That momentum is mirrored in the drivers’ growing cultural power. Among the sport’s most recognisable figures, Charles Leclerc has served as a global ambassador for Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal since 2023, a partnership that epitomises how lifestyle brands are using the grid to reach new audiences. “Now, F1 speaks to a much broader audience compared to when I first started,” Leclerc says. “There are many more people interested in it — people from different backgrounds and with different passions.”
That cross-pollination extends well beyond sponsorships. Just days after the Singapore race, YouTube creator Amelia Dimoldenberg announced Passenger Princess, a four-part series featuring F1 drivers George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Ollie Bearman, Carlos Sainz and more, as she attempts to earn her driving licence. Known for interviewing actors at the Oscars and musicians at the Brits, Dimoldenberg’s pivot to the paddock shows how seamlessly F1 drivers have evolved into mainstream lifestyle figures.
What Leclerc describes — and what brands like Chivas, Charlotte Tilbury and Tommy Hilfiger have capitalised on — reflects F1’s broader transformation into a global ecosystem where fashion, luxury and entertainment converge. But as F1’s world expands, does it risk reaching saturation? And how can brands without a historical presence in motorsport tap into this momentum in a way that feels authentic?
Storytelling as a strategy
What once made F1 exclusive, now makes it magnetic. “F1’s cultural world has historically been quite impenetrable,” says Omone Ugbome, strategist at sports consultancy Pacer. “But since Drive to Survive, most people now learn team narratives and rivalries before they understand racing technicalities. The lore is almost always the entry point, which is why F1 works as a cultural platform.”
That narrative-first access has radically changed who follows the sport. “The audience is growing fast, pulling in young women, Gen Z, people who weren’t typically F1 fans,” Ugbome adds. “With a relatively open cultural footprint, brands have the unique opportunity to shape the sport’s narrative rather than buy into one that’s always existed.”
