How F1 became pop music’s fastest obsession
Published: Oct 09, 2025
Arthur Jones
Writer
From Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl to Bad Bunny’s lyrical nods and the soundtrack of F1 The Movie, Formula 1 has often crossed into pop music – creating a playlist that only racing could inspire.
Taylor Swift’s latest album The Life of a Showgirl 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.
Then came the announcement that Bad Bunny will headline next year’s Super Bowl – an artist who’s already turned the sport and drivers into lyrical shorthand to great acclaim.
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’s how F1 has sped its way into the global music charts.
Bad Bunny: Puerto Rico’s rhythm x Formula 1
His 2024 album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS brought a mix of irresistible dancing and nostalgia across social media. Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny is a music superstar – 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.
“Primero llegó Verstappen, después llegó Checo” (First Verstappen arrived, then Checo) and “Créeme, los carro’ de F1 son má’ rápido’ en persona” (Believe me, F1 cars are faster in person) are two lines from his famous track MONACO, which describes the luxury flair of the city – home to Charles Leclerc and the iconic Grand Prix. He also raps, “La vida va como Verstappen en Fórmula 1…” (Life goes by like Verstappen in Formula 1) in his song Andrea.
Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl… in Formula 1
Global superstar Taylor Swift is more often associated with the NFL, with her fiancé 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.
Released in 2024, The Tortured Poets Department album includes the track imgonnagetyouback, where she sings: “I’m an Aston Martin that you steered straight into the ditch”. Needless to say, both the team and drivers seized the opportunity immediately to feature it on social media.
Swift’s highly anticipated record, The Life of a Showgirl, was released on 3 October, coinciding with the Singapore Grand Prix. Most teams – especially McLaren, since the album was papaya-orange colour-coded – could not resist joining the trend and adapted their social posts with a glittery Broadway aesthetic and included her music on their posts.
One specific instance came from Williams, who immediately picked up on the “smooth operators” lyric in the track Eldest Daughter and linked it to Carlos Sainz, who had already turned Sade’s original into his celebratory signature song.
After wrapping her blockbuster 1989 World Tour at the end of 2015, the 2016 United States Grand Prix became the stage for Taylor Swift’s one and only show of that year – 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.
Released in 2024, The Tortured Poets Department album includes the track imgonnagetyouback, where she sings: “I’m an Aston Martin that you steered straight into the ditch”. Needless to say, both the team and drivers seized the opportunity immediately to feature it on social media.
Swift’s highly anticipated record, The Life of a Showgirl, was released on 3 October, coinciding with the Singapore Grand Prix. Most teams – especially McLaren, since the album was papaya-orange colour-coded – could not resist joining the trend and adapted their social posts with a glittery Broadway aesthetic and included her music on their posts.
One specific instance came from Williams, who immediately picked up on the “smooth operators” lyric in the track Eldest Daughter and linked it to Carlos Sainz, who had already turned Sade’s original into his celebratory signature song.
After wrapping her blockbuster 1989 World Tour at the end of 2015, the 2016 United States Grand Prix became the stage for Taylor Swift’s one and only show of that year – 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.
Drivers in their Swiftie era
With a little help from their partners, Swiftie fever has been spreading through the paddock over the past few years.
George Russell leaned into the hype, as he showed up at Wembley last summer for The Eras Tour and was captured on camera belting out every lyric flawlessly. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, embraced the ritual of friendship-bracelet swapping during the Milan leg of the show. He was joined by Pierre Gasly, and the pair – both attending with their partners – vibed to pop’s biggest phenomenon.
Others took the karaoke route. Lando Norris, in full cowboy attire, taught Oscar Piastri the lyrics to Love Story during McLaren’s “Finish the Lyric” challenge, while Daniel Ricciardo once proudly sang Our Song 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.
And if there’s one driver who leaves no doubt, it’s Ollie Bearman. The Haas rookie admits he loves all of Taylor’s songs, with Love Story at the top of his list – having added it to his race weekend playlist.
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