Ever since the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive helped skyrocket the popularity of Formula 1 in the US, other sports organizations have been trying to replicate the effect.
That now includes F1 Academy, the women’s F1 racing championship, which is getting the Netflix treatment with a docuseries that premiered Wednesday.
As part of its official sponsorship with F1 and F1 Academy, American Express is working with the organization, Netflix, and Reese Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine, which produced the docuseries, to promote F1: The Academy while offering cardmembers access to content and experiences around the sport, as many American Express sponsorships aim to do.
Ideally, the growth of the show and the brand will go hand in hand, American Express VP of Global Media Jill Hamilton said.
“We hope for an amplifying effect in terms of our investment here [creating] more viewership and more interest in the show, more broadly fueling our mission to back F1A and the drivers,” she told Marketing Brew.
On track
After becoming the official payments partner of F1 in 2023, American Express inked a deal with F1 Academy last year. As part of the partnership, American Express execs learned of the docuseries through conversations with Netflix and Hello Sunshine, and Hamilton said they immediately wanted to get involved.
“We all witnessed the incredible accelerant that Drive to Survive was for F1, and when we heard that Netflix was going to have F1: The Academy, I think our hope and ambition was that this show would be that exact same accelerant for the F1A drivers,” she said.
The show was already in production when American Express got involved, Hamilton said, so the team had to get creative when it came to integrating their brand with the series. Ahead of the show’s premiere, American Express hosted a screening for cardmembers during the week of the Miami Grand Prix, which included a panel conversation with F1 Academy, Hello Sunshine, and American Express leaders.
American Express also partnered with Netflix for a social series rolling out on Netflix and American Express channels to promote the series, Hamilton said. The content is meant to give fans an even deeper look into F1 Academy, with installments featuring prominent figures from the organization, including Managing Director Susie Wolff and last year’s drivers champion Abbi Pulling (who now races for Rodin Motorsport in the UK-based GB3 Championship).
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The Netflix team, similarly to American Express, viewed the docuseries as an opportunity to give its users “unique ways to engage with the stories they love, both on and off screen,” Magno Herran, VP of brand marketing and partnerships at Netflix, said in an email.
“We’re thrilled to partner with American Express on F1: The Academy to give fans an exclusive look into the drivers, teams, and personalities of the league,” he said.
Driver’s seat
American Express’ partnership with F1 Academy stretches beyond the Netflix show. The brand is represented on the grid by Nicole Havrda of the Hitech TGR team, whose race suit and car livery both feature American Express branding. Last season, Jessica Edgar repped the brand when she raced in F1 Academy for Rodin Motorsport, though she now races in the British Kart Championship.
Havrda’s branded suit and car give American Express a visible presence in at least the first episode of F1: The Academy, Hamilton said.
Starting last spring around the time of its F1 Academy partnership debut, American Express created custom liveries that also included the logos of small businesses local to each race, an initiative that will continue through the 2025 season. This year, the company is featuring the logos of local, women-owned small businesses at each of the seven races.
American Express is also gearing up for a presence at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal—Havrda’s home race—in June, which will include lounges around the track and race radios to help fans keep up with the action on the course.
With races around the world and Netflix’s global reach, Hamilton said she hopes the efforts surrounding F1 Academy boost brand consideration and generate interest in the docuseries outside of the US, including in Canada, Mexico, and the UK.
“This is a global sport, and we’re really excited, for the first time with this partnership, to have extended to some of our key markets as well,” Hamilton said.