Beckham, Aguero, Formula E and celebrity influence on sport

In an effort to raise the profile of the sport, Formula E pits 11 influencers against each other in 200-mph cars with faster acceleration rates than F1.

The likes of former Manchester City striker turned content creator Sergio Aguero, and Brooklyn Beckham will be racing in the electric-powered vehicles, which can go from 0-60mph in 1.82 seconds – 30% faster than a current F1 car.

Beckham has 16 million Instagram followers, compared to Aguero’s 30 million.

According to Formula E’s CEO, Jeff Dodds, “using their reach, their profiles, and their fan base to help elevate ours feels like a really good combination.”

Before taking the wheel of this season’s cars and racing at a circuit in Miami on March 5 and 6, each influencer will be paired with a professional FE team and driver.

The most recent sport to make the most of celebrity popularity to produce content and appeal to younger audiences is the.

But will it work? And does it run the risk of devaluing the actual running action?

David and Victoria Beckham, both former English football players, have two sons, Brooklyn and Victoria.

He has earned millions of pounds from brand endorsement deals, and he will receive an undisclosed sum from this partnership, which will allow him to share training footage with his social media followers.

Beckham says from his Los Angeles home, “It’s getting more people to experience Formula E.”

He has participated in numerous races and participated in the Mexico E-Prix in 2020, but he has not yet disclosed his plans to his wife Nicola Peltz.

“We’ll see what she says”, he laughs.

“I was blown away, and the more people who do]see it], the more people will understand”.

Beckham claims that FE cars have a chance to rival Formula One, but that the world is changing because he believes it is “unbelievable how quiet and how fast” they are.

What about concerns that such collaborations could lead to a decline in the level of skill and effort required for this sport?

Beckham is known for his previous attempts to break into modelling, photography and cookery. He also tried to follow in his father’s footsteps, but was released by Arsenal’s academy aged 15.

” When this comes out, people are going to think that I’m going to try and become an F1 driver, “he says.

” They think I’m going to change careers again. However, people will come to terms with how mentally difficult this sport is.

“These guys in these cars are just so talented. I’m just so excited to meet them and participate in this.

A decade on from its debut, Dodds defends using such personalities.

“They are masterful at creating compelling video content”, he says.

They collectively have around 300 million social media followers, so it has to be a good thing for the sport to introduce this product to those followers.

” It’s not a gimmick because it’s the real car on a Grade 1 racing track. “

The world’s fastest single-seat race car will have the influencers behind it.

” They’ll be on the track individually, which is a much safer environment, “says Dodds who wants to introduce this as a standalone promotional event in the race calendar.

” But it also gives them the opportunity to push the boundaries as far as they’re comfortable. How brave are they, as will be demonstrated in this instance? How far ahead of schedule are they going to push the car?

Before being guided by the professionals in dedicated physical and driver training sessions, the amateur drivers will be put through their paces in a driving simulator.

The main goal is to illustrate the difference between a novice driver and a pro-driver, Dodds says.

Formula E has had a number of broadcast partners in the UK, which has hampered efforts to expand its audience there in addition to having to deal with Covid’s disruption.

While its finances are improving, an annual loss of $45m (£36m) was posted last year.

Dodds is optimistic, saying that Formula E will surpass MotoGP in terms of fanfare by 2030 and be second only to Formula 1.

” We have around 400m fans around the world – about half the size of F1 in just 10 years, “he says.

So, in my opinion, the first half a billion people worldwide have a really strong broadcast reach, which is growing between 20 and 30% annually.

Of course, this is not the first time that sports have capitalized on the power of celebrity as a marketing ploy.

Last year Ivan Buhajeruk, known as Spreen, who has millions of YouTube followers, was controversially allowed to play for Deportivo Riestra – one of Argentina’s top football teams – in a league match.

After not touching the ball in the first minute, he was replaced, but the publicity stunt caused a significant backlash.

Meanwhile, YouTubers taking part in boxing started out as a novelty in 2018.

Traditionalists find so-called “crossover fights” to be a commonplace in the sport, raising concerns about integrity and safety while also piqueing young fans’ interest.

“I’m a massive boxing fan and I choose not to watch a lot of those bouts”, says Dodds.

“Many people think that Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson isn’t amazing for the sport, despite the fact that many people watched it. We’re not doing that.

” I’m not pitting]current champion] Pascal Wehrlein against Brooklyn Beckham. Simply put, I’m using the sport as a means of raising the profile of the championship in a non-discriminatory setting.