2022 Miami F1 Grand Prix: Probably the hippest F1 Grand Prix in history.
Text / Li Luyuan
Edit / Kelly
In 2021, Hard Rock Stadium, which has hosted several Super Bowls, officially signed a 10-year contract with F1, and Miami officially joined the F1 Grand Prix's 2022 calendar. It was also the first time formula one had returned to Florida since Sebring in 1959, and Miami officially became the 11th city in the United States to host an F1 Grand Prix.
The F1 Miami Grand Prix, which ended last weekend, was probably the liveliest weekend in F1 in recent years. Even veteran car fans with more than a decade of watching the race will be shocked by the dazzling promotion activities of this race.
01
Miami Grand Prix, a grand party
The first is the official work. As early as March this year, there were media reports that Miami would break through to the "Team Leader Parade" before the race. Between the topicality between Toto and Horner last season, this news instantly triggered the fan circle, and even many fans began to solicit what questions to ask them during the parade. Although this activity did not make it possible in the end, it also earned enough eyeballs.
In the convoy, the first to "live" is Red Bull.
Last month, they posted a short video on their media platform asking team number two driver Sergio Perez to drive his F1 car from New York all the way to Miami to build momentum for the upcoming race weekend; before the race began, they sent world champion Driver Verstappen and Red Bull Racing's Hiroshi Kakuda to drive two modified cars and experience the speed and excitement of the water in the swamp.
In order to warm up for a game can consume so much manpower and financial resources, it can only be said that the "Red Bull Daredevils" is still a big business.
"Master Pei" encounters a crocodile
Outside of Red Bull, other convoys are not idle. The organizers held a grand opening party with each team, the famous DJ Kygo, Brazilian singer Anita took the stage to sing; the warm-up posters of each team showed a strong seaside style; most of the drivers brought their own helmet liveries for the race, and the rich Miami-themed elements all showed the owner's respect for the city.
Miami warm-up poster for Ferrari Team
In addition, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo team, two big and small Red Bull teams, Alpine and other major teams have visited local professional sports clubs, rugby, baseball, basketball, football, golf, this weekend has become a big party of South Coast sports.
Zhou Guanyu "visited the class" NFL Dolphins
The cooperation promotion in reality is not all, and the virtual world cannot be left behind.
Before the start of the race, MeiBen cooperated with the team sponsor and the virtual asset derivatives trading platform FTX to launch a series of NFT products, and during the race, they also replaced the two cars with the tail fins and other parts printed with relevant paintings, which will eventually be auctioned with the opening of the Miami Grand Prix, and the proceeds will be donated to the public welfare projects carried out by the team in cooperation with Mission44.
And this Mission44 is a charitable foundation under Hamilton's name.
The NFT launched by Mercedes-Benz before the race
Speaking of "old man", this group photo that flowed out before the start of the main game in Miami undoubtedly shocked most sports fans:
In the photo, seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan and six-time Premier League champion David are in the same frame, forming one of the highest "gold content" photos in sports.
In addition to the above, tennis superstars Dawei and "Frog Princess" Gu Ailing also appeared in the paddock, and the latter, as a contracted athlete of Red Bull, naturally also got the opportunity to go to the Red Bull Racing team to punch in the souvenir.
02
Why does Miami do it?
So, why should an ordinary F1 race be so vigorously promoted, and so many top sports players should be invited to sit? We might as well look at it in two ways.
First, although American Free Media Group completed its acquisition of F1 as early as 2017, the popularity of the event has not increased in the US home market. The reason for this may have a lot to do with the long-standing habits of Americans.
Let's talk about racing and see what kind of races are on fire in the United States – NASCAR, Indy 500, Straightcock, these races are simpler, rougher and more visually impactful than F1, and can quickly make people's adrenaline soar to the peak.
In other words, F1, which pays more attention to inner and competitive strategies, has a threshold for the vast majority of American audiences. Even if it is called the "world's three major events" together with the Olympic Games and the World Cup, American audiences are not interested in it.
However, what you buy at a high price certainly does not want to be unattractive in your own market. In recent years, free media have been looking for ways to increase the popularity of F1 events in the local market, the most well-known is the "Drive to Survive" series of documentaries launched in cooperation with Netflix, which guides the audience to pay more attention to this event from behind-the-scenes stories. Just a few days ago, Netflix just officially announced that the documentary will renew the shooting plan for the next two seasons, which shows that the effect is good.
Netfilex officially renews drive to survive for two future seasons
Judging from the data broadcast by television, the popularity of F1 in the United States is indeed rising.
According to data released by ESPN, the 2022 season opening Bahrain Grand Prix averaged 1.358 million viewers, breaking the platform viewership record and the highest-rated F1 game on cable TV in the United States since 1995. This figure, by the second Saudi Arabia race, further increased to 1.445 million passengers, and the ratings continued to rise.
From this point of view, as the miami grand prix for the first time, with the rising popularity of F1, it is not difficult to understand the intention behind inviting a group of big coffee to the scene on the day of the game.
So, F1 is not the first time to be held in the United States, how can Miami give it a big party? This has to say about the local residents' viewing and living habits.
When it comes to the city of Miami, the first thing that comes to mind is the sun, the beach, and the waves, all of which make people yearn.
Imagine what people's amateur life would be like under such superior natural environmental conditions. That is, entertainment is supreme, and the party can not be less - in order to continue the habits of the locals into the paddock, the organizers even artificially built a yacht marina-style VIP viewing area next to the track, although the water in the dock is fake, but the organizer's sincerity is not false.
In addition, in order to highlight the local characteristics, when building the track, the organizers deliberately surrounded a circle of palm trees and painted the track blue; at the same time, they also brought food from all over the world to the audience in the major rest areas, which can be said to be a thorough play of watching the race + enjoying the weekend.
"Fake water" at the yacht marina in the VIP area Source: Albert Fabrega
So how effective is it? According to reports, the pre-sale tickets for this competition were sold out in 40 seconds, and the audience was even more crowded during the competition time.
During the tournament, F1 owner Liberty Media Group released its first quarter report for fiscal 2022, and during the reporting period, the group's revenue reached $2.19 billion, an increase of 6% year-on-year. It is worth noting that F1 contributed $360 million to the group in this quarter, which directly doubled from the same period last year, which also gave them more confidence to play more tricks for this event.
In 2023, F1 will return to las Vegas, when the United States will have three host cities on the F1 single-season calendar, which is also a major breakthrough for a global event.
Sitting on the name of "World Entertainment Capital", what kind of surprises will Be brought to car fans in Las Vegas next year, which is also worth looking forward to.