Lissie Macintosh has amassed thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram since she started working in Formula One last year. The 22-year-old has worked with several drivers in the paddock, including Charles Leclerc.
By Amar Mehta
Last Updated: 13/12/22 5:40pm
Lissie Mackintosh says F1 needs to continue to evolve to attract younger audiences and part of that includes visible diversity
Lissie Mackintosh, a Formula One content creator and presenter, says the sport needs to improve its diversity and is using her platform to make it more accessible.
The 22-year-old started working in F1 content creation last year and has amassed almost 120,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram.
Throughout the season several drivers, including Nico Hulkenberg, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, have featured on her content.
Since starting, Mackintosh said one of the toughest parts of her job has been the hateful comments on social media but she has been able to use the comments as fuel to inspire the next generation of girls.
“The content creation side comes with thousands of people being able to say whatever they want to me. It was tough in the beginning, there were loads of comments like ‘stay in the kitchen’, ‘know your place’,” she told Sky Sports News.
“Ultimately, the kind of hateful comments says more about them than me. I use them to fuel me and there are so many girls now who look up to me, and I feel responsible to put all those hateful and nasty comments aside and just remind myself that there is something so much bigger here.
“We need more relatable role models in our sport. It’s tough. If you sit down and watch a race, sometimes I think you can run the risk of only seeing 20 male drivers, ten team principals who are all men and two male commentators.
“But there are so many incredible women within F1, the sport would not run without women and the women within F1. I hope to be able to shine a light on all of those women because I am so inspired by them all.”
She added that the sport needs to continue to evolve to attract younger audiences and part of that includes visible diversity.
“We need more women who are relatable and being shown. That’s the way to get younger girls interested in the sport. The roles aren’t just male roles. We all need to be aware of the fact that representation on F1 isn’t quite where it needs to be at the moment,” she added.
‘I try to humanise the sport’
For all of its hair-raising entertainment and wheel to wheel action, for many Formula One can feel complicated and inaccessible.
Lissie is trying to show a different side to the sport through her work and is trying to make it more accessible to bring younger audiences.
The 22-year-old hopes to be an inspiration to young girls and get more interest from women in the sport. Pic @lissiemackintosh/Instagram
“I feel sad some people are not made to feel welcome, because they don’t necessarily know everything about the sport.
“Sport is entertainment and you should be able to be allowed to enjoy the sport whether it’s your first race or hundredth race. Sport does become more entertaining and enjoyable when you do know what’s going on,” she said.
“For me, my love for the sport is pure racing. I love the technical side of it but now I can show two sides of the sport and humanise the sport in a way.
“In the podcast we talk about serious F1 stuff in a not-so-serious way. My ultimate goal was to create a community and safe space online for younger fans.
“I am now in a space where I feel like I am part of the F1 community and the paddock. There are so many avenues of media and content creators are bridging the gap with the sport and the fan.
Lissie said it was challenging dealing with hateful comments at the start. Pic @lissiemackintosh/Instagram
“Drive to Survive comes out once a year and is credited massively with bringing younger audiences to the sport, but I don’t necessarily think that is solely the case.
“Creators are putting out things every day and are engaging people. That’s how you build communities. People want accessible content.”
Mackintosh added that teams have been receptive to her vision over the course of the season and the F1 “ecosystem is realising that fresh energy and perspective” helps keep it engaging and exciting for next season.
