To be honest, I’m not much of a sports girl, and I knew very little about F1 before this weekend; I’m more fascinated by the scene that surrounds F1 and the way it’s touched nearly every aspect of American pop culture since the premiere of Drive to Survive, the Netflix series that caused American interest in the sport to skyrocket over the last few years. But as I stood in the Paddock, where all the drivers and fans gather before the race, I finally got it: fast cars (it’s undeniably thrilling to watch cars — or anything, for that matter — reach speeds of nearly 200 miles per hour), cool merch, and swoon-worthy drivers; what’s not to love?
The truth is Formula One brings in a lot of coins. Revenue climbed 25 percent last year, reaching $3.2 billion; McLaren Racing chief executive officer Zak Brown told Bloomberg in March that all ten teams are now worth “well north” of $1.3 billion. Each of those teams, mind you, is allotted $135 million to spend solely on supporting their two drivers and two cars. (I wonder what the car insurance on those things are.) So to say the F1 industry is booming would be an understatement — it’s no wonder every brand under the sun wants a piece of the pie.
Italian streetwear label Palm Angels, which decided to jump in last year by inking a three-year deal with MoneyGram Haas F1 team — the only American team on the grid — invited me and two other editors to attend the Miami F1 Grand Prix last weekend. The reason was to celebrate the second year of the partnership, which includes branding on Haas’s VF-23 car and driver uniforms, as well as inside the Haas garage and hospitality sections and on racewear capsule collections. During the trip, we got an intimate look at the machine that is the F1 industry.
“We felt there was a common ground with what we were doing with Palm Angels and with F1,” explained Francesco Ragazzi, the former artistic director of Moncler who founded Palm Angels in 2011. “They were trying to push the world of F1 to a different consumer, especially in America. We felt we could really tap into that and have a partnership that mixed lifestyle, sport, and fashion for our consumers.”
The itinerary for the weekend was built around three main events: the sprint race on Friday, the qualifier on Saturday, and the finals on Sunday, with a few parties and activations mixed in.
When we arrived at the sprawling Miami International Autodrome (the circuit built in and around the Hard Rock Stadium) on Friday, we made our way to the Paddock, where we joined hundreds of other F1 fans for a pit-lane walk. This is where the magic happens, and it was the first time I was able to get up close and personal with the expert engineers and mechanics who work tirelessly preparing their teams’ cars before the race. One of the tiny cars pulled out right in front of me, and I also got a sneak peak of Ferrari’s new blue uniforms, which are light-years better than their previous in-your-face chile-pepper red. I even saw Lewis Hamilton’s garage, where tons of fans were snapping photos and standing on their tiptoes trying to catch a glimpse of his team.
Next, we headed up to the Paddock Club, where fancy wines and Champagne were flowing before 2 p.m. The hot bar featured everything from grilled shrimp with corn salsa and vegan “ahi tuna” made of watermelon to steak and duck ravioli — pretty much all I could ask for on a Friday afternoon. We ate in the Team Haas section, which featured Palm Angels decals and logos with the brand’s signature gothic font throughout. When it was time for the race to start, we stepped outside to watch from the balcony. It was a total sensory overload — from the loud roar of the engines to the cars zooming past us (so fast that if you blink, you’ll miss them) to the sparks flying off their tires as the Miami heat pounded down on us and fellow racegoers watched in awe. Even from the balcony, I felt a major surge of adrenaline that gave me full-body chills!
Attending an F1 event is surprisingly exhausting and feels a lot like attending a festival, so we all decided to sleep in on Saturday and go to the beach instead. At night, we attended a cocktail hour and seated dinner hosted by Palm Angels … at a 64,000-square-foot mansion. Casual. To me, it was the perfect example of how much visibility an F1 sponsorship can provide for brands, and how it allows them to reach new customers outside of the fashion world.
On Sunday, I woke up with so much excitement and anticipation for the main event of the weekend. The energy in South Beach was palpable, and it was even stronger when we arrived at the venue. We entered the Paddock, which was packed with celebrities like Camila Cabello, Keke Palmer, Zayn Malik, and Travis Kelce hanging out and doing interviews before the race. Even Donald Trump had the nerve to show up.
Next came my favorite part of the entire weekend: watching the finals from inside the Haas garage, where we got to watch the pit crew do a tire change (in less than two seconds) from about ten feet away. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I still can’t believe is even allowed. It honestly felt illegal and invasive to be gawking at these people during one of the most high-pressure and high-stakes moments of their careers, but they somehow didn’t seem to mind?
We then walked upstairs to the Paddock Club — where we were (of course) greeted with wine and a cheese plate — to watch McLaren driver Lando Norris upset Miami Grand Prix defending champion Max Verstappen. It was another extremely exciting moment that gave me chills and converted me from an F1 skeptic to a full-blown fan.
And yes, I’m currently binging Drive to Survive.
