Foto: DR/ Natalia Granada next to a PREMA livery car in Sephora's signature black and white stripes.
A turning point for Formula One was the release of the series Drive to Survive on Netflix. The documentary show turned racing from a technical sport into an emotional drama with characters, conflicts and behind-the-scenes life of teams, according to Forbes. It was after this that a new audience came to the championship – young female viewers who were not interested in motorsports before.
According to Formula 1, by 2025, women already made up 42% of the series’ global audience, compared to 37% in 2018. In the last year alone, the number of female fans has grown by 43 million. A Motorsport Network study found that three-quarters of the championship’s new fans are women.
Beauty brands were quick to see the commercial potential. The first high-profile deal was Charlotte Tilbury’s partnership with F1 Academy, a Formula One-backed women’s racing series. The cosmetics brand’s logo on the car in Jeddah looked unusual for motorsport, but that’s what caught the industry’s attention. The company later expanded the partnership and launched free karting programs for girls.
The next step was Sephora’s agreement with F1 Academy in 2026. The retailer gained a presence at 18 rounds of the championship through branded Glam Bars in the Paddock Club area. In addition, the brand partnered with Spanish racing driver Natalia Granada, whose PREMA car received Sephora’s signature black and white livery.
The company bluntly says that it saw the rapid growth of the female audience of Formula 1 and decided to enter this market before competitors. For Sephora, this is not just a sports sponsorship, but a way to build itself into the lifestyle culture around racing.
The interest of beauty companies is also due to the consumer behavior of female fans. According to Comscore data, women interested in Formula 1 visit fashion and beauty platforms much more often, and spend more money in shopping centers and department stores.
Against this background, F1 Academy is turning not only into a sports project, but also into a new marketing platform for global brands. If women in motorsports used to be part of the entourage, now they are becoming the main commercial asset of modern F1.
