Creators whose online identities revolve around Formula 1 racing have been changing their accounts lately, but they seem reluctant to say why. But the reason may be because F1 itself is asking them to do so, and F1 is rumored to have been issuing cease and desist orders to certain creators who have monetization accounts using its brand.
Sudden brand changes include the Paddock Project (formerly F1r the Girls), a podcast for F1 fans. In announcing the change, Paddock did not mention receiving a cease-and-desist letter, writing instead that the new name “reflects where we are and where we are headed.”
F1 influencer Mikaela Kostaras, who also recently changed her name (from “shelovesf1” to “shelovesvrooms”), appeared to hint at a cease-and-desist order in a video asking viewers to “imagine” being Told that tickets cannot be purchased for free, which is what she has done recently. “There’s a reason why everyone is rebranding rn, and it’s not just for fun,” she said in response to a comment on the video.
F1 commentator Toni Cowan-Brown said in a video that she had been “hearing rumors of cease and desist letters for at least the past six months”. She added that Formula 1’s target audience is those “who use F1 as a brand and leverage it,” as well as creators who pretend to have some connection to the organization.
There was no immediate response from Formula 1 edgeRequest for comment.
Cowan-Brown contrasted this approach with the NBA, which doesn’t really target those who post NBA content online, even if that content includes actual footage of games. League commissioner Adam Silver once said, “To a large extent, the highlight is marketing.”
Still, Formula 1 has been particularly aggressive in protecting its brand in the past, including sending star driver Lewis Hamilton “a bunch of legal letters” asking him to stop posting F1 videos on social media. Later, Liberty Media acquired F1 and relaxed guidelines prohibiting drivers and teams from releasing paddock footage.
