Almost falling into indifference at the start of the 2010s, Formula 1 has succeeded, in less than a decade, in thoroughly reinventing itself. In 2017, Liberty Media, an American media firm, bought the Formula One Group. The premier discipline of motorsport then changes owner, but also model. More open, more readable and more connected, F1 manages to conquer a younger, wider and more diverse audience. To the point of becoming today a textbook case of modern sports marketing.
This shift is not a coincidence. When Liberty Media arrived, the diagnosis was clear: Formula 1 was an under-exploited product. Too technical for part of the general public, too closed in its way of communicating, too dependent on traditional television logic, it lacks digital visibility and emotional proximity. This inertia is also embodied in the vision of its former leader, Bernie Ecclestone, who affirmed, in 2014, that he did not see “ no interest » aimed at young audiences and social networks. The challenge is then to give the discipline a place in popular culture, without distorting it.
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Liberty Media, the real starting point
The turning point began in 2017, when Liberty Media bought the Formula One Group from CVC Capital Partners. Behind this change of shareholder, there is above all a change of vision. F1 is no longer just thought of as a championship, but as a media and entertainment brand, capable of speaking to younger, more international and more connected audiences.
Liberty Media quickly understood that it was necessary to modernize the way of telling the story of the discipline. Until now, Formula 1 lived mainly through sporting performance, times and results. From now on, we must also build a story, an identity, characters and simpler entry points for the general public. The strategy is clear: make F1 more accessible without losing its premium status.
On January 24, 2017, Chase Carey, president of the Formula One Group, declared to the New York Times: “ The F1 world championship is really poorly presented. He doesn’t do anything digital; there is no marketing; he doesn’t tell any stories ».
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Netflix as an accelerator
The first big shift goes through Netflix. In 2018, a team sets up in the paddocks and follows the Grands Prix from the inside to launch the documentary series Drive to Survive. The idea was brought forward by Sean Bratches, then commercial director of Liberty Media, who made storytelling a central lever for transforming the image of the discipline.
The principle is extremely effective. Each episode follows a team, drivers, a Grand Prix, rivalries, doubts, tensions. For a sport often perceived as too technical and too closed, this is a radical change in language. Formula 1 ceases to be just a championship: it becomes a story with episodes.
They were immediately successful. Drive to Survive does not only show the race, it reveals behind the scenes, the faces, the disagreements and the emotions. The series makes the paddock understandable for an audience who does not necessarily master the codes of motorsport. It transforms a sometimes opaque universe into an accessible, almost addictive soap opera.
From the first season, Grand Prix audiences increased by 30 to 50%, depending on the market. Year after year, the dynamic grows: in 2025, F1 claims 827 million fans. Today, 43% of his fans are under 35 years old. The series not only made F1 visible, it made it cultural.
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La machine social media
The transformation of Formula 1 was not built solely on Netflix, however. If Drive to Survive opened the doors of the paddock to the general public, social networks have profoundly transformed the way the discipline is consumed on a daily basis. These distribution channels have become real strategic levers for Liberty Media.
- At the heart of this digital transformation, the official Formula 1 account plays a central role in the way in which the discipline now exists on social networks. With more than 42 million subscribers on Instagram, 14 million on TikTok and nearly 15 million on YouTube, F1 has established itself as a a true entertainment brand. Excerpts from races, backstage content, interviews, memes or TikTok trends: the discipline continuously feeds a universe designed to maintain engagement well beyond the Grands Prix.
- This new way of consuming the discipline has also favored the emergence of a generation of specialized content creators. On TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, profiles like idreau_, depielof1 or even seb.erson.f1 actively participate in democratizing motorsport among a younger audience. Through short formats, simplified analyses, humor or storytelling, these creators make F1 more accessible and closer to current digital uses.
- This dynamic is no longer limited to content produced by F1 or its specialist creators. It extends to hybrid formats, on the border between sport and entertainment. In France, the GP Explorer organized by Squeezie is a good example. By bringing together content creators, streamers and artists around a Formula 4 race broadcast on Twitch, the event attracted up to 1.4 million spectators simultaneously, for its third edition. A success which confirms the growing place of digital platforms in the world of motorsport.
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The strategy carried out by Liberty Media seems to have achieved its objective. Between viral content, specialized creators and events like the GP Explorer, social networks have become a real entry point into the world of F1. Nearly 46% of 25-34 year olds now consider social platforms to be very important in their way of following discipline, a proportion which reaches 66% among 18-24 year olds and 68% among those under 18. More broadly, 64% of Formula 1 fans today say that social networks constitute an important channel of access to content related to the championship, compared to only 28% in 2015.
@f1 can see those cortisol levels dropping 📉 #f1 #monacogp #f1drivers #sports ♬ Idea 15 (Sped Up) – Gibran Alcocer
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Drivers at the heart of the circuit of influence
From the start of the takeover by Liberty Media, the pilots were integrated into the modernization strategy. The “ F1 Live London » organized in 2017 in Trafalgar Square illustrates this desire to bring the discipline closer to the general public. Gathered in a free event in the center of London, they became the central figures of the show, in front of nearly 100,000 people.
Three years later, this visibility takes another form with the Covid-19 pandemic. Postponed or canceled, from Melbourne to Monaco, the first Grands Prix of the 2020 season disappear from the calendar, abruptly interrupting the sporting event.
In this void, Twitch becomes a new exhibition space. Charles Leclerc, with 1.1 million followers, Lando Norris, followed by 1.8 million people, but also George Russell and Alex Albon, increase interactions with their fans. By playing, discussing and sharing more informal moments, they build a more spontaneous and more accessible image, far from the very closed codes of traditional communication in F1.
This exposure is gradually changing the way pilots are perceived. Brands see partnership opportunities:
- Lewis Hamilton : San Pellegrino, Rimowa, Lululemon…
- Charles Leclerc : APM Monaco, L’Oréal Paris, Peroni…
- Lando Norris : Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Tumi Travel, Monster Energy…
- Pierre Gasly : Van Rysel, Lacoste, Givenchy…
Formula 1 drivers are now part of an economy of influence, where their personal image becomes a marketing lever in its own right.
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F1, a film shot in the reality of the paddock
Launched in 2021, the project quickly took on spectacular scale. Led by Joseph Kosinski as director, Brad Pitt as lead, Jerry Bruckheimer as producer and Lewis Hamilton as producer and consultant, the film was built at the intersection of Hollywood and the paddock. Highly coveted, it ended up being recovered by Apple for an amount estimated between 130 and 140 million dollars, before being distributed to cinemas by Warner Bros.
But it is above all its manufacturing which sets it apart. Filming took place during real Grand Prix weekends, at Silverstone, Monza, Spa, Zandvoort, Suzuka, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. The teams filmed between official sessions, directly in the race environment. To enhance the immersion, modified Formula 2 cars were used, with miniature cameras integrated into the chassis. Brad Pitt and Damson Idris themselves underwent several months of training to approach the physical constraints of pilots.
The film is therefore not content to tell the story of F1 from the outside. It reproduces the codes, places and rhythms of the interior. The presence of real drivers, team directors and commentators further reinforces this impression of authenticity. By focusing on the reality of the paddock as much as on the spectacle, F1 transforms the championship into a total cinematic object.
With more than $570 million in worldwide revenue, the film illustrates the extension of Formula 1 towards a broader cultural imagination, capable of speaking to an audience well beyond just enthusiasts. F1 is now an entertainment franchise in its own right.
@f1 Drive fast and just keep watching. #F1TheMovie – only in theaters June 27. Get tickets now! ðŸŽŸï¸ #F1 ♬ Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie) – Tate McRae
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Global expansion
The growth of Formula 1 can also be seen in its calendar. From 19 Grands Prix in 2019, the discipline increased to 24 in 2024, a historic record. The United States, long considered a difficult market to conquer, now hosts three races: Austin, Miami and Las Vegas. Symbol of this success, the Las Vegas Grand Prix has become a powerful tool for promoting the discipline. In 2025, the event has generated more than 450 million video views and more than 60 million online interactions around F1 content.
The weekend format has also evolved. Introduced in 2021, the “ Sprint » have gradually found their place in the calendar. In 2026, they will be organized at six Grands Prix: Miami, Silverstone, Shanghai, Montreal, Zandvoort and Singapore. This format adds an additional sporting challenge and further densifies the show over the same weekend.
This expansion is accompanied by an increased presence of teams outside the circuits. Urban demonstrations, promotional events and single-seater launches are increasing in several major cities around the world. Red Bull, for example, has organized several demonstrations in Tokyo, Washington and Palermo in recent years in front of thousands of spectators.
Every driver, every team and every Grand Prix now helps fuel a global ecosystem of sport, media and entertainment that continues to exist long after the five red lights go out.
