“We think there are a lot of American and even global businesses that have viewed Formula One as European, too high brow. Maybe it’s the champagne and Monaco crowd,” said Shergul Arshad, Aston Martin F1’s head of North America. “But really it’s 1.5 billion fans watching from all walks of life.
Balancing that antithesis can be a challenge. “Not many people are going to buy a $150,000 car,” Jefferson Slack, Aston Martin F1’s managing director, noted. “But you can buy a hat. You can support it,” Slack said. “You can aspire to own an Aston Martin. You can aspire to the brand attributes. … If someone buys a hat, then maybe in 15 years, they buy the car. So that’s the real marketing platform.”Not that the hat sales hurt: A team-branded adult ball cap and a bucket hat go for $49 each on Aston Martin’s online store.The company is also seeing a material impact, according to its leadership.