Films, adverts and music videos – 20 unlikely times F1 appeared elsewhere in 75 years

The appeal and influence of Formula 1 has stretched far beyond the boundaries of the world's race tracks over the last 75 years, with the sport, its drivers and teams appearing in a plethora of different media.

From films and TV series, to music videos, adverts and everything else in between, there's been no shortage of inspiration taken from the championship over the last seven-and-a-half decades.

Here are 20 unlikely times that F1 appeared elsewhere in the last 75 years...

Films and TV

Michael Schumacher's cameo in Cars

Released in 2006, the film Cars follows rookie racer Lightning McQueen as he attempts to win the Piston Cup and put his name amongst the greats via the usual trials and tribulations that are the cornerstone of most Disney films.

The film is a favourite of many F1 fans, as well as Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, in part due to the motorsport greats that lend their voices to the film, with voiceovers from 1978 Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti, and NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Perhaps the most memorable cameo, though, is by seven-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, whose Ferrari character makes an appearance in the shop of hardcore Tifosi, Luigi and Guido.

This would also not be the last time other notable F1 drivers cropped up in the franchise, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel supplying their voices in the sequels.

Lewis Hamilton's cameo in Zoolander 2

Lewis Hamilton's interest in fashion has become well-known through his collaborations with Tommy Hilfiger and numerous appearances at the infamous Met Gala, where he has sported some truly show-stopping attire.

Before all that, though, the seven-time World Champion appeared in the 2016 film Zoolander 2, making a cameo appearance as a member of the audience during a model catwalk scene.

Quite what the Briton made of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson being covered in prune juice is anyone's guess, but it clearly didn't dissuade Hamilton's appetite for Hollywood, having taken on a producer role for F1 The Movie, which was released last month.

Monaco Historique in Iron Man 2

The Marvel franchise has become one of the biggest brands across the globe, its rise in popularity and run of countless movies stemming from the successful release of Iron Man in 2008.

The film's sequel two years later, while not as well-received, is famous with motorsport fans due to its racing scene at the Monaco Historique where Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr, gets behind the wheel.

Having commandeered his own Stark-sponsored car on the starting grid, and much to the disgust of regular driver 'Defilipo', Stark proceeds to race around the streets of Monte Carlo until attacked by arch-nemesis, Whiplash, who enters the track after posing as a marshal.

It makes for an eye-catching and memorable scene for motorsport fans on the streets of the Principality.

Ayrton Senna's towel in The Terminal

A story about a man confined to an airport may well be one of the most unlikely of places anyone might expect to see a reference about Formula 1, but Steven Spielberg's The Terminal, released in 2004, does just that.

Viktor Navorski, played by Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks, finds himself stranded in an American airport and without citizenship due to a coup back home in his native Krakozhia.

It leads to a scene with Navorski walking around his new but unconventional home in a bathrobe before heading to the bathroom, where he dons an Ayrton Senna McLaren towel no less.

It's anyone's guess where Hanks' character got the piece of F1 memorabilia or indeed what would happen to it, but no doubt the item would now be a treasured piece of merchandise.

Narration by Stirling Moss in Roary the Racing Car

Famous for being arguably the greatest driver never to win the Formula 1 World Championship, Sir Stirling Moss' passion for motorsport never diminished, even in his later years.

A 16-time Grand Prix winner as well as famously taking victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia, Moss also added narration to his résumé as he lent his voice to children's television programme, Roary the Racing Car.

Running across two seasons and 104 episodes between 2007 and 2010, Moss described it as "a jolly good entertaining programme. I got involved in the show because I thought it was fun. It was nice for children, I've got grandchildren myself who, whenever they listen to it, they say, ‘There's grandpa’."

Music

Robbie Williams – (Supreme) feat. Jackie Stewart

The music video for Robbie Williams' song, Supreme, may have got a few more fans in the year 2000 thanks to its use of historical F1 footage, in particular the early 1970s and three-time World Champion, Jackie Stewart.

The singer plays the role of 'Bob Williams', with the video charting his quest to beat Stewart for the F1 World Championship, including escaping injury from a serious accident, victories and ultimately missing the championship decider after getting locked in a caravan!

Complete with period sideburns, Williams appears in several of his own scenes but is also super imposed alongside Stewart and Tyrrell team mate Francois Cevert on the podium, in some green screen work that even today looks just about passable!

David Guetta – (Dangerous) feat. Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean achieved 10 podiums during an F1 career spanning more than a decade, although it's unclear if the Frenchman counts an unofficial rostrum finish that occurred during a David Guetta music video.

Guetta plays an F1 driver for his aptly named song, Dangerous, and goes head-to-head with his rival, played by actor James Purefoy, in a championship showdown at the Jerez Circuit with the help of a 2012 Lotus E20 F1 car, alongside what appears to be Formula Renault machines.

Guetta ultimately proves victorious before being joined on the podium by Purefoy and a confused-looking Grosjean, who appears gracious with third-place, while probably wondering why he's been dragged into the mix at all.

Benson Boone – (To Love Someone) feat. Pierre Gasly

A collaboration between the Alpine F1 team and Amazon Music meant that Pierre Gasly appeared in the music video for Benson Boone's To Love Someone while at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

After being doorstepped, although presumably having been told it was going to happen, the one-time Grand Prix winner agrees to appear in the video, which is filmed in the hotel's gym and children's playroom area, because why not?

The video's narrative is of a 'bromance' between the two before Gasly's fame means they drift apart, leading to an interesting final result...

Adverts

British School of Motoring – Jim Clark

Formula 1 drivers appearing in adverts and promoting products from engine oil and cars, to watches and even milk is nothing new, and the practice stretches as far back as the inauguration of the championship.

Two-time World Champion Jim Clark was no stranger to the concept, appearing in an advert for the British School of Motoring during the 1960s.

The Scot, who won 27 Grands Prix as well as the Indianapolis 500 all with Lotus, died in an F2 accident at Hockenheim in 1968 just as major tobacco sponsorship entered the sport and heralded a new era of F1 driver advertisements and endorsements.

Pirelli – Juan Manuel Fangio

With five F1 world titles to his name for four different manufacturers during the inaugural decade of the championship, it's little wonder Juan Manuel Fangio is referred to as 'El Maestro'.

The Argentinian retired from racing in 1958 at the age of 47 but Fangio would still continue to showcase his prowess behind the wheel through demonstration runs over the following decades, including in adverts.

In one, for Pirelli's Cinturato tyre, Fangio – attired with leather gloves, goggles and a tie – takes the wheel of an Alfa Romeo on Monza's high-speed banking at racing speeds and rolls back the years.

Texaco – James Hunt

With World Championship success comes added media attention and a plethora of endorsements, as proved to be the case for James Hunt, although the 1976 Champion already had quite the portfolio beforehand thanks to his playboy lifestyle and charismatic persona.

The season after his title success, Hunt found himself in an advert for Texaco oil, a prominent sponsor for McLaren during the Briton's tenure with the team.

Throw into the mix British comedic duo Morecambe and Wise, some quick-witted one-liners and an F1 World Champion trying to contain a laugh while being slapped, and an unforgettable sketch was born.

London Bus Driver – Nigel Mansell

Prior to his full-time F1 racing career that would yield 31 wins and the 1992 World title, Nigel Mansell patrolled the streets of the Isle of Man as a police officer – and based on an advert from the 1980s, tried his hand as a bus driver briefly.

Attired in his Williams overalls, Mansell takes to the wheel of a double-decker bus around London, which presumably handled better than some of the racing cars he drove in his career.

Formula TYCO – Nigel Mansell

By their nature, Formula 1 drivers are competitive beings even away from the racetrack and in their day-to-day lives.

That was certainly the case for Mansell (appearing on this list again), who in between his busy F1 schedule finds time to race against his son, Leo, on the latest Formula Tyco set. Complete with Murray Walker commentary, Mansell comes off second best in this blast from the past advert.

Super Monaco GP II - Ayrton Senna

Long before Esports, high-end graphics and EA's F1 game franchise, racing games looked very different but still proved popular, and Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II was no different.

Released in 1992 by Sega for the Sega Genesis, the game revolved around the 1991 season, the year which produced the third and final F1 title for the Brazilian.

Senna himself was involved in the game’s development, offering his insight into various elements of the gameplay, recording voicelines and even featuring in an advert that was used in Japan.

It wasn't the only racing game to hit the shelves that year endorsed by an F1 driver either, as Mansell also backed his own World Championship Racing title – although that one was advertised by British comedian Rik Mayall wearing a false moustache and eyebrows…

Pizza Hut – Damon Hill and Murray Walker

With his exuberance and sheer passion for the sport, Murray Walker became a well-loved mainstay for many in his role as a commentator.

His love of Formula 1 unsurprisingly helped him form close friendships with several drivers, not least co-commentators James Hunt and Martin Brundle, but also Damon Hill – and his 1996 Japanese Grand Prix commentary ("I've got a lump in my throat") revealed the deep connection the two had.

It's not surprising then that the pair teamed up for a Pizza Hut commercial in the late 1990s, Murray bringing his usual excitement and wit, while Hill makes the disturbing decision of eating a slice of pizza… backwards!

Shell – Ferrari

Ferrari is synonymous with Formula 1, the Italian marque having been involved in the championship every year since the inaugural season 75 years ago.

Through all the highs and just as many lows that have both blessed and plagued Ferrari, Shell has been there as a partner for more than seven decades. It's perhaps fitting then that the fuel corporation launched an advert in the mid-2000s celebrating its collaboration with Ferrari in F1.

Cars throughout Ferrari's history are showcased as they take to the streets in Rome, New York and Monte Carlo, creating one of the most memorable motorsport adverts of all time.

Mercedes-Benz – Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton

The fractious battle between two-time and reigning World Champion Fernando Alonso and F1 rookie Lewis Hamilton during their one season together in 2007 as team mates at McLaren has gone down in infamy.

It's perhaps ironic then, that the pair filmed a commercial for Mercedes where their competitive nature came to the fore even before their relationship broke down.

Edited to the tune of Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better), the pair compete to be the first to do menial, day-to-day tasks, foreshadowing the intense intra-team battle that was to come that season as both missed out on the Drivers' Championship by a single point – ultimately losing out to a Finn in both the advert (Mika Hakkinen) and the 2007 championship (Kimi Raikkonen).

Canberra Milk – Mark Webber

Driving solo around an in-door go-kart track, avoiding scattered milk cartons and proceeding to sing an out of tune melody probably doesn't rank that high on Mark Webber's list of accolades.

Yet the ex-F1 driver, who would claim nine Grand Prix victories with Red Bull, including two at the Monaco Grand Prix, performed just such an advert.

It's not clear whether Webber has erased all existence of the ad from his memory, but thankfully the clip remains available to view with the help of YouTube.

Other media

Lewis Hamilton's cameo in the Call of Duty video game

F1 drivers appearing in video games is nothing new, especially given the officially licensed racing games that have been released on a yearly basis.

But what is less common is for F1 drivers to appear in other genres of video games, not least the Call of Duty franchise. Eagle-eyed gamers will have noticed that Lewis Hamilton makes an appearance in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare as engineer Carl Hamilton, having been scanned into the game as well as delivering voiceovers.

McLaren's Dragon Ball Z collaboration

The Dragon Ball franchise is not only one of the biggest in Japan but also globally through its manga and anime releases, predominantly during the 1980s and 1990s.

Main protagonist Goku even appeared as an ambassador for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, so it's no surprise that the franchise became involved with F1 for a time.

Back in 1990, creator Akira Toriyama travelled to Germany to meet Ayrton Senna and a collaboration developed over the season, with several pieces of artwork featuring Goku in McLaren gear created, while manga publication Shonen Jump featured as a sponsor on the team's MP4/5 at the Japanese Grand Prix.