9 times superhero movies made it onto the F1 grid

Movies and motorsport are the perfect combination, and the two have crossed over countless times thanks to the world of superheroes. Whether you’re team Marvel or a DC Comics lover, Formula 1 has a strong link with the world’s biggest and best franchises, from special liveries and comic book collaborations to shoeys on the podium, these heroes have seen it all.

Ocon’s heroic helmet designs

Haas’ Esteban Ocon is a self-confessed Marvel fan, and isn’t afraid to tell the world about it through fun racing helmet designs or updates on social media. From spending New Year’s Eve at Disneyland Paris’ Avengers Campus to posing for pictures at the cinema when watching Thunderbolts*.

His favourite hero? That has to be Spider-Man. He even got an RC Spider-Man as his Secret Santa gift last season, so that makes his collaboration with Spider-Man: Brand New Day all the more special this summer.

Since meeting Tom Holland – the actor who plays the friendly neighbourhood superhero – during the press tour, Ocon ran a special Spider-Man themed racing helmet for the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix last month, and even brought it as an accessory for the London movie premiere.

This is the third time the Frenchman has embraced a Spidey-themed helmet, having hosted a trilogy of his own with Spider-Man designs across the 2022, 2025 and 2026 seasons. When racing for Alpine, Ocon also used a Deadpool-inspired helmet for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which he was able to show to the team’s investor Ryan Reynolds, who plays the sarcastic and witty antihero.

Alpine’s impressive investors

Back in 2023, the Alpine F1 Team revealed that they had secured a €200m cash injection from a group of investors, which included several huge Hollywood names. Among those was Reynolds as well as Academy Award-winning actor Michael B. Jordan, who had a significant role in Marvel’s Black Panther.

The investment group – formed of Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments – acquired a 24% stake in the F1 team, with other sporting stars such as Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, golfing icon Rory McIlroy and professional boxer Anthony Joshua.

As part of this partnership, Alpine ran a Deadpool & Wolverine one-off livery ahead of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix which saw a swap to a red and yellow colour scheme from the usual blue and pink – complete with claw marks on the rear of the A524 car.

Special silverware with Superman

DC Comics have also found a home in the F1 paddock, with Red Bull showcasing a now-iconic livery and matching race suits to promote Superman Returns over the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.

The unique livery clearly proved powerful, with no additional help from the planet Krypton, as the team recorded their first-ever podium finish in Formula 1 that weekend thanks to David Coulthard.

Although Coulthard raced in his usual Red Bull race suit, he was passed a red cape for his podium appearance, and that later made a trip to the swimming pool as former team boss Christian Horner jumped in after achieving their maiden silverware.

Several stars of Superman Returns were in attendance at the Monte Carlo event back in 2006, and more recently David Corenswet, DC’s latest Clark Kent, paid the paddock and starting grid a visit ahead of the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix.

Carbono in the comics

The Williams Racing pairing of Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz recently made it into actual comic books, thanks to a collaboration between the team and the Marvel Universe. The one-shot books also contain Team Principal James Vowles alongside his F1 driver duo, and are available with special covers across several events this season including Monaco, Miami and Silverstone.

The synopsis reveals that Doctor Doom has some "diabolical plans" to take over the podium, but even with help from Iron Man and his fellow Avengers, the Williams racers face grave danger as they fight to keep their championship challenge on track.

The pairing between two brilliant brands continues across the second half of the season, with more special variants of the comic’s cover across Madrid, Singapore, Austin and Las Vegas.

Dark Knight delights

The incredible The Dark Knight Trilogy by Christopher Nolan got the F1 treatment twice, with some cool activations across British Grands Prix gone by.

First to run the signature Batman branding was Toyota, who promoted The Dark Knight in 2008. The iconic bat outline was seen on the red and white livery, as well as the race suits of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock and across the team’s motorhome. There was also the addition of the epic Batpod and Batmobile, the latter of which was used in a photocall for some pit stop practice.

For the final film in the award-winning trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, Lotus ran special stickers across their cars, helmets and in the garage to promote the 2012 film. Drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean repped the gold The Dark Knight Rises logos, and the military-grade prototype Tumbler made a return to Silverstone’s start/finish straight.

Hamilton’s Black Panther tribute

Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton dedicated his 93rd Formula 1 Pole Position to Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, who had passed away the day prior, at the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix.

Getting out after setting an incredible lap, which placed him five-tenths quicker than his former Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in second, Hamilton performed the “Wakanda Forever” salute from the movie, creating an emotional tribute to the Hollywood star.

“It’s a really important pole for me because I woke up to the saddest news of Chadwick passing away,” Hamilton said in the post-qualifying press conference at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.

“What he has done for our people, what he’s done for… this superhero shows all these young kids that it’s possible. He was such a shining light. So we carry that forever.”

Patrick Stewart savours a shoey

Finding Hollywood’s biggest names at Formula 1 is a common occurrence, with so many movie stars wanting to get up close with the sport. Names like Florence Pugh, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chris Pratt, Nicholas Hoult and Brie Larson have all checked out Grand Prix racing over the years, and the list doesn’t stop there.

Chris Hemsworth has attended a couple of races, most recently in 2023, having played the God of Thunder Thor since 2011. His love for motorsport also stems from him playing 1976 Drivers’ World Champion James Hunt in the popular movie Rush.

Sir Patrick Stewart found himself the victim of peer pressure when he joined Daniel Ricciardo in a podium shoey at the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix. The actor, who portrays Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men series and reprises his role alongside Hemsworth in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film this winter, was tasked with hosting the interviews with the top three. Ricciardo finished third for Red Bull Racing and managed to convince Stewart to drink champagne out of his race-worn boot!

Benedict Cumberbatch was also given the responsibility of hosting the post-race press podium interviews at the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix, but thankfully for Doctor Strange there were no shoeys in sight.

Tom Holland’s Monaco masterclass

The Spider-Man actor has always been vocal about his love of Formula 1, and was given an opportunity of a lifetime to wave the chequered flag for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix. As you would expect from a muscled Marvel star, Holland made it look easy to start off with but after a while his arm started to ache from the weight, and soon small mistakes started to slip in, like knocking the camera behind.

Still, there’s no denying Holland lived out the dream of many motorsport fans, and we all enjoyed watching him experience that moment at one of racing’s most magical venues.

Monaco has also been the backdrop to many a movie, with Iron Man 2 using the historic Grand Prix as a key part of the 2010 movie featuring Robert Downey Jr.

Antonelli’s masked mission

Kimi Antonelli went undercover during Free Practice 1 during the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix earlier this year, whilst Mercedes’ third driver Frederic Vesti took to the wheel for a rookie Free Practice session. His disguise? A Spider-Man mask — which looked like it was perhaps for a child...

Sitting in the grandstands opposite the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, eagle-eyed fans and the broadcast cameras picked up the suspicious figure sitting in all-Mercedes merchandise with his mask and the occasional curl popping out from under the hoodie, and put two-and-two together.