Formula 1 drivers have always been central to the sport’s appeal, but over the past decade their commercial value has evolved in ways that extend far beyond results on track.
A combination of shifting audience behaviour, changing media consumption and increased visibility through platforms such as Netflix’s Drive to Survive has accelerated a broader repositioning of drivers within the F1 ecosystem, transforming them from elite sporting performers into multi-platform commercial assets.
That change has implications not just for drivers themselves, but for teams, sponsors, rights holders and the management structures that sit around them.
As F1’s audience has broadened and diversified, so too has the way drivers are valued, marketed and protected.
For those operating on the management side of the sport, the shift has been both structural and cultural.
Khalil Beschir, manager of Cadillac F1 Team driver Sergio Perez, says the impact of recent years on audience composition has been immediate and visible.
“Drive to Survive made a huge difference, but so did Formula 1’s broader media and social media strategy,” he told Sector.
“I remember back in 2018, you could be watching a race and, even on TV, you could see the average age in the grandstands looked to be 30, 35 and up.
“Suddenly, that has changed significantly. The audience is much younger, and we’re seeing far more women joining the sport, understanding it, and actively wanting to engage with it.”
From a commercial perspective, that audience shift has altered the approach for brands engaging with F1.
Younger, more global and more diverse fanbases have opened the door to new sponsorship categories and marketing approaches, many of which centre on drivers as the most recognisable and relatable touchpoints.
As a result, drivers now sit at the intersection of sporting performance, brand identity and content strategy, and that evolution has reshaped the role of driver management itself.
Where once the focus was primarily on contracts, performance clauses and career progression, managers are now expected to oversee branding, commercial alignment and public visibility across multiple platforms and markets.
“We need to look differently at how F1 used to be five, six years ago and how it is now – because, today, the driver is a brand,” explained Beschir.
Commercial stuff is important these days, but it will always be secondary to what a driver is doing, how he is performing in the car.
Khalil Beschir
“Obviously, it’s part of our jobs because there are a lot of international brands interested. But at the same time, you need to give the driver the respect of having his privacy, the respect of what he likes, what he doesn’t like and put the right team around him.
“The main goal, main target for us is results on track and then perform week in, week out. Commercial stuff is important these days, but it will always be secondary to what a driver is doing, how he is performing in the car.”
Beschir previously told Sector that Perez earned a seat at the debuting Cadillac team not through his commercial pull but his driving pedigree.
That does not mean the Mexican has lost any of the branding attraction he has built throughout his career, but rather reflects how commercial value and sporting decisions are increasingly assessed separately within modern F1 structures.
“Checo already has more than 11 personal partners signed directly with him; he is one of the most attractive drivers in Formula 1 for this type of partnership and has a massive presence across Latin America,” added Beschir.
“Not all of these relationships translate into helmet or team asset placements. Many are structured as personal ambassadorial roles or long-term brand partnerships, where Checo represents these companies globally or within specific markets.”
That distinction reflects a broader shift in how brands engage with F1 drivers, valuing reach, credibility and audience connection alongside on-track performance.
In that sense, Drive to Survive did not redefine the sport on its own, but it did expose and accelerate a recalibration of how value is distributed within it.
Drivers who can connect with new audiences, articulate personality and support brand narratives now operate within a wider commercial framework, even as results remain non-negotiable.
For F1 as a business, this evolution has strengthened the sport’s commercial resilience.
Drivers are no longer just participants in a championship, but strategic assets within a global entertainment and sponsorship ecosystem shaped as much by visibility and storytelling as by lap times.
