Motorsport

Fifty Digital has been appointed by wind turbine manufacturer Vestas to oversee their brand, digital and social media presence for their partnership with the Mercedes EQ Formula E team.

The partnership will see the agency create, develop and amplify Vestas’ brand communications and narrative around the sponsorship, which will focus on promoting sustainable energy. The London-based firm will also build a new engagement-based website for the brand.

Formula 1 has announced a partnership with youth culture brand Complex, who will host an F1 content series throughout the month of October.

‘The Pit’ will be hosted by US rapper A$AP Ferg and will consist of five parts, including F1-themed challenges and a look behind the scenes of the sport.

The five episodes of the series will run in the build up to the US Grand Prix on November 1st as the sport looks to continue its growth in the US market and among a young audience.

Formula E has confirmed that it will host a race in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta next year.

The 2020 Jakarta E-Prix will be included in a Formula E race calendar for the first time as the motorsport series - helmed by new CEO Jamie Reigle - heads into its sixth season on the back of announcing its first ever profit.

Formula E has appointed Jamie Reigle as its new CEO with immediate effect, ending months of speculation about the role.

The Canadian will take over the position left vacant by former CEO Alejandro Agag, who took up the role of Formula E Chairman, and the two will work together at the head of the motorsport series, which has recently announced its first ever profit.

Formula E has announced a record revenue of over €200m - up 50% from last season - as well as its first ever profit in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. 

The Championship also claims to have boosted its television audience 24% year-on-year, seeing over 411m tune into Formula E events on TV cumulatively across last season, as well as 400,000 spectators coming through turnstiles to attend events. 

Formula 1 has unveiled a 22-race calendar for 2020 season, a record-high in one season for the motorsport.

Subject to FIA approval, the 2020 season will start in Australia on 15th March and end in Abu Dhabi on 29th November, while next year will also see seven ‘double-headers’, where races are held on back-to-back weekends. 

There are two new races added to the schedule, with a stop in Vietnam providing another first for the sport, while a return to the Netherlands’ Zandvoort circuit for the first time since 1985 adds a nod to tradition.

Five-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has launched a new plant-based, sustainable burger chain.

Hamilton has collaborated with hospitality organisation The Cream Group and investors including Tommaso Chiabra - an early backer of Beyond Meat - to launch Neat Burger, which the Mercedes driver says holds “a commitment to ethical practices and being kinder to our world.”

The first branch will open in London on Monday 2nd September, while the restaurant says it has plans to open 14 franchises around the world in the next 24 months.

Car manufacturer INFINITI has launched a video campaign with Daniel Ricciardo, which follows the Renault F1 Team driver’s bid to become the employee of the month at an INFINITI dealership.

The driver shows off his customer service skills as well as his marketing ideas in the five minute slot which aims to show off INFINITI’s role as Technical Partner to Renault F1 Team, where it has co-developed the Energy Recovery System in the car’s power unit.

The film was scripted, produced, directed and distributed by Prism Sport + Entertainment.

Porsche and TAG Heuer have agreed a long-term partnership that will see the luxury watch brand partner with the car maker’s Formula E team.

The deal will see TAG become the Title and Timing partner of the team, which will henceforth be known as TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team from the 2019/20 season onwards.

Tim Welland, Associate Director, rEvolution, gives his views on the evolution of motorsport, and how some innovative new ideas are transforming the image of the sport.

The world of motorsport has experienced a seismic shift over the last five years, which has demonstrated the industry’s evolutionary attitude and has helped to highlight the sport’s bright future.