81% of new F1 fans consuming content via YouTube

• 80% of new fans consume F1 content through Instagram, 74% via TikTok
• Access to events is identified as the biggest pain point for new followers of the sport
• 25% of female fans think F1 needs to do more to improve gender diversity

81 per cent of new Formula One fans are consuming content related to the series on YouTube, according to a study carried out by sports marketing agency Octagon.

The global survey canvassed the opinions of fans between the ages of 16 and 30 who have been following Formula One for fewer than five years. It covered markets in the UK, US, France, Germany and China.

Short-form video was identified as the most popular content format for new Formula One fans globally. Instagram is the second-most used channel for Formula One content, according to the survey, which saw 80 per cent of new fans say they engage with the platform ‘at least occasionally’, while 74 per cent said the same for TikTok. One in every two new fans consume content on TikTok ‘often’.

Legacy social media platforms like Reddit, X and Facebook have been deemed ‘almost redundant for younger fans’, the study said.

The survey also noted that podcasts are very popular with the younger generation, while 58 per cent of fans occasionally engage with Formula One influencers.

Social media has become an increasingly important medium for Formula One to engage with its new fans, over half of whom identified access to races as the biggest pain point. The report suggested that this is likely down to the cost of Grand Prix tickets.

Other pain points picked out by respondents included limited ways to interact with the sport, geo-locked content and access to the drivers.

Even though they suggested they feel priced out of Grands Prix, nearly 50 per cent of the new fans who participated in the study said they appreciated the series’ ongoing pursuit of different and more varied race locations.

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Elsewhere, the study also explored how brands can engage with this new audience. For example, over half of those surveyed wanted more easy-access, local fan zones in host nations, such as a London event around the British Grand Prix.

Around 40 per cent of fans want to see more music brand involvement in the sport, and this pushes up to close to 50 per cent in the US, especially for fans from Black communities.

Overall, at the races themselves, around 30 per cent of new fans think brand activations are important, while merchandise offerings and evening entertainment are wanted by just over one in four fans.

New fans of the sport also responded well to more adventurous brand collaborations, picking out McLaren’s tie-up with Lego as the one they recognised the most. Collaborations between Red Bull and Cherry LA and Puma and rapper A$AP Rocky also made an impression.

In the US, almost four in ten fans picked out the latter collaboration, which focused on limited edition Formula One clothing, as the one they recognised most, while Chinese fans found the Red Bull and Built For Athletes luggage release particularly notable.

Formula One’s tentative steps into high fashion also got good responses, with fans enjoying Mercedes’ collaboration with Sacai and Alpine’s with Palace. That could bode well for luxury goods company LVMH, which has just signed an expansive deal with the series that includes Louis Vuitton. 

New fans still believe Formula One needs to do more in the diversity space, though. While seven in ten male fans think the current gender equality efforts are enough, 25 per cent of female respondents disagreed. This increases to 60 per cent for non-binary fans.

Overall, 65 per cent of new fans are satisfied with the series’ racial equality efforts.