Entertainment The popularity of formula 1 is increasing. Authors of novels are coming into a new successful film to increased audience, F1’s popularity makes readers cry for more

When the pilots of Formula 1 They sit behind the wheel of a professional car, they put all their skills, training and focus on accelerating a vehicle tailor -made at almost 320 km/h – bringing its bodies and a turbocharged engine to the limit of a very disputed finish line. This is the world portrayed by Joseph KosinskiCinema Director Specialized in Action, in the New Movie F1that dives the viewers directly into the adrenaline of the tracks.

The blockbuster – starring Brad Pitt, DAMSON IDRIS, JAVIER BARDEMin addition to real stars from F1 as Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen – It is the latest example of an industry trying to capitalize on the global phenomenon that is the Formula 1. Previously seen as the “demanding European cousin of Nascar”, F1 It has developed a cross appeal in the US in the last six years. The documentary series of Netflix, F1: Drive to livelaunched in 2019, transformed the lives, dramas and rivalries of the teams of F1 in a true television addiction. With continuous contracts with Espnsupport for F1 In the US it grew so much that it turned ordinary Americans into fanatics, doubled the audience and turned known pilots into global celebrities. And while this growing popularity yields high salaries to team leaders, pilots and experts, there is an unexpected group betting high on the success of F1: The authors of novels.

The New Zealand writer LIZZY AMauthor of the next novel Drive Me Crazyset in F1was not always a fan of the category. But around 2021, she worked in the content department of Red Bull And it ended up surrounded by fervent fans. “Suddenly, I was in an environment where F1 It was venerated. You arrived in the morning and everyone was in the kitchen talking about the race the night before, ”he told Rolling Stone. “It was absolutely contagious. At the end of my time there, I watched all the races, had groups in WhatsApp… it was love. ”

So when the time has come to write your next novel, Among had a snap while he saw a race: he would write a love story among a pilot F1 and your new team chief. “Romance readers like tension. They like drama,” she says. “Formula 1 offers the perfect scenario for this. It’s a high -risk sport. Super glamorous. I see my book as Live with kisses and sex. ”

Although romance and multimillionaire cars accelerating around the world do not look like an obvious combination, part of the success of F1 In the US is due to its dedicated female base fan. According to a report from Nielsen Sports 2023, women represent 41% of the public of F1 – Number that grows every year. There is a fan base active on the internet, where fans comment on the beauty of pilots, create videos, write fanfics and plan how to fit the big awards into their routines. The novels are just a mainstream extension of this.

SIMONE SOLTANIauthor of novels Cross the line and Ride With Mesays that interest in the stories of F1 It comes from the behind -the -scenes curiosity – not just for television races. The purchase of F1 by the US group Liberty Mediain 2016, brought more flexible rules for social networks and partnerships. This gave the public unprecedented access to training and preparations for pilots. Since then, they have not stopped consuming this content.

“F1 It is a growing sport. It’s evolving. We are seeing more attention being given to him, and this allows us to see more what happens behind the cameras, ”says Loatani the Rolling Stone. “Before, it was a closed circle. Exclusive. Now, with this feeling that you are at Paddock, more people are realizing how engaging sport can be.”

But write novels set in F1 It’s not just putting the main character with a helmet and a flashy car. Author of Slipstream, Madge Marillsays that, even reading for fun, fans of F1 They are strict with technical accuracy. “It was a lot of research,” she laughs. “I wanted everything to be narrative and technically correct – from tire temperatures to the compounds.”

The digital success of sports novels is not exactly new. The literary community of the Tiktok It made novels with such popular hockey players in 2023 that it helped increase the price of real tickets. People fell in love with the “boyfriends of the books” and took this desire to the games – to the point of the player’s wife Alex Wennbergfrom Seattle Krakenaccuse creators of the Booktok to sexually harass your husband. The romance with F1 It is not simply to exchange sports, but there are similarities, according to Marillwhich explain the popularity of sports novels.

“It’s about the human body, the spirit and what drives us to continue,” she says. “These things are explored in sports novel, whatever the sport. Whether it’s hockey, baseball or basketball, it’s the physicality mixed with the desire to overcome something.”

Realism is essential for many readers – books that quote F1but do not include real aspects of the sport, usually have much lower assessments in the Goodreads or StoryGraph. Still, the authors are taking advantage of the novels to lightly criticize old -fashioned aspects of the category. There is a constant demand for representativeness in the real figures of the F1 – What motivated Among writing a woman protagonist as a team chief (there were only two in the history of F1).

“Women rarely have been in leadership positions,” she says, pointing out that the sport begins to change. “Susie Wolff launched the F1 Academy [liga feminina]. There are many female strategists growing in Formula 1. So it seemed important. ”

Loatani It also makes a point of including non -white protagonists. Although every grid of F1 Have about 20 pilots divided between 10 teams, the history of the category, in its 75 years, had hundreds of pilots – mostly white men. When Lewis Hamilton He became the first black pilot in the category, his success and fame helped highlight the lack of diversity. For the authors heard by Rolling Stonethey know how sport works today. But that doesn’t prevent your books from imagining a different future.

“I am a non -white woman, and I want to see this representativeness, especially in F1which is definitely not the most diverse sport, ”says Loatani. “Whether among pilots or people in the teams. But in fiction, I can idealize and turn into something closer than I want to see. I can create my own world.”

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