smell it, touch it and sell it to understand it,” Prazer says.
In another sign of the sport’s efforts to tap into the entertainment industry, F1 has backed a new film — titled F1 — starring Brad Pitt and scheduled for release in June.
The sport is in “Disneyfication” mode, says Paolo Aversa, professor of strategy at King’s College London, creating a world that provides different experiences and products to people from childhood to retirement, from toys and collectibles to merchandise and high-end hospitality.
“You first meet Mickey when you’re three, you meet the new characters of the franchise and you end up watching Marvel, then something more senior towards the end,” he says. “You can go to Disney theme parks and you can stay in the hotels. This is typical of American business models. Liberty Media knows this model very well.”
Disney-style theme parks, however, remain some way off. “I wish, that’s like my dream,” Prazer says.
Following a string of new deals in recent months, F1 has struck licensing partnerships with Lego Group and Mattel on new product ranges of toys and collectibles. The Lego collection ranges from entry-level Duplo to advanced Technic models, while Mattel is rolling out toy cars under its Hot Wheels brand.
Julia Goldin, global chief product and marketing officer at Lego, says the partnership will “surprise and delight fans” — with not just the products but also content or pop-up shops at Grand Prix events.
Lego’s “activation” video, portrayed Lego F1 cars racing around the Las Vegas Sphere — the city’s music and entertainment venue.
“It’s about enhancing the fans’ experience, giving them something to talk about, and something that will create a sense of awe,” Goldin said. “These are the kinds of things that build the brand for the future.”
Prazer agrees. “A lot of what we are focused on is how we continue to grow off the back of the success of Exhibition, Arcade and what we’re doing in Vegas.”
Under Liberty, F1 has widened its appeal from older, male petrolheads to a far more diverse audience, which skews younger and more female than before the takeover. The sport has built its global appeal with new races in the Middle East and the US, tapping into new fan bases and revenue opportunities.
“People who watch the race live, beginning to end, will become the minority,” Aversa says. “Most people will enjoy F1 by playing with Lego, shorter summaries on social media, maybe watching the movie inspired by F1 or the Netflix series, which is more and more dramatised and less and less a documentary.”
In its 75th year, F1 is also finding new ways to produce the merchandise and memorabilia that fans want. In a move that complements F1’s existing licensing business, Prazer says the company has created its own wholesaler off the back of the F1 Hub, an initiative at the Las Vegas Grand Prix that featured exclusive merchandise collaborations, including one with the cartoon dog Snoopy, from the Peanuts comics.
The new Las Vegas Grand Prix — and Liberty Media’s decision to become the promoter for the event — is transforming the way F1 does business globally. The series now sends a product book to its Vegas casino partners a year in advance, allowing them to pick the merchandise they want to offer.
“We want to have quality control over what we’re selling — Formula 1 is a premium brand,” Prazer says. “We’re taking it really seriously. We’re not suggesting we’re ever going to take on Nike . . . but I think it helps us as we start selling into those retailers a little bit more.”
“Our biggest challenge is how to capitalise on it and be very thoughtful about what we do and don’t do,” she says. “The sport is on a roll and we’re getting inquiries on a daily basis, but we have to be really, really thoughtful [about it].”
