I’ve always thought of Formula 1 racing as a very niche sport dominated by wealthy gearheads.
Turns out it’s not so niche and is growing increasingly diverse. A new study released by Interpublic Group’s Octagon agency puts the number of F1 fans globally at 700 million. And recently it’s been growing by leaps and bounds—the study estimates that one-third of those fans, or more than 230 million, are new within the last four years.
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The Netflix series Drive To Survive has probably helped grow the fan base. But as the Octagon report asserts, “maybe it was simply about time for Formula 1 to expand its traditional core audience from rich, male, petrol heads, to encompass younger and more diverse audiences.”
The sport’s popularity appears to be growing in the U.S. as well as globally. Case in point is the F1 Arcade, a dining and interactive racing experience that began in London a few years back and which now has major expansion plans on this side of the pond. Thirty-plus locations are planned to open throughout the country in the next 5 years.
F1 Arcade launched its first U.S. location in Boston in April and a Washington DC venue is opening later this month. In 2025, F1 Arcade will open at The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas.
Formula 1 just signed a new lead sponsorship deal with luxury brand marketer LVMH, worth a reported $1 billion over 10 years. It starts in 2025. LVMH suceeds Rolex in the lead sponsor role.
Anthony Coppers, founder of experiential agency Gradient sees a lot advantages for the new sponsor’s multiband approach. “Unlike a single brand partnership, LVMH’s diverse verticals—spanning fashion, watchmaking, and wines & spirits—allow for varied brand messaging that resonates across the Formula One ecosystem. This enables them to present a consistent narrative of luxury and desirability, engaging audiences at critical moments throughout the racing calendar.”
The Octagon report states that the new and growing generation of F1 fans are “shaping the future of the sport and present a huge untapped opportunity for brands who operate, or want to operate, in this space.”
For the new generation of fans, “guest passes to the Paddock Club or logo-covered cars aren’t the best ways to reach or cater effectively for this audience. With the general cultural convergence shaping their lives, interests and consumption, sports fandom has merged with fashion, music, art and gaming like never before... The entry points are not TV or racetracks anymore. New fans are coming in through TikTok influencers, music, Fashion Weeks, memes, gaming… you name it.”
Access more from the report here.
Liberty Media bought the Formula One Group in 2017 for an estimated $4.6 billion.