The growing interest of a younger generation in Formula 1 has seen the sport attract a new wave of sponsorship from consumer brands.
The sport has attracted a record audience of 6.5 million for events in 2024, thanks to the effect of Netflix’s “F1: Drive for a Living” and a growing number of themed films in Hollywood.
Nestlé’s Kit Kat, which will become the “official chocolate” of F1 next season, and luxury group LVMH, owner of brands Moët & Chandon, Tag Heuer and Louis Vuitton, are among the recent additions to the growing list of sponsors prestige of the competition.
Mattel’s McDonald’s, Lego and Hot Wheels have also signed deals with F1 in 2024.
Thomas Josnik, head of motorsport at Puma, which has sponsorship deals with F1 and teams including Ferrari and Aston Martin F1, said the rise of a “much wider and much younger audience” had made F1 “much more attractive”. .
“It’s not just about pure sport anymore,” he said. “It’s the whole culture and culture around sport, including fashion, celebrities and music.”
Under the ownership of American group Liberty Media, F1 has positioned itself as a premium sports and lifestyle brand, with a young and diverse fan base. The company generated $632 million in sponsorship revenue in the 12 months to the end of the third quarter of this year, more than double the amount it raised in all of 2019, according to an investor presentation.
The races in Melbourne, Silverstone, Texas and Mexico City each attracted more than 400,000 spectators. F1 also had US races in Miami and Las Vegas, boosting attendance figures in North America.
“With five events in North America now, it’s much easier for brand marketers in the west of the country to justify the investment,” said Jonathan Jensen, an academic and consultant who follows F1.
Brand awareness also increased thanks to the Netflix series “Dirir Para Viver”, with behind-the-scenes features that brought drivers and team managers closer to the public.
Films like “Rush” (2013), which tells the story of the rivalry between former drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, ”increased the popularity of F1 in Hollywood,” said Joe Cobbs, professor of sports business at Northern Kentucky University. A new F1 film starring actor Brad Pitt is scheduled for release this year.
“Drivers and teams have become much more recognizable in the US, which has allowed consumer brands to activate F1 sponsorships more effectively in the US market,” Cobbs added.
F1 estimates that 42% of its 750 million fan base is under 35. The percentage of female fans has increased to around 41% compared to 37% in 2018.
As in-person and digital audiences grow, a growing percentage of team sponsors are consumer-facing companies, according to analysis provided by Cobbs and Jonathan Jensen.
In 2023, more than 63% of team sponsors were consumer-facing, with the remainder being focused on other businesses, compared to 55.9% in 2020 when the series took off on Netflix.
The average value of a team sponsorship deal is now just above $5 million, nearly double 2019 numbers, according to Nielsen Sports. Agreements are also shorter, dropping from an average of 5.2 years in 2019 to 3.2, allowing for a greater number of agreements and sponsorship partners.
Demand among sponsors has expanded beyond the main F1 race series.
The F1 Academy, a racing league designed to highlight female drivers, has signed a variety of consumer-facing brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Charlotte Tilbury, Puma, American Express and Red Bull.
Racing teams have also won over consumer-facing companies. The Chipotle Mexican Grill franchise has reached a sponsorship deal with Haas F1 in 2023, while clothing retailer Adidas will become the Mercedes F1 team’s apparel partner in 2025.
Ferrari announced a partnership with whiskey brand Chivas Regal in November, and McLaren with telecommunications provider T-Mobile in October.
“The story of superhuman efforts will never get old,” said Kate Dalton, Aston Martin F1 head of brand and marketing. “Definitely through Netflix and now a lot more on places like TikTok, it’s come to life again, and people are seeing it with new eyes.”
Behind-the-scenes sports content has always performed well on TikTok, which has a content partnership with the Aston Martin F1 team, according to Aoife Moran, European sports marketing lead at the social media platform.
“It’s not just the stories and how they’re performing on the track, it’s the mechanics, the engineers, all those people behind the scenes that make the difference,” Moran said. “That emotional storytelling through content creation, those are the moments that stand out on TikTok, not the stories being broadcast.”
