A Guide to Formula One’s Weird, Wonderful World of WAGs

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images

If you believed that the WAG culture found its peak with the NFL, thanks to current Chiefs-game staple Miss Taylor Swift, let me introduce you to the captivating and vital personas populating F1 paddocks. Over the past decade, being in a relationship with an F1 driver has become a springboard for modeling careers, brand partnerships, and authoritative presence in the fashion world: the F1 girlfriend-to-influencer pipeline. Even those no longer dating F1 drivers have held onto their clout as affluent creators, attracting hundreds of thousands if not millions of followers, with fan accounts chronicling their bags, closets, and every move. But these women aren’t mere props to male drivers’ fame; they are forging their own fame. The two cardinal rules of sports? Never underestimate a fangirl, and never underestimate an F1 WAG. These women have injected dynamism into the homogenous environment of F1, contributing to the growing fan base around the sport and to the rising celebrity of drivers themselves.

Instagram accounts like WagsF1, Love 4 Wags F1, and F1 Wags have spun a Gossip Girl–esque tapestry of speculation and mythology around the WAGs. From old-money nepo babies to nouveau riche athletes, let’s get WAG-ged.

Lily He and Alex Albon’s love story resembles a Hallmark rom-com arc. Their relationship is a partnership of equals, with each leveraging the power and influence of their respective sporting brands for mutual benefit. He’s relationship with Albon is not only glamorous but also advocates for the visibility of women’s sports in the male-dominated paddock. If Kelly Piquet is messy loud luxury, then Carmen Montero Mundt is her quiet-luxury opposite. Together for several years, Mundt and Russell’s relationship exudes fresh, aristocratic style and sophistication. They have made F1’s paddock fashion less about wearing luxury brands and more about styling them effortlessly.

Kika, the girlfriend of Pierre Gasly, has a charming off-duty-model aura that she brings to the paddock, which neither Formula One nor Pierre Gasly could claim without her. Similarly, Rebecca Donaldson, the rumored girlfriend of Carlos Sainz, brings a distant and cool high-fashion aura to the paddock. Her relationship with Sainz triggered an earthquake in the WAGs community after Sainz split from longtime partner Isa Hernáez.

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Olivia Wilson

Olivia Wilson is a trendsetter in the world of digital culture. With an eagle eye for emerging trends and viral phenomena, she keeps readers up-to-date with the latest online sensations, memes, and pop culture trends. Olivia’s passion for staying ahead of the curve is infectious.