{"id":777585,"date":"2026-07-03T12:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/777585\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:08:09","slug":"why-the-women-of-f1-are-the-fashion-it-girls-of-the-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/777585\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the women of F1 are the fashion It Girls of the moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kim and Khloe Kardashian are seen ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix in June.Yves Herman\/Reuters<\/p>\n

When Kim Kardashian started dating Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton earlier this year, she joined a stylish set of women surrounding the sport. <\/p>\n

Influencer Alexandra Leclerc is married to Hamilton\u2019s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Kelly Piquet is dating Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen. Francisca Cerqueira Gomes is Alpine racer Pierre Gasly\u2019s girlfriend. <\/p>\n

They and a roster of other fashionable figures and models are drawing new audiences to auto racing. And while their partners may be the stars of the sport, the wives and girlfriends \u2013 or F1 WAGs, as they\u2019re sometimes called \u2013 have become a cultural phenomenon unto themselves.<\/p>\n

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The women\u2019s paddock walks (an outdoor equivalent to the NBA\u2019s tunnel walk) are heavily photographed. Instagram accounts<\/a> dedicated to their style have popped up by the dozens. Their sporty yet elegant outfits \u2013 such as Leclerc\u2019s Ferrari motorcycle jacket and mini skirt<\/a> at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Piquet\u2019s short trench jumpsuit at last year\u2019s Monza Grand Prix and Gomes\u2019s mixing of merch with ultra-feminine accessories \u2013 attract significant online attention.<\/p>\n

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Charles and Alexandra Leclerc arrive in the Paddock prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami in May.Chris Graythen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Several of the women are also directly involved in the fashion industry. Leclerc\u2019s influence is particularly outsized: She has more than five million Instagram followers and swaths of young women emulating her style. She collaborated with Meshki on a resort collection last year, and recently unveiled a 21-piece capsule collection with Frame. <\/p>\n

Piquet is a brand ambassador for Tiffany & Co and Louis Vuitton, and Gomes has partnered with luxury brands such as Pucci, Givenchy, Burberry and Bulgari and is often photographed wearing their looks. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s interesting about F1 WAG fashion is that it operates under a very specific set of constraints,\u201d said Nina Kharey, founder of Canadian brands NONIE, Folds Wear and Arg\u00e9niq. \u201cYou\u2019re outdoors on the paddock, you\u2019re being photographed constantly and you\u2019re in an environment that\u2019s equal parts athletic and social.\u201d<\/p>\n

The women are often snapped outside or in designated garage areas, so functionality is key. \u201cThe women who get it right understand that restraint is the right move,\u201d said Kharey. \u201cIt\u2019s not red-carpet dressing, it\u2019s not streetwear. It\u2019s clean tailoring and something that reads effortless but is clearly considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite those constraints, Kharey said the women\u2019s individual styles still shine through. \u201cKelly Piquet does that better than almost anyone,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s intention behind every choice without it ever feeling try-hard. Alexandra Leclerc is fascinating to me because she\u2019s so young and already has such a clear point of view. She mixes accessible pieces with luxury in a way that feels genuinely modern rather than calculated. And [Francesca] Gomes has this quiet luxury sensibility that I find really compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alpine’s Pierre Gasly with his girlfriend, Francisca Cerqueira Gomes ahead of practice.Brian Snyder\/Reuters<\/p>\n

The sport\u2019s rise \u2013 it has seen a 12-per-cent increase<\/a> in year-over-year viewership and a 63-per-cent increase since 2018 \u2013 is echoed by the proliferation of luxury brand sponsors. Gucci recently became a title sponsor, and LVMH signed on for a 10-year partnership reportedly worth US$1.5-billion<\/a>, the title partner for the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix de Monaco 2026, Leclerc\u2019s home race. <\/p>\n

Fashion houses aren\u2019t the only luxury brands cementing their presence at the events. Audi and Dom P\u00e9rignon logos now appear alongside ads for Celsius energy drinks and American Express. The drivers also have their own high-end brand collaborations: Charles Leclerc partnered with Chivas Regal and Hamilton with Dior. But it hasn\u2019t always been this way. <\/p>\n

When Canadian F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve dyed his hair platinum blond during the 1997 season, it sent shockwaves through the racing world. This was in an era when drivers had one look, one uniform, with almost no emphasis on personal style. He quickly became the \u201cbad boy\u201d of F1, a fashion counterculture icon. <\/p>\n

He has said in previous interviews<\/a> that his ever-rotating hair colours, which included blue and bright red, led to the authorities drug testing him every race weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got into F1, everybody was very cookie cutter,\u201d said Villeneuve. \u201cIt was the same, and I got in not really caring.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Since he retired in 2006, he has seen a shift in the sport\u2019s culture. At the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal this past May, where Villeneuve spoke at the Audi Innovation Series, luxury fashion brands were everywhere. Races have become the place for high society to see and be seen, like the modern-day equivalent of the horse tracks. And drivers today have more autonomy over their cars and their style.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drivers are groomed from a much younger age, and they\u2019re always in the social networks. It\u2019s different,\u201d said Villeneuve, adding that their off-track lives \u2013 including their partners \u2013 are in the spotlight more than ever. \u201cThey work their image. It\u2019s part of what F1 is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps no one has displayed more savvy in this area than the women, who have turned the paddocks into their own personal runways. And brands have taken notice.<\/p>\n