Copyright Sports Illustrated
Disney's anticipated "Fuel the Magic" collaboration with Formula 1 will begin at the Las Vegas Grand Prix next month. The partnership, announced in May, will see Mickey Mouse and Friends take a vital role in the entertainment surrounding the race in Nevada. Mickey will deliver a "one-of-a-kind" performance in front of the Bellagio fountains, featuring music and pyrotechnics from Disney Live Entertainment. Mickey and Friends will also join a special pitwalk ahead of qualifying, with the chance for main grandstand ticket holders to get up close and personal to the cars and teams as preparations ramp up after final practice. The Disneyland Band will then perform the national anthem from the grid ahead of the grand prix. “The Disney brand represents the power of storytelling, creativity and connection—values that resonate deeply with fans and partners alike worldwide,” said Tasia Filippatos, President of Disney Consumer Products. “We are thrilled to be uniting sports, pop culture and entertainment in a way that delivers an unforgettable experience for both Mickey and Friends and F1 fans globally.” Las Vegas Grand Prix president Emily Prazer added: “Our collaboration with Disney builds on a shared passion for storytelling, innovation and creating memorable moments. "As we look ahead to the global Disney’s Mickey and Friends and Formula 1 launch in 2026, the Fuel the Magic program will bring two iconic brands together to give fans of all ages a race weekend filled with creativity, entertainment and a touch of magic.” F1's commercial push paying off The Disney collaboration is the latest in a long list of major deals made by F1 as it continues to go from strength to strength behind the scenes. The sport's commercial landscape has flourished since Liberty Media's acquisition in 2017, and as well as the Disney deal, recent partnerships have seen the likes of Lego, Coca Cola and American Express join forces with F1 — the latter presenting the first Grid Gig at the United States Grand Prix. In an exclusive interview with Grand Prix on SI ahead of this year's Las Vegas GP, Prazer, who is also F1's COO, said: “We are in a good spot, we have worked really hard. “In addition to starting to understand the licensing business which is where Lego sits, we haven’t done much of it before, but we have announced Lego - their activations are phenomenal - we have partnerships with Hot Wheels, with Topps for trading cards. “We have Mickey and Friends, which will see a huge amount happening around the Vegas race, that’s going to be a very big partnership." The Vegas race will see Hello Kitty join forces with all-female series F1 Academy with dedicated grandstands, activations and merchandising to help inspire a new generation. Noting the change in demographics for F1 in recent years as it transitions from what was once a brand dominated by tobacco sponsorships before a barren period after the ban of such advertisements in 2006, Prazer added: “The Hello Kitty grandstand… some people have an opinion. I think we feel good that we have to penetrate the next generation of fans, so we are going to continue to do so and these partners are giving us the opportunity to do it. “But a lot of it is born out of the transition that we have very slowly but surely gotten comfortable with of moving from a hardcore motorsport proposition into an entertainment proposition as much as we can, whilst keeping the heritage as much as we can." Lego's partnership saw drivers engage in battle during a parade lap in fully-functioning Lego F1 cars at the Miami Grand Prix earlier this year, and while that has provided F1's commercial office with "confidence," Prazer has insisted the sport's heritage remains of importance at legacy venues. “You’ll see what we do at races like Silverstone or Monza, the integration of Lego, for example, is a bit more authentic - the Lego trophies that we did at Silverstone was really fun," she explained. “But Lego is continuing to push, we are continuing to push and we love the fact that the drivers find it fun and they are engaged and the teams love it. “We will continue to come up with ideas and I think that is what is pushing the commercial business forward, our ability to be nimble and fast and make quick decisions. “Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] is amazing, he has a lot of trust in all of us that if we come up with ideas and we think they are going to work, he lets us try them. So we can’t complain. “But because we are nimble as an organization and quite lean, we can make those decisions quite fast, fast enough to have quite a quick impact.” More established Las Vegas GP sees ticket sales up After a successful second running of the race after a tricky first iteration in 2023, the Las Vegas GP has begun to catch in the mind of the consumer, with ticket sales "trending about 50% ahead" of 2024. “I don’t think we have done anything material in terms of strategy other than understand initially... now we know what people want to buy," Prazer said. “Now we have a more significant product. We have the Paddock Club, other hospitality, and tickets which people really get. “I also think we are much more established as an event, so people know what they are buying, the logistics are really good and you know you can walk 10 minutes from a five-star hotel to the pitlane. We are in a very fortunate position of being the easiest F1 track to get in and out of. The first year, people were terrified and didn’t know what was going to happen. So we have educated people. “But it is in a really good spot, the sponsors are pretty happy so I don’t feel we are in a bad place."
