F1 and music have been inseparable in many fans’ minds, from the classic Fleetwood Mac opening music so many look forward to every Sunday to the sights of Nick Mason, Jay Kay, Eric Clapton and earlier this year Lenny Kravitz taking in the sights and sounds around the paddock from time to time.
Popular musicians are all part of the show that is F1 on a race day, but afterwards, how many times have you watched a YouTube clip of an F1 car screaming around a lap and heard a pounding set of beats from someone’s music collection that have been put together to go with it?
Today, you can’t help but hear someone’s idea of a good backing track to most F1 videos circulating (that are still up), and it’s thanks to the forward thinkers at Caterham F1 Team that music and racing fans have come together even closer through their recent partnership with the UK trio Japanese Popstars.
Their music is full of the kind of energy and pounding rhythm that makes a dance floor move, and the title of their recent release, “RS27”, even sounds like a chassis number. That’s probably not an accident – it’s been put together with sounds sampled from the same Renault Sport F1 engine that powers the team’s CT01 car.
Gareth Donoghue, Japanese Popstars: “This whole project came about through our manager Matthew, who learned that some of the guys on the Lotus team at the time were fans of the band. He just made contact with them and I just said ‘If they ever want any music done…’ and they actually came to us with the idea of doing a theme for their new season and their new car. Obviously we’re all big race fans and were excited to be connected with Formula 1 and so we just jumped at the idea.”
Formula 1 in America has traditionally had a difficult time finding new fans, but the racing team’s ability to reach through music to a younger crowd of dance music fans brings a new dimension and some much needed fresh air to the mix of Formula 1 fans here.
Tom Webb, Caterham F1 Team: “We wanted to open Formula 1 up, we think it’s a very cool place to be, and we think the doors have been locked to it for quite a long time. It began with the partnerships like we’ve got with The Japanese Popstars, it’s the sort of thing that does bring in new fans and it’s a way of embracing change and I think that’s something that’s important.”
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Sounds like the beginning of a few new partnerships in the F1 paddock – whose sounds would you pair with the rest of the teams on the grid?
