By: Matthew S. Taylor
For the world of motorsport, the summer of 2025 offered something arguably more valuable than a new lap record: a global invitation to a new audience, courtesy of the motion picture F1, directed by Joseph Kosinski. While the sport had previously enjoyed a renaissance through the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive, the film’s release marked a transformative phase for the sport.
The film didn’t just sell tickets; it accelerated the sport’s entire demographic shift. According to the 2025 Global Fan Survey, three of every four new fans identify as female. But for students at Southern Adventist University, these global trends aren’t about box office numbers or stock prices. Instead, the sport is serving as a consistent pastime and community builder, offering an engaging reason to wake up early and cheer together on Sunday mornings.
For those who don’t follow the sport, Formula One (F1) is the pinnacle of motorsport, featuring the fastest circuit-racing cars in the world. Unlike NASCAR, which uses stock cars on oval tracks, F1 uses open-wheel “hybrid” cars: vehicles that combine traditional combustion engines with advanced electric power, racing on complex road courses.
Following Sunday’s nail-biting conclusion of the penultimate race at the Qatar Grand Prix, the World Drivers’ Championship has officially come down to the wire. Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, the four-time reigning champion, closed the gap on McLaren driver and current season leader Lando Norris in Qatar. The two, plus third-place contender (and Norris’ teammate) Oscar Piastri, are now separated by a razor-thin margin heading into this Sunday’s finale in Abu Dhabi. The drama on the track has finally eclipsed the drama on the screen.
The sport’s explosion in popularity can probably be traced to the fact that the entry point is easier than ever. For many students who previously saw F1 as a niche European sport, the movie became the accessible entry ticket to this technical world.
“I remember a time when it felt like my Dad and I were the only ones in the United States that watched F1,” shared senior history major Sam Schmidt, who has been watching the sport since 2010. For Schmidt, the film served as confirmation that Formula One racing could have universal appeal. “A Hollywood movie kind of validated the fact that it’s just as big here in the United States as it has been in the rest of the world for years.”
As a long-time fan, Schmidt admits that he “cringed at some of the inaccuracies” in F1’s portrayal of racing physics but acknowledges that the film succeeded where it mattered most. “The movie fan in me loved it,” Schmidt added. “An SAU student should be interested in F1 for the same reason they would get invested in another sport: human drama backdropped by real danger and high stakes.”
That human drama has resonated with a new wave of fans who see the drivers not just as athletes, but as characters in a season-long narrative.
“I feel like it’s more personable than most sports,” explained senior media production major Taylor Moren. “There’s a lot more at stake. … I feel like people don’t realize how much physical effort is put into racing.”
Moren, who began watching during her senior year of high school, credits the movie with widening the circle of fandom on campus. “It made me appreciate the fandom more,” she noted. “I feel like the movie helped bring in a lot more fans and appreciation for it.”
This growing community has transformed how some students spend their weekends. Sunday mornings, once reserved for catching up on sleep, have become the time to watch the morning races.
“It is fun to watch, especially if the person is into cars and finds a large community that enjoys watching F1,” said junior nursing student Caitlyn Keller, whose father introduced her to the sport as a child. For Keller, the appeal lies in the intellectual side of the sport, specifically “the strategy behind all the decisions they make” regarding tires, fuel and pit stops.
But for students who want to do more than just watch the finale, this new wave of popularity has a local outlet. Just 15 minutes from campus, the simulator rigs at SpeedHub Sim Racing and Flatout Sim Racing allow fans to drive the same circuits they see on TV.
These venues are community hubs where students can experience the physical exertion Moren described, wrestling with force-feedback steering wheels on the virtual tarmac of world-famous circuits such as Yas Marina, site of this Sunday’s finale. It is a chance to bridge the gap between the passive moviegoer and the active participant.
As the championship fight moves to the global stage in Abu Dhabi this coming Sunday, the eyes of the world—and potentially more Southern students than ever before—will be fixed on the starting lights. The movie may have brought them to the screen, but the winner-take-all race for the championship is what will keep them on the edge of their seats.
