5 things marketers can learn from Formula 1 racing

I’ve been watching Formula 1 since I was 15 and have always been a bit of a petrolhead. I learned to drive as soon as legally allowed, have always driven a teeny bit too fast and my first boyfriend was a mechanic. There wasn’t a huge amount to do as a teenager in a small town in the Wiltshire countryside, so the world of F1—with its fast cars, big teams, adrenaline and exotic locations—imprinted its heady mix on my brain early on. So, although I chose a career in advertising rather than motorsports, there were things about it that had a similar appeal. Fewer fast cars and less danger, for sure. But a big team working together (check), to combine creativity and strategy (check), a little bit of glamor (check), excitement (check) and the odd exotic location (check). And I’ve been lucky enough to bring a bit of F1 into my career over the years, including a sponsorship campaign with the McLaren Racing team (the only time I have been truly star-struck and too shy to say hi to Daniel Ricciardo). Ad Age Tech Power List 2025 We’re looking for top digital innovators from agencies, brands, platforms, ad tech companies and tech startups Enter here So, with advertising and Formula 1 as two trusty constants in my life, it got me thinking about the characteristics of F1 teams that can elevate marketing team performance. Take collective responsibility for the outcome Both industries have teams with very different skill sets that come together to achieve a collective goal. Strategists, technical directors, management, designers, engineers, developers, operations, HR, finance, PR, marketing—I could be talking about either profession. In F1, the drivers may seem to be the heroes, but they’d be nowhere without the full team. Get the pit stop strategy wrong, misjudge the undercut or come out too late in a qualifying session, it’s game over. You need everyone to play to their strengths with a sense of shared responsibility. No one person should ever be responsible for the outcome, practically or emotionally. The team is the thing, win or lose. Communicate, communicate, communicate F1 makes the case for the importance of constant communication. Drivers have a race engineer in their ear throughout the Grand Prix weekend who is communicating strategy, saying when to push, when to save the tires, being a motivational or calming voice. And it is true for our industry as well. A wise marketer once told me, “Communicate until you puke.” The best teams are constantly talking, sharing thoughts, updates and noodling problems together. Things go awry when people hold knowledge or hold back on expressing an idea or niggle. It’s the same in the world of creativity, as ideas are formed and nurtured. Lots of little frequent talks are better than one big hairy one. Maximum momentum at every stage The stages of a creative pitch process mirror the cadence of a Grand Prix weekend. Free practice sessions are like a briefing, Q&A and initial strategic response. Qualifying is your interim tissue session. The race on Sunday is the final pitch. F1 teams bring the same focus and momentum to every stage of the weekend. In free practice sessions, they study the car and track to be prepared for qualifying. If you have a bad Saturday, your position on the track and entire race on Sunday are hampered. In marketing, we also need to bring our brains, creativity and energy to every stage, not just the final presentation or big meeting. Overdelivering throughout the process always pays back. And even if you don’t get the result you hoped for, you can say without doubt that you gave it your all. Be prepared to pivot Grand Prix weekends are unpredictable. Sometimes it rains and every bit of strategy goes out of the window. A reckless driver move can knock seven cars out in one go. And a safety car can create new pit stop strategies; because everyone else is driving slowly on the track, you have less to lose by pitting. NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today F1 teams are ready to adapt to changes in seconds. They don’t hold onto their preparation or plans tightly and can easily make new ones. In advertising and marketing, we should always be willing to do the same. We should hold strong views lightly so we can listen to new insights or information. Best-laid plans should be able to flex to changing market conditions or a cultural moment. The best agency teams and the best brands know when and when not to pivot. Be ready for both. Keep asking questions It sounds obvious, but always asking questions, even when things seem familiar, is crucial. F1 teams and drivers spend each year going to tracks they’ve raced at countless times and know inside out, but they come to every Grand Prix weekend willing to learn. The millions of data points gathered in each lap help them find out new things about the track, feel the boundaries of where to push, gather new data and insights and see how the team and the car work together. They come at it fresh even though they’ve been there a million times before. That feels like a great ethos for how we develop marketing plans and campaigns. We may all have great experience in various categories and have been around the block countless times, but the nuances are always a bit different. What’s going on with consumers, the market, our competitors and the wider cultural context? It will almost certainly be different from the last time, even if it’s a category we know well, so avoid assumptions based on prior knowledge. If we combine our experience with an open, curious mind, we’ll be setting ourselves up for victory at the checkered flag. Gen Z Career Forum Get practical advice on launching your career and excelling in the industry Register today

5 things marketers can learn from Formula 1 racing

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