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Taylor Swift\u2019s latest album The Life of a Showgirl<\/em> dropped on the same weekend as the Singapore Grand Prix, and F1 teams wasted no time weaving its lyrics into their social feeds, with several drivers having been already declared Swifties.<\/span><\/p>\n Then came the announcement that Bad Bunny will headline next year\u2019s Super Bowl \u2013 an artist who\u2019s already turned the sport and drivers into lyrical shorthand to great acclaim.<\/p>\n However, it turns out Formula 1 has been long been making its way into the music sphere long before the current wave of superstar shoutouts. Here\u2019s how F1 has sped its way into the global music charts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n His 2024 album DeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS<\/em> brought a mix of irresistible dancing and nostalgia across social media. Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny is a music superstar \u2013 he boasts over 107 billion streams, three Grammy awards, 11 Latin Grammys, and has just been announced as the next Super Bowl half-time show performer. The latin music icon has also declared his love for Formula 1 within his work.<\/p>\n \u201cPrimero lleg\u00f3 Verstappen, despu\u00e9s lleg\u00f3 Checo<\/em>\u201d (First Verstappen arrived, then Checo) and \u201cCr\u00e9eme, los carro\u2019 de F1 son m\u00e1\u2019 r\u00e1pido\u2019 en persona<\/em>\u201d (Believe me, F1 cars are faster in person) are two lines from his famous track MONACO<\/em>, which describes the luxury flair of the city \u2013 home to Charles Leclerc and the iconic Grand Prix. He also raps, \u201cLa vida va como Verstappen en F\u00f3rmula 1\u2026<\/em>\u201d (Life goes by like Verstappen in Formula 1) in his song Andrea<\/em>.<\/p>\n The artist built on that success with LOS PITS<\/em>, directly alluding to the F1 pit lane. But as a superfan, Bad Bunny went further this year by forming a historic partnership with Mercedes<\/a> and Adidas Originals to put his home nation on the map, taking part in the celebrations where fans witnessed a Formula 1 car being fired up in Puerto Rico for the very first time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Global superstar Taylor Swift is more often associated with the NFL, with her fianc\u00e9 being Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, but some of the Swifties who also share a passion for F1 did not let certain lyrics from her songs go unnoticed.<\/p>\n Released in 2024, The Tortured Poets Department<\/em> album includes the track imgonnagetyouback<\/em>, where she sings: \u201cI\u2019m an Aston Martin<\/a> that you steered straight into the ditch<\/em>\u201d. Needless to say, both the team and drivers seized the opportunity immediately to feature it on social media.<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s highly anticipated record, The Life of a Showgirl<\/em>, was released on 3 October, coinciding with the Singapore Grand Prix. Most teams \u2013 especially McLaren<\/a>, since the album was papaya-orange colour-coded \u2013 could not resist joining the trend and adapted their social posts with a glittery Broadway aesthetic and included her music on their posts.<\/p>\n One specific instance came from Williams<\/a>, who immediately picked up on the \u201csmooth operators<\/em>\u201d lyric in the track Eldest Daughter<\/em> and linked it to Carlos Sainz<\/a>, who had already turned Sade\u2019s original into his celebratory signature song.<\/p>\n After wrapping her blockbuster 1989 World Tour<\/em> at the end of 2015, the 2016 United States Grand Prix became the stage for Taylor Swift\u2019s one and only show of that year<\/a> \u2013 a glitter-drenched, festival-style performance to an audience of 80,000 fans who came from all corners of the globe for F1 racing and stayed for a 15-song setlist that transformed the race weekend into a pop spectacle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n With a little help from their partners, Swiftie fever has been spreading through the paddock over the past few years.<\/p>\n George Russell<\/a> leaned into the hype, as he showed up at Wembley last summer for The Eras Tour<\/em> and was captured on camera belting out every lyric flawlessly. Charles Leclerc<\/a>, meanwhile, embraced the ritual of friendship-bracelet swapping during the Milan leg of the show. He was joined by Pierre Gasly<\/a>, and the pair \u2013 both attending with their partners \u2013 vibed to pop\u2019s biggest phenomenon.<\/p>\n Others took the karaoke route. Lando Norris<\/a>, in full cowboy attire, taught Oscar Piastri<\/a> the lyrics to Love Story<\/em> during McLaren<\/a>\u2019s \u201cFinish the Lyric\u201d challenge, while Daniel Ricciardo once proudly sang Our Song<\/em> during an interview, further stating that it was the first Taylor Swift track he ever heard, and the one that kick-started his love for her music.<\/p>\n And if there\u2019s one driver who leaves no doubt, it\u2019s Ollie Bearman<\/a>. The Haas<\/a> rookie admits he loves all of Taylor\u2019s songs, with Love Story<\/em> at the top of his list \u2013 having added it to his race weekend playlist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n During his sabbatical from music, ex-Beatles icon George Harrison attended a number of F1 races and, feeling inspired by the drivers, wrote the 1979 hit Faster<\/em> as a tribute to the late Swedish racer Ronnie Peterson.<\/p>\n With lyrics very much akin to the fast-paced world of motorsport, the songs intro consists of the screaming V8 engines from the start of the 1978 British Grand Prix \u2013 the perfect way to set the mood!<\/p>\n In 2000, Robbie Williams offered another unexpected crossover in the music video for his single Supreme<\/em>. For this motorsport-inspired video, the singer transformed into fictional F1 driver Bob Williams, with racing legend Jackie Stewart<\/a> making a cameo appearance.<\/p>\n The video cleverly portrayed a reimagined 1971 championship battle between the pair, blending real archive footage cut between new scenes with Williams, and became one of pop\u2019s most memorable nods to the golden age of Formula 1.<\/p>\n On the electronic-pop side, will.i.am has long been a friend of the paddock. Over the 2023 season, he launched two dedicated tracks \u2013 The Formula<\/em> (featuring Lil Wayne) and Let\u2019s Go<\/em> (featuring J Balvin) \u2013 the latter performed live at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.<\/p>\n And before BRAT<\/em> crowned her as pop\u2019s cool-girl disruptor, Charli XCX was already embedding F1 into lyrics. Her track Vroom Vroom<\/em> included a nod to the two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, \u201cBubblegum-pink Ferrari, yeah I\u2019m so bossy \/ Speeding like Alonso just to crash your party<\/em>\u201d \u2013 a line that expertly fused her motorsport knowledge with the unique club-ready attitude of her music.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, F1 The Movie<\/em> did much more than bring the sport\u2019s adrenaline to the big screen.<\/p>\nBad Bunny: Puerto Rico\u2019s rhythm x Formula 1<\/h3>\n
Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl\u2026 in Formula 1<\/h3>\n
Drivers in their Swiftie era<\/h3>\n
From George Harrison to Charli XCX<\/h3>\n
F1 The Album: Ed Sheeran, Tate McRae, Ros\u00e9 & more<\/h3>\n