Five red lights separate the drivers from the moment when there is no longer any room to adjust the plan. Their eyes are fixed on the track, their hands remain on the steering wheel, and everything the team has spent months preparing must work within a matter of seconds. It is precisely this brief interval before the start that Formula 1 has chosen for the Five Lights campaign, which accompanies the return to racing after the summer break.
At the heart of the campaign is an advertisement featuring all 22 drivers from this year’s championship. Each new light brings viewers closer to the start, but the focus is not directed solely at the cars. The film enters the space of concentration, anticipation and control that precedes the moment when the lights go out and the drivers head towards the first corner.
The narrator is Colin Farrell, an actor and longtime Formula 1 fan, while the rhythm of the countdown is accompanied by Reign by UNKLE, featuring Ian Brown. The film was developed and produced by the agency WING in collaboration with the Formula 1 team.
The campaign began on 16 August, ahead of the season’s resumption at Zandvoort, and runs until 13 September. Alongside content across digital channels and social media, Five Lights occupies six major advertising locations in the United Kingdom and the United States. These include Piccadilly Circus and The Outernet in London, Times Square in New York, Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
For Formula 1, the return to the track is also an opportunity to highlight the growth of its audience beyond the races themselves. According to the organisation’s data, the sport is now followed by more than 830 million fans, the first 11 Grands Prix of the season were sold out, and six circuits set new attendance records.
Emily Prazer, Chief Commercial Officer of Formula 1, said that Five Lights captures the moment when anticipation, excitement and pressure come together immediately before the start of a race. The aim, she added, was to convey the emotion of the sport and the connection fans feel with the teams and drivers during every race weekend.
