Formula 1 + Me
How the world-class motorsport acquired me — their most unlikely fan.
This is PART 2 in a series on fanbase growth and engagement for elite motorsport: Formula 1.
Formula 1 Discovery Phase complete
Hello from Sydney, Australia! It’s mere hours until the checkered flag flies on the 2020 F1 Russian Grand Prix and yes, I’m a relatively new fan of Formula 1. I thank the Netflix series Formula One: Drive to Survive for igniting the curiosity for this fast-car, adrenalin-fueled sport taking hold. Before March I couldn’t have cared to watch vehicles speed repetitively around a race track. I’d never been one (read: talented) for Daytona or simulator experiences like it, nor had I ever been allowed to experience go-kart racing.
Birthed as something of a pastime throughout early COVID-19 lockdown the ‘Drive’ series viewed retrospectively continued as a sporting interest into this current season. You see, I’ve been keeping a firm eye on the activities informing each race day of this year’s condensed event calendar. Why? I’m invested. How did that happen? I’m asking myself that too.
Genuine “Fandom” Status Phase complete
I’d suggest my intrigue has grown alongside my knowledge for the sport. A ‘fast tracked’ education delivered via two seasons of ‘Drive to Survive’, I’ve learned with a behind the scenes lens applied the top 20 teams on the grid. I also contextually understand the motivations behind those teams’ main drivers and the key factors for influence and ego that contribute to success both on and off the track.
If there is need for further confirmation of my genuine fandom status it comes as I reveal I downloaded the F1 app for iPhone (not that I use it a great deal due to the costs associated) and that I also regularly retweet its content. So too, I’ve taken the decisive action to hit ‘follow’ on a number of the top race drivers, and teams via Twitter to get the on-the-day team sentiment skillfully communicated via social media. In 2020 this type of engagement feels especially important for teams’ to sustain, as fans are missing trackside.
Cultural awareness rises
My fascination for the sport has piqued also in 2020 because of The Black Lives Matter movement. The emphasis on righting the wrongs of racial injustice paved the way from a geopolitical standpoint for various sportsmen and women (including those in F1) to show their support for black men and women. Led by the sport’s black leader both on and off the field Lewis Hamilton I was impressed by the driver fraternity’s early decision throughout BLM as under the guidance of Hamilton drivers opted to ‘take a knee’.
Back on the track I’ve assessed what diehards to the sport probably already knew, that Lewis Hamilton is just, well, a superior driver. Week-on-week he’s on the podium with the exception of one recent race. He drives for the Mercedes-AMG-Petronas team and this car driver combo potentially allows him to continue to notch up over 90 consecutive wins. Wow. His nearest opponents fellow Mercedes team mate: Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappan who seem to frequently feature alongside Hamilton, coveting the poll positions ahead of a Sunday show down, well they find themselves quite a way down the overall points standings.
So that’s me, a new, and female fan to a decades old sport slightly showing off my knowledge acquisition for this season.
Success = alchemy via engine and driver
Power and force of the engine coupled with the character behind the wheel this is what my novice-fan observer ship suggests to me is how on-track success occurs. These two fundamental differentiators sort ‘who wins’ from ‘who doesn’t’ and the true alchemy comes when the speed or pace of the engine are mastered by the skill and agility of the driver behind the wheel. Cue: Lewis Hamilton somewhat of an experienced motorsport driver/veteran at age 35 driving for ultra smooth and speedy legend brand: Mercedes, considered the best engines in the sport.
It remains to be seen what the next round will reveal, but as a marketer and trendwatcher I observe in myself an intriguing merger of cultural paradigms that led to my newfound consumption of Formula 1 racing.
1. The halo effect of Netflix Originals viewed while in lockdown
Of course I’m not the only one who has taken up a new hobby, or found a new interest to delve into because of the pandemic — sourdough bread making anyone? Puzzling? This pandemic has birthed fans in their thousands for new unexpected topics so that feels like a meta trend worth observing and no more so via our consumption habits on OOTD media streaming platforms.
2. Formula 1 — maestros in motorsport and marketing.
The connection that the brands/teams who are competing in the Formula 1 series are achieving with their fans is beyond phenomenal. I’m the least likely to ever sit down and write two essays on a sport I barely know anything about. What I see is potential for learning in how they are delivering their marketing — with strategic agile force, much like the vehicles their drivers rally behind.
As a fan the conversion behaviors I carried out and have sustained beyond watching an episodic retrospective Netflix series are of huge interest to me going forward.
In the meantime for more on my deep dive into fanbase growth and sustained fan engagement in Formula 1 visit PART 1 of series HERE
