Beyond the Grid: Fashion in Formula 1

It’s easy to get lost in the fast-paced world of Formula 1. Everything from the cars that race at 220 mph, the pit crew that change tires in 2.4 seconds, and the politics behind the scenes happen at blinding speeds. It is this speed that has endeared the sport to millions of fans worldwide.

Formula 1, called such because of the set of rules the cars must follow, is the highest class of international, single-seater open-wheel racing. It began in 1946 at the Turin Grand Prix in Italy. There are a series of races during the F1 season in different countries across the world where drivers compete to become the World Champion and their teams compete to become the Constructors Champion. A points system is used at the Grands Prix to decide who wins the championship, with drivers gunning for podium finishes to gain the most points. While the drivers’ talent behind the wheel is essential to win, they must be in the fastest car to consistently win. The Constructors Championship is given to the team that created the best car, typically the team of the driver who wins the World Championship. Formula 1 cars are specially designed to reach the highest speeds even in the tightest corners. Because of this, the cars take millions of dollars to build and months of pre-season and postseason testing to see what adjustments need to be made throughout the season.

The F1 season begins in March at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain and ends in November at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. It’s a long, grueling season with one break in August after the Hungarian Grand Prix and beginning again a month later at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. The races take place on the weekends from Friday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday are Free Practice days where the teams get to gather last minute data on their cars and drivers test out how their car feels on the track. On Saturday afternoon, there is a Qualifying session, where the drivers push their cars to the limit and attempt to clock in the fastest time around the track. Quali determines the starting order on the grid, with the coveted spot being Provisional Pole, or pole position. Starting from pole provides the best chance to get 1st place, or at least place on the podium as there is no driver directly next to you fighting to take your place when the countdown lights go out. Sunday is where all of this matters: it’s race day.

Today, 20 drivers and 10 teams fight for the title of World Champion and Constructors Champion. Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher hold the record for most World Championships at seven. Because the drivers are completely focused on mastering their craft and being the best on track, fashion and F1 are usually not synonymous. For some, paying attention to what they wear may seem pointless since their job is to race. However, there have been some drivers, historically and currently, who have shown off their fashion sense.

“I always thought records were there to be broken” - Michael Schumacher

Of course, we have to start with Michael Schumacher. When F1 fans picture the racing legend, they see him in his bright red Ferrari racing suit. Iconic? For sure. He did win five of his seven championships in that suit after all. But Shumacher did not let his laser focus on racing take away from his experimentation with fashion.

Michael was an aggressive driver, pushed his car to the very limit and did not shy away from a challenge. His confidence is reflected in his fashion choices, like in this all black number and the jean jacket, giant belt buckle and patched shirt ensemble. The second outfit may seem like a “this is how Europeans view America” moment, but it actually reveals a lot about Schumacher and his life outside of Formula 1. Before he retired from F1 in 2012, Schumacher bought a ranch in Texas. This was not surprising as Michael expressed his love of horses many times. He has had some interesting outfits over the years, but each outfit showed off part of his personality and told a story about himself.

“I’m just hungry to win” - Fernando Alonso

Next up, two time world champion Fernando Alonso. He wore this oversized Renault shirt, his team in the early 2000s. He pairs this shirt with a blue headband emblazoned with the logo of one of Renault’s sponsors, a seashell necklace and sunglasses. This outfit is painfully 2000s, but it’s so iconic. Instead of the sponsors wearing him as a walking billboard, Alonso wears the sponsors, choosing to go for a relaxed fit and accessorizing in a unique way that made him instantly recognizable and this outfit unforgettable.

“If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver” - Ayrton Senna

Three-time world champion Ayrton Senna also took this approach with sponsors, and was one of the most fashionable drivers on the grid. Senna wore shirts printed with his face and name and a blue hat with the logo of a big sponsor. When he didn’t wear his own face, he typically opted for a brightly colored collared shirt, blue jeans, a black belt, sunglasses and a large jacket. Senna’s style was effortless and sophisticated—a perfect complement to his aggressive and fast driving style that won him the title of one of the best F1 drivers of all time.

“Just leave me alone, I know what to do” - Kimi Räikkönen

One-time world champion Kimi Räikkönen had impeccable style off the track, which comes as a surprise due to his lack of emotion in interviews and cool attitude during races that earned him the nickname ‘The Iceman’. The picture of him sprawled in the grass with a piece of grass hanging out of his mouth and bandana wrapped around his head is mindblowing. Ahead of his time? Definitely. I’ve seen people wear the exact same fur coat, loose tank top, jeans and boots outfit everywhere. The effort Kimi put into his outfits despite his “I don’t care about anything but racing” attitude added another dimension to his personality. He did whatever he wanted, drove however he wanted and wore whatever he wanted; it is a true testament to who he is and makes him that much more endearing to his fans.

Today, the daring fashion of F1 has all but disappeared. Outfits on race weekends are boring team shirts plastered with sponsors, and the only accessories are a nice watch and a team hat also plastered with sponsors.

Max Verstappen, Mick Schumacher, and Charles Leclerc
Images courtesy of Pinterest

What happened?

The intense scrutiny brought by social media forces drivers to take themselves more seriously because their fans take them seriously. It is easier than ever to get to know the drivers as people. Netflix’s show Drive to Survive particularly aided in this, as inside access was provided to fans about how the drivers live their daily lives, what goes on behind the scenes and the drivers’ and teams’ motivations. Because of this, drivers are primarily known and adored for their personalities rather than their stats. So, using fashion as a way for fans to get to know drivers beyond the grid is not a necessity.

From a marketing standpoint, drivers become immediately associated with a team when they wear their team shirts, which brings more attention to the teams since fans don’t have to figure out what team drivers race for. Interestingly, this tactic has slightly backfired. Pictures of old drivers expressing themselves through their clothes have begun to resurface, and fans that see them actually wish that drivers today experimented with fashion more. Also, it is much harder to distinguish eras of F1 now that drivers wear team shirts to races. The outfits I talked about earlier are clearly from the 90s and early 2000s; it is very easy to tell what era of F1 those drivers were in based on their clothes. But 20 years into the future when the current drivers become the old drivers, recognizing driver eras won’t be as simple.

“I feel like people are expecting me to fail, therefore, I expect myself to win” - Lewis Hamilton

Fortunately, not all drivers wear their team shirts every race weekend. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is the frontrunner of fashion on the grid. Hamilton turns the paddock into a runway, showing off his flamboyant closet rain or shine. As the first and only Black driver on the grid, Hamilton has had to deal with vicious racism from fans, former drivers, journalists and others involved in the world of F1. Many of those people refuse to acknowledge Hamilton’s dominance in Formula 1 simply because of his race. But instead of retreating into silence and making himself invisible as bigoted individuals would prefer, Lewis chooses to wear clothes that make the spotlight on him even bigger. He forces everyone to look at him, to notice him, and deal with the fact that he’s there and he’s shattering record after record.

When Lewis Hamilton steps onto the track, everyone knows.

Images courtesy of Independent Eagle, Metro, portalhamiltonbr, The Sun, Popsugar, News

Zhou Guanyu, Formula 1’s first and only Chinese driver, credited Hamilton’s fearless style with helping him be more comfortable expressing himself through fashion in the paddock. He also said that Hamilton was an ally to him while he had to deal with the racism Lewis faced when he first joined F1.

Images courtesy of GQ Sports, Zhou Guanyu

Hamilton’s influence as a driver and as a person is unmistakable and powerful; his outspoken nature about the injustices he faces as a Black driver and desire to support and encourage the next generation of Black drivers to pursue their dreams inspires millions of people across the world.

Many people do not take fashion seriously. They don’t view it as something important or as an art. However, the power of clothes transcend the stitches that hold them together. Stories of grit, anger, hunger, determination and a voracious desire to win travel with them, even on the lightning fast track of Formula 1. And you don’t need to be on pole position to see it.