Enzo Ferrari once remarked that children tend to draw red cars when asked. Sofia Valente Pierini, as a child, exemplified this notion. She vividly recalls Sundays at her maternal grandfather’s home, where Formula One Grand Prix races played on a small tube TV perched in the kitchen. Her eyes were always fixed on the Ferraris, particularly her favorite driver, Lewis Hamilton.
In 2025, Valente Pierini witnessed a significant moment when Hamilton donned the iconic red Ferrari uniform for the first time. The pinnacle of her fandom arrived in June 2026 when Hamilton clinched his first Grand Prix victory as a Ferrari driver. Despite the emotional conflicts of being a Hamilton and Ferrari enthusiast, Valente Pierini has been creating F1 content since 2022 under the handle @formulasofia, capturing the rollercoaster ride of Ferrari fandom.
Valente Pierini represents a new wave of content creators reshaping the F1 media landscape to attract a younger, more diverse audience. This audience, whose exposure to the sport might have been limited to old Ferrari flags in grandparents’ living rooms, is now actively engaged through user-generated content and popular shows like “Drive to Survive” on Netflix.
According to Stacy Lorenz, a sports sociology and history expert at the University of Alberta, each sporting discipline finds synergy with specific media platforms. Just as radio popularized baseball and hockey, F1’s shift towards online content aligns with the contemporary media landscape. Lorenz highlights how F1’s connection with short-form video and streaming services caters to a broader, geographically diverse fan base.
The 2017 acquisition of F1 by Liberty Media marked a turning point in the sport’s digital evolution, as noted by former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe. This shift, heralded by Laurel Walzak from Toronto Metropolitan University, mirrors the transformation hockey underwent in embracing social media to enhance fan engagement.
Hinchcliffe emphasizes how shows like “Drive to Survive” have humanized F1 drivers, turning them into relatable characters akin to reality TV stars. With the sport’s limited pool of 22 drivers, the intense competition ensures a steady stream of compelling content for fans.
Online content has become a significant draw for F1 fans, fostering a close-knit community based on shared drama and camaraderie among drivers. Content creators like Cadence Willie have leveraged social media to cater to niche interests within the F1 fandom, offering diverse perspectives beyond mainstream coverage.
Valente Pierini hopes that the digital accessibility of F1 content will make the sport more inclusive and affordable for fans worldwide. Despite F1’s glamorous image, the democratization of content creation and distribution has opened up new avenues for engagement and appreciation within the global F1 community.