How Formula One is racing to transform America’s subsequent giant sports activities logo

This weekend’s Miami Grand Prix marked any other milestone in that transformation: a sell-out spectacle mixing superstar, tech, model, and pageant – extra Super Bowl than Sunday pressure. It’s evidence that F1 isn’t simply web hosting occasions within the U.S. – it’s development a logo right here from the bottom up.

Ironically, for a game that turns 75 this yr, its American bankruptcy looks like a startup in hypergrowth mode. “In 2017, we had no social media, no digital platforms – nothing,” mentioned Jonny Haworth, Chief Commercial Officer at F1, at a Globant-hosted tournament all through race week. “Now? We’ve got nearly 850 million fans globally, and the biggest surge is happening right here in the U.S.”

Nowhere is that surge extra visual than in Miami. The race takes position round Hard Rock Stadium – a venue already colossal as house to the Miami Dolphins, the Miami Open, and main international live shows. For F1, it’s the anchor for an operation of staggering logistical complexity. Each race comes to seven chartered 747s transporting the whole lot from the workforce garages to the information servers to the virtual pit wall infrastructure. “We’re essentially building and moving a high-performance village around the world, week after week,” mentioned Haworth.

That scale is matched through ambition. And the name of the game to the game’s contemporary upward push? Storytelling. Netflix’s Drive to Survive cracked open the paddock and let new fanatics attach emotionally with the drivers – and each and every different. “You don’t have to be glued to the track for two hours on a Sunday to be a fan anymore,” mentioned Haworth. “You can follow the culture, the music, the fashion, even just the drivers’ personalities. That cultural hook is what’s pulling Americans in.”

Speaking completely to The Drum, Haworth expanded at the game’s cultural crossover and logo technique. “Culture and commerce is key,” he mentioned. “You can enjoy the sport without needing to understand DRS zones or tyre strategies. You might come in through fashion, music, celebrities, or social media – and that’s fine. Our job is to provide access points for everyone.”

And it’s running. “What we’ve seen in the U.S. is a newer, more emotionally connected fanbase,” he endured. “Many of them have come to us through Netflix or TikTok – not through traditional broadcasts. That gives us a very different kind of brand equity here. There’s more affinity for Formula One as a brand, rather than just teams or drivers.”

It’s additionally what’s pulling in sposnors – particularly the B2B sort. Guibert Englebienne, co-founder of Globant, a world tech corporate and F1’s virtual transformation spouse, mentioned the game gives precisely the type of narrative canvas trendy manufacturers are hungry for. “This isn’t about putting a logo on a race track,” he mentioned. “It’s about solving real problems. We started with a specific ask – revamp the pit wall’s data interface – and that led to deeper integration. That’s what makes it sticky.”

Globant’s gadget now powers a key piece of trackside decision-making, lowering information lag from 9 seconds to 5. It’s the type of behind-the-scenes tale that will in most cases keep buried underneath the outside – however in F1, the equipment issues. “Every partnership we build has to be authentic,” mentioned Haworth. “We’re lean. We can’t do it alone. So we work with the best. And if a partner helps us do something we genuinely need, the stories we tell are real.”

That authenticity is already handing over ROI, particularly within the U.S. The Miami Grand Prix drew over 275,000 fanatics around the weekend. According to Haworth, 70% of latest fanatics in America are underneath 35, and 40% are ladies. “Those fans are engaged in ways we hadn’t seen before,” he mentioned. “They buy the merch. They follow the drivers. They interact on platforms we weren’t even using six years ago.”

Formula One’s advertising workforce is leaning into that power. Donna Birkett-Bryda, who joined as CMO final yr after stints at Coca-Cola and Disney, has overseen a complete logo refresh. “We wanted to be recognizably Formula One,” she mentioned. “Our new identity is built around the ‘racing line’ – the fastest route from start to finish. You’ll see it across all our channels, all our touchpoints.”

Beyond design, the true problem is intensity. “My goal is to make people fall in love with the sport,” mentioned Birkett-Bryda. “We want those big, emotional moments – but we also need to make the day-to-day experience feel personal and rewarding. The more people learn about Formula One, the more they love it.”

That’s the place tech companions like Globant are key. “We’re developing a fan-facing app that moves us from reactive to proactive,” mentioned Todd Krugman, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer at Globant. “It’s about anticipating what fans want next – not just responding to clicks.” The app will even gasoline information insights that pressure smarter content material, comms, and personalisation – a part of F1’s lengthy sport to construct deeper engagement.

So what’s subsequent?

F1’s Hollywood-style enlargement continues this summer season with a Brad Pitt movie sponsored through Apple and Bruckheimer. Cadillac is ready to enroll in the grid in 2026. A fourth U.S. race is already being whispered about. And whilst America nonetheless lacks a breakout famous person within the motive force’s seat, insiders imagine a charismatic, aggressive U.S. motive force may well be the overall accelerant. Max Verstappen reignited the game within the Netherlands. Schumacher did it for Germany. Alonso for Spain. The proper American motive force may just take it to any other degree.

But F1 isn’t ready. “We know the audience is there,” mentioned Haworth. “Our job is to be creative, be authentic, and find ways to keep growing. And that doesn’t mean just adding logos – it means co-creating stories, building real products, and making sure fans feel like they’re part of the world we’re building.”