Gen Z, Drive to Survive and the rise of alcohol-free booze… why the next generation of F1 fans couldn’t be further away from the drink and drug-fueled days of James Hunt and the 70s
James Hunt is a Formula 1 champion. He is perhaps as famous for his playboy lifestyle, for the drink and drugs he abused, and for his tragic death from a heart attack at the age of 45.
There are infamous stories of him drinking down a British Airways plane on the way home after winning the world championship in Japan in 1976 – and even more stories of him sleeping with 33 of their flight attendants during his two-week stay in Tokyo.
After the races he ‘drank himself silly’, and when he started his broadcasting career at the BBC he is said to have drunk two bottles of wine on his first day while in the live commentary booth.
Fast forward 50 years, and how times have changed. Each of the twenty drivers on the Formula 1 grid is a paragon of health, and you’re more likely to see them in a cryotherapy chamber after a race than in a champagne bar.
On Sunday at the Heineken Silver Grand Prix of Las Vegas, the three drivers who finished on the podium – Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez – sprayed their usual bottles at the crowd and even took a sip of the bubbly, but rest assured they had the no hangover the next morning.
James Hunt lived a fast life, both on and off the track, and was known for his drinking
Nowadays, the current crop of F1 drivers is super healthy and can no longer be found in the bar very often. The photo shows, from left to right, George Russell, Lando Norris, Alex Albon and Max Verstappen
Heineken’s branding during the Las Vegas Grand Prix focused around the Silver and 0.0 products
Instead, as they left the podium in Sin City, all eyes will have been on next weekend’s race in Abu Dhabi – and Verstappen’s private jet to the other side of the world certainly won’t have caused any funny business.
It’s a different world now, a world of top performance and getting every split second out of their engines. The cars are faster, but life off the track is slower.
In many ways, that same mentality applies to viewers off the court as well. Fans have idols, and when the men they see racing on screen live fast and die young, it’s a greater responsibility to follow in their booze-fueled footsteps.
The rise of the Drive to Survive F1 fan has also changed the dynamic.
Now in 2023, the average age of racing fans has dropped following the triumph of the Netflix series, and the eSports success of the likes of Lando Norris is bringing in a whole new audience, a world away from the old days of motorsport.
Hunt is said to have slept with 5,000 women and drank the plane dry as it flew home from Japan
Formula 1 was a different world in the 1970s, and fans also drank more than they do now
The drivers spray champagne after Verstappen’s victory, but they will not have drunk much of it
This also translates into the rise of advertising for moderate drinking Heineken Silver And Heineken 0.0 a lot of attention to branding during the 2023 Formula 1 season.
The Dutch brand’s ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’ and ‘Always a Choice’ campaigns were at the heart of their message, as they promote fans who safely consume the products they advertise on track.
Recent research has shown that Gen Z’s alcohol consumption has fallen by 25 percent over the past four years, and that in the Netherlands 30 percent of Heineken consumers buy non-alcoholic beer.
Heineken was title sponsor in Vegas promoting their ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’ message
The Sphere turned out to be an amazing backdrop during the Heineken Silver Las Vegas GP
In the US, sales of non-alcoholic beer have increased by 32 percent and two-time world champion Verstappen is Heineken’s ambassador especially for the 0.0 product.
It’s impossible to imagine a scenario from fifty years ago where Hunt signed up for such a gig, but this is indicative of the changing times not just in Formula 1, but in the sport as a whole.
Abu Dhabi will mark the end of the 2023 F1 calendar this weekend and the conclusion of a grueling 23-race schedule for the drivers.
When they’ve seen the checkered flag for the last time, maybe they can raise a glass with their technicians in the hotel bar before flying home… just don’t expect the kegs to be empty on Monday morning.