We analyze the real reasons why more and more car manufacturers want to enter Formula 1.
Formula 1 is at the best moment in its recent history and it is no secret that more and more brands are interested in entering the championship. The specialized media company Liberty Media has given a huge facelift to the championship that they acquired in the distant year 2016, and let’s be honest, now F1 is much more attractive and popular, and that translates into money.
The perception of Formula 1 fans is no longer that of a boring championship where the same man always wins. The 2021 season, in which Hamilton and Verstappen fought a precious battle for the title, changed everything. But it was not only that, because the owners of F1 have made a series of decisions that have given good results.
Among those decisions, there have been some that would have been unthinkable during the days when Bernie Ecclestone was the championship’s overlord. An example of this is the opening to fans on social networks, where the races are even followed live, or extensive videos are published where the Grand Prix and test sessions are analyzed.
But there are many more ingredients that have made this Formula 1 attract brands like Audi, which will debut in the premier class in 2026, or Ford, which will return to the championship as a Red Bull driver after two decades of absence.
And there is interest from many more manufacturers, such as Honda – which wants to continue in F1 despite the fact that Red Bull has signed with Ford -, and there is even talk of Hyundai, Cadillac or Porsche, which was already on the verge of reaching an agreement with the energy drink team last year also facing 2026, and interest in buying Williams has even been rumored.
So what makes Formula 1 so attractive to manufacturers?
Netflix effect and success in the United States
In times of economic cuts and savings by brands from all kinds of sectors, including of course the automobile, Formula 1 can boast of being the championship where all major manufacturers want to be. And it is that, the visibility that the queen category currently gives in the largest markets is unsurpassed.
One of the pending accounts of F1 until the end of the last decade was to ‘hook’ the North American public. To do so, the premier category could not resort to any other weapon than television and new platforms (for something Liberty Media is a company that is dedicated to the media), Netflix and the documentary series Drive to Survive being its main allies.
Daniel Ricciardo said – and he was not the only one to do so – that he has gone from being unknown in the United States to being recognized on the street. And, coinciding in time, the stands at the US Grand Prix in Austin have been filled breaking attendance records, when in that country there was talk of Daytona, NASCAR or Indycar, but not so much of F1.
Liberty Media’s response has been to give the North American fan what they want, and for this reason from 2022 onwards we will have three races in the United States: Austin, Miami and the main course of F1, Las Vegas. This makes them a reference in a very important market for the automotive industry, and where brands want to have visibility.
Knowing all this, it is totally understandable that a brand like Ford has decided to return to F1 after two decades of absence, and even that Cadillac is knocking on the door to access the premier class along with Andretti.
The Budget Cap: More Chances of Winning
Getting into Formula 1 is incredibly expensive, no one doubts that, but if they tell you that once you’re on the track, all the teams will be able to spend the same, things change. In 2020, the FIA and Liberty Media approved a budget limit of 175 million dollars that has been reduced to 145 million and varying according to the races that are held per season.
In addition, based on the results achieved throughout the season, the FIA establishes cuts to the development time of each car, which allows the teams that are at the bottom of the table to have certain benefits in order to reduce the distance to the teams ahead of them.
It also allows the championship to be more sustainable in terms of economy, and protects itself against the millionaire spending that large companies can make compared to the most modest private teams.
Presence in social networks and a younger audience
No less important is the twist that Formula 1 has taken to attract the interest of a younger audience. The entry on Netflix through Drive to Survive has allowed to bring the races, stories and epic of F1 to the homes of millions and millions of people of a wide age range around the world.
And, although not everyone who sees Drive to Survive gets hooked on F1, it is accessible to a generally younger audience and also to new markets where there is not a great following of the championship, either because they do not have a Grand Prix or a driver from the country or, simply because there is no great car culture.
In addition to the ‘Netflix effect’, Formula 1 has expanded its presence on social networks in recent years, coming to regularly offer content to its followers through Twitter or YouTube; and even pilots like Fernando Alonso have created a TikTok account to be closer to the fans.
At the same time, the championship tests new formats more focused on the battle on the track and, ultimately, on entertainment, such as the F1 to Sprint races, a modality that increases the uncertainty regarding the result of the weekend. In 2023 there will be a total of six Grands Prix with this format.
With all this, F1 has managed to become the ‘pretty girl’ of the sport. Not only the most important car manufacturers and brands in the world want to access the Grand Circus, but also circuits and promoters try to enter a calendar that already has 23 races, new sponsors arrive… and the championship continues to grow.
