ABOUT

For a decade, Heineken has sponsored Formula 1. But when it came time to renew the partnership, we didn’t want another corporate handshake and a forgettable press release. We wanted to create something fans would actually care about.

So we launched the world’s first F1 Season Ticket. A money-can’t-buy pass giving one fan and a friend access to every race on the calendar.

The result? A sponsorship renewal that became a genuine fan moment, sparking global conversation across F1 culture, creator communities and mainstream media.

BRIEF
After 10 years in the sport, Heineken risked becoming wallpaper in F1. Despite its long-standing presence, many fans didn’t believe sponsors truly understood the passion and culture surrounding the sport.

Our brief was to turn a standard partnership renewal into a global fan-first moment that:

- Proved Heineken genuinely brings fans closer to F1
- Generated mainstream fame beyond trade media
- Sparked conversation within core fan communities
- Made sponsorship rights feel meaningful to fans

CREATIVE
Formula 1 has exploded in popularity thanks to shows like Drive to Survive. But for most fans, following an entire season in real life remains almost impossible, financially and logistically.

That tension became the idea.

In football, the ultimate fan status is being a season ticket holder. So we asked: why doesn’t F1 have one too?

We created the world’s first F1 Season Ticket. A carbon-fibre pass giving one lucky fan and a friend access to every race on the calendar, including flights, hotels and tickets.

The first ticket was awarded to Brandon Burgess, a superfan known online for trying to attend every race on a budget while balancing a full-time job. The F1 community had already rallied behind him, making him the perfect face of the campaign.

The second ticket was announced as a fan giveaway for 2026 through F1 Unlocked.

The Season Ticket itself became the story. From surprise presentations with Max Verstappen to creator collaborations, fan-stage appearances and social content, the campaign travelled organically through the communities that matter most in F1 culture.

RESULTS & EFFECTIVENESS

1,700+ pieces of earned coverage and social content across 122 countries
96% of coverage referenced the partnership renewal
4,000+ organic social posts
4 million social engagements
3.29 billion opportunities to see
And crucially, fans bought into it:

91% said the Season Ticket felt genuinely created for fans
88% said it proved Heineken understood F1 culture and brought fans closer to the sport
81% said they would share it with fellow fans
79% said it made them pay more attention to Heineken during the season