Heineken Show Why Formula 1 is 'More Than a Race'

To the uninitiated, Formula 1 can seem just like a load of blokes going round and round in a circle, with their cars having to get fixed every few rounds. In the excitement stakes, it's no RuPaul's Drag Race.

Publicis Italy (Heineken's creative agency) and Poke (their digital agency) aim to shatter exactly this misconception with More Than a Race, a trilogy of films starring ex-racer David Coulthard (who recently also appeared in an Aviva spot), who details the science, endurance, and split-second decisions that are behind every millisecond on the track and at the pit stop.

 The three hero films, titled Athletes, Circles, and Cold Tech respectively, see Coulthard sharing such interesting facts about the sport as the fact that drivers have to handle more g-force than they would in a space shuttle, that they adjust the cars every 20 minutes, and they have to drive in temperatures of over 50 degrees. The more you know.

These facts are brought to life visually in the shorts, with the g-force fact example seeing Coulthard in a space suit, and other scenes seeing him at a catwalk show and at a day of the dead celebration.

Poke ECD Nicolas Roope says of the spots, “the script beckons viewers to glimpse obscure and interesting stories behind F1, that tell a fresh story about this extreme phenomenon. Each story needed illustrating to convey each point, but we also needed pace and dynamism in the visuals, so camera play and creative transitions were used to inject this energy. We needed interest to be upheld as the insights unfolded, to prove to everyone that F1 is "More Than a Race.”