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The what: Albon owns infrastructure while everyone else rents.

Here's something I want to be clear about upfront: content is not a driver's main job. Their core skill is being fast, being connected with engineers, and delivering on track. It trumps everything. We cut drivers slack on content because the priority is doing the actual job.

But if you're running athlete commercial operations, and a big part of that is making sure you monetisation works, and sponsors come in for the driver, then what follows commercially matters.

There are three parallel priorities after the craft:

Most drivers handle all three on rented platforms. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. Platforms they don't control, where the algorithm decides who sees what, where they can't tell if someone's watched 1 video or 100.

YouTube partly counts as rented (but that’s a story for another)

Albon built something different. Through a partnership with Fan Capital, a platform born out of the Dorilton Capital and Williams Racing ecosystem. He co-owns an app, the content, and the data. He was in the right place at the right time, sure. But he also had the personality and dedicated fanbase to make it work.

And there is clear proof it’s working. Adobe, Beats by Dre, SurveyMonkey, DOMO, and Monsoon Valley are all partnering through his owned channels. Not through Williams. Through him.

The implication for drivers: what do you actually own when the racing career ends?

The implication for brands: there's a way into F1 audiences at a lower price point with more flexibility than team sponsorship.

The how: The strategic playbook in three mechanisms.

Here's how I think about this.

Rented platforms are great for discovery. Instagram is short-form discovery—you're grabbing attention, hoping the algorithm serves your content to new people. YouTube is click-and-watch—thumbnails and titles need to be captivating to catch attention.

The problem with rented: you can't tell if this is the first video someone has seen or if they've been watching for years. Those lines are completely blurred. And the platform controls distribution. Algorithm changes, your reach changes. You have no say.

Owned platforms are about depth. When someone downloads your app, they're signalling something. They're saying: I care enough about this athlete for their platform to occupy space on my phone. I want to hear more from them.

The barrier to entry is much higher. But the loyalty is also much higher.

With an app, you suddenly have a direct relationship. You have their email. You have their behaviours. You get to speak to them 1-1. You're building depth instead of just reach.

Fan Capital's whole model is built around this: moving fans from passive followers to active participants through data capture and analysis. Engaging year-round, not just during race weekends.

Fully rented:

Partially owned:

Fully owned:

You need both a rented platform and your discovery engine. Owned platforms are your retention engine. The mistake is treating rented as the destination instead of the funnel.

Replication framework:

Strategy Playbook: Rent for reach, own for retention. Most athletes only do the first part.

Let me flip this to the brand side, because there's real whitespace here that people miss.

These days, people trust people. Audiences connect more deeply with individuals than teams. They follow them throughout their career.

Think about it: I'm a Lewis Hamilton fan. When he moved from McLaren to Mercedes, I followed him. When he went from Mercedes to Ferrari, I followed him there too. The team allegiance matters less than the person. (Don’t ask me how I feel about this season…)

Drive to Survive is the perfect example of this dynamic playing out at scale.

So what does a brand get working with Albon through his owned channels versus going through Williams?

Direct audience access: The Alex Albon Android app listing on Google Play shows more than 10,000 installs via the “10K+ downloads” label. Google Play reports these bands (e.g., 10K+, 50K+, 100K+) instead of exact numbers, so the real figure could be any value above 10,000 within that band.

The iOS version of the Alex Albon app is available via the App Store, but does not display download numbers publicly.

Career portability. If he moves teams, you keep the relationship. The investment doesn't disappear.

Year-round activation. Content 365 days a year, not just 20 race weekends.

Creative control. Co-create content directly with him, without too much filtration through team PR and approval chains.

Lower price point. Entry to the F1 association without the team sponsorship cost.

You can activate through his app and email list. Push notifications, direct messaging. Another distribution channel entirely.

The risk is perhaps the same as any influencer deal, reputational. Drivers partnering through owned channels are freer to speak their mind.

Fit has to be spot on anyway, and fans are not gullible. Their BS detectors go off when they sense dishonesty. A forced partnership gets called out in the comments immediately. The audience knows when a driver genuinely uses a product versus when they're reading a script.

Questions brands should ask before pursuing driver partnerships:

Strategy Playbook: Driver partnerships are a different product for different objectives. A horizontal

Let me be specific about what Albon actually has.

From what I can infer, his content operation is run by Grip Sports Management. Small team. The app is co-owned with Fan Capital, meaning he retains ownership of the audience data and platform alongside them. He's also an advisory board member at Fan Capital; he's not just a client, he's invested in the infrastructure.

Main platforms he prioritises: the app, Instagram, and Twitter. Consistent posting cadence across all of them.

What Fan Capital actually does:

They help athletes aggregate fans in a specific niche and create new revenue streams beyond what already exists.

Practically, that means:

The stuff most drivers don't have the bandwidth to figure out while also racing cars for a living.

The co-ownership model matters. Fan Capital is an equity partners. Which means their incentives align with Albon's long-term audience value.

If you don't have Fan Capital access, here's the minimum viable version:

An email list is the simplest form of owned audience. Lower lift than an app, but it still requires discipline to maintain; you need to actually send valuable content. Still needs exclusive value that fans can't get elsewhere. But it's owned, and you control it. No algorithm decides who sees it.

Questions to ask yourself:

Strategy Playbook: If you can't build the infrastructure yourself, find partners who will co-own it with you rather than just service it.

Albon's advantages:

What you can replicate:

What you can't:

The minimum viable version: An email list. Lower lift than an app, but still requires discipline to maintain and offer exclusive value. Still monetizable and ownable.

The question you have to answer for the newsletter/email list: What is a “job to be done” for your newsletter/email list? Something you don’t already give them through regular channels? If you can't answer that, that’s where I can help.

Question for builders reading: What do you actually own when the content attention fades?