Why Formula 1 is the new playground for luxury brands

From high-visibility trackside billboards to hospitality lounges and branded experiences, these partnerships are designed to merge prestige with performance.

08 Sep 2025 18:33 IST

New Update

RedBull Racing's Max Verstappen’s record-setting win at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday, where he secured the fastest lap in the sport’s history, once again underscored Formula One’s enduring appeal as both a spectacle of speed and a cultural force.

Traditionally seen as a pursuit of the elite, F1 has long been associated with wealth, prestige, and exclusivity. But in recent years, the sport has reinvented itself, emerging as one of the most-watched events among Gen Z and millennial audiences worldwide.

According to a Nielsen Sports study in December 2024, Formula 1 is now the most popular annual sporting series in the world, reaching a total audience of 750 million.

Over the past three years alone, global interest has risen by 5.7%, translating to roughly 50 million new fans, while the sport’s female fan base has grown to 41%. This demographic shift has made F1 especially appealing to luxury houses, which are eager to connect with young, diverse, and globally distributed consumers.

Similarly, in India, the sport has seen a rising fan following over the years. A key turning point in India’s F1 landscape was the Indian Grand Prix held at Buddh International Circuit, first hosted in 2011. It brought the spectacle closer to Indian audiences. But the Indian GP was soon suspended in 2014 due to tax laws.

The rise of Indian digital creators has further accelerated this growth in recent years, with influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and X simplifying race formats, sharing highlights, and creating lifestyle content around the sport.

The rise of Netflix’s Drive to Survive series has been central to this shift, fueling global interest and transforming the sport into a mainstream phenomenon.

Luxury brands have seized this opportunity through sponsorships, activations, and prominently placed out-of-home (OOH) marketing at circuits. From high-visibility trackside billboards to hospitality lounges and branded experiences, these partnerships are designed to merge prestige with performance.

For luxury marketers, F1 offers the perfect balance of global reach, aspirational lifestyles, and direct engagement with high-net-worth audiences.

In this article, we take a look at some of the luxury brands that we have seen on the F1 tracks over the years, beyond simple hoardings of the brands.