Written by Tilly Wilson, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The Miami Grand Prix is notably infamous for its sea of celebrities, and for being one of the most glamourous races of the season, this year's race saw a step up in said glamour with the introduction of Charlotte Tilbury to the world of F1.
Traces of Charlotte Tilbury were found across the entire race weekend, predominantly the iconic ‘hot lips’ logo plastered across its sponsor car driven by the Lola Lovinfosse.
The influence of the brand has quickly circled the world of Formula 1 online through powerful female content creators such as Lissie Mackintosh, Morgan Riddle and related iconic ‘WAGS’ such as Carmen Montero Mundt and Kika Gomez.
The intelligent use of Charlotte Tilbury product exposure through these women grows the exposure of both the sponsorship and what it stands for — empowerment of women within this sport.
In light of Charlotte Tilbury's Miami Grand Prix attendance, on the 16th of February Charlotte Tilbury announced, across all social platforms, their sponsorship of F1 Academy; the phrasing of that sentence may make this partnership sound simplistic, however the impact onto motorsport in general is greater than you think.
Account for Charlotte Tilbury's main audience, young and impressionable individuals who are also predominantly female. Their main interest in the brand Charlotte Tilbury is to gain the result of good quality makeup.
However, what is their reaction when they open up Instagram to a post of Charlotte Tilbury showing a driver holding a helmet in her hand, featuring the Charlotte Tilbury logo?
While their initial reaction may not be as expressive, they are still subjected to motorsport imagery in conjunction with their favourite beauty products.
The unfamiliar imagery displayed on Charlotte Tilbury's page only peaks interest for viewers wanting to understand the connection between this sponsorship and their favourite beauty brand, further introducing more females into the sport itself.
“Motorsport has a huge female following, and the drivers of F1 ACADEMY are already increasing representation and diversity in the sport. With this partnership, we will use our global platform to elevate this new generation of fearless young female drivers, and open up the traditionally male-dominated world of motorsport to even more talented young women,” said Charlotte Tilbury, founder of her eponymous beauty product line.
To current motorsport fans, especially Formula 1 fans, this partnership may appear on the outside as just another name onto a livery. To me, the relationship between beauty brands and Formula 1 Academy stands for so much more.
In a sport where this is the first female-owned brand to sponsor a livery, and a feminine-related brand at that, it shows the deep interest women can have in makeup as well as stereotypically masculine sports.
It inspires women to deflect the stigma around conforming to a specific role of their gender, a stereotype of only wearing makeup, and having to constantly prove they deserve a place in motorsport.
This partnership inspires women to openly celebrate having feminine interests, and still be validated in being passionate about a predominantly male-dominated sport.
To not only have the first female-owned brand sponsor a series on the Formula One support bill. but also an entire livery is inspiring and even hopeful. The recognition young women can have from seeing themselves within the sport, and even within the women behind the sport, Charlotte Tilbury, gives a whole new motivation: No matter their background or gender, there is a place in motorsport for them.
With as much as two-fifths of the Formula One fans being female, and the factor of being able to see themselves within the sport can only inspire yet more women to get into F1 Academy, or other related series, be it as a viewer, worker, or even a driver.
The purpose of this sponsorship, in Charlotte Tilbury’s words, is all about empowerment, to serve recognition of more women within the sport.
The pairing between the beauty brand and F1 Academy opens up the sport to even more incredible women, and their social pages eyeing up the Gen Z audience blend perfectly with the fact that this audience demographic are the first to grow up around a female-dominated racing series.
Now in its second year, F1 Academy will be racing on the same race weekend as Formula 1, 2 and 3. The next round to catch a Formula 1 academy race will be the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in June. With such lucrative investments, and an addition to the F1 support bill bringing in much-needed exposure, there’s no doubt this series has a strong future ahead.
Comments