Why a majority of new Formula 1 fans are women
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A fan wears a hat decorated with the F1 collectible cars during ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore earlier this month. Photo: Clive Rose - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
When Formula 1 roars into Austin this weekend, the drivers at the Circuit of the Americas for the U.S. Grand Prix will all be men — but many fans in the grandstand will be women.
Why it matters: The globetrotting motorsport, a marketing juggernaut, is increasingly trying to draw in women.
The big picture: Women now account for 3 in 4 new F1 fans, per the sport's global fan survey, released in July.
- And brands see opportunities to make a lot of money among those fans.
Case in point: Skincare company Elemis now sponsors the Aston Martin F1 team.
- Pepe Jeans, a longtime sponsor for Red Bull Racing, is known for their fashion-forward fan merchandise available to women.
- And through the F1 Academy, an all-woman racing series, brands including Charlotte Tilbury, Wella and Tommy Hilfiger have taken on title sponsorships as part of a commitment to supporting women athletes.
What they're saying: "Brands would be amiss to to ignore this powerful global fan base," Alexandra Zigrang, founder of Off to the Races, a boutique travel agency that organizes group trips to Formula 1 races specifically for women fans, tells Axios.
The latest: This week saw the launch of "Passenger Princess," an interview series in which F1 drivers teach the English comic Amelia Dimoldenberg how to drive.
- "This original series is another way for F1 to entice a new audience into the exciting world of racing," Ian Holmes, chief media rights and broadcasting officer of Formula 1, said in a statement.
Zoom in: For F1, "a brand evolution is fully underway" as the sport aims to appeal to women "drawn to the human stories of the sport," Liana Steir, a digital storyteller who connects brands with their audiences, tells Axios. (Steir formerly worked at Axios).
- Steir is an F1 fan and is in Austin this week as part of an effort to visit all 24 race sites on the circuit.
- "I began by following a favorite driver, and that expanded to following more drivers, then teams and eventually the sport itself. I'm now emotionally invested in the rivalries, strategy and growing cultural impact. And my wallet follows."
Between the lines: F1's outreach mirrors a strategy by the NFL over at least the last decade to draw in more women.
- Pro football has softened its macho strain with all sorts of marketing, in ways that have proven critical to its survival (amid the revelations of brain injuries) and dizzying franchise valuations.
The bottom line: "We love the work that the F1 Academy is doing, but it's not enough," TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss told Axios in May, ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
- "We don't just want to see female drivers in the sport. We want executives. We want engineers, mechanics. All across the board, there should be an opportunity."