--- title: "F1inTO: How we built the biggest race day in Toronto" description: "F1inTO is Toronto's Formula 1 watch party. Culture Cartel took it over and built it into the city's biggest race day: brand, digital, partners and the room." canonical: https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/f1into language: en-CA publisher: Culture Cartel --- F1inTO # F1inTO We took F1inTO over and built it into the biggest race day in Toronto. - **Client:** F1inTO - **Format:** Live - **Industry:** [Events and motorsport](https://www.culturecartel.ca/industries/events-and-entertainment-marketing) - **Location:** Toronto, Canada - **Year:** 2026 ![F1inTO wordmark over a Formula 1 car at speed in a motion-blurred tunnel](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_dfe85e5124ac4afe-2000.webp) Services - Event properties - Brand strategy - Identity design - Sponsorship activation - Social - Websites Practice - [Experiences](https://www.culturecartel.ca/live) - [Strategy & Brand](https://www.culturecartel.ca/services#brand) - [Design & Digital](https://www.culturecartel.ca/services#digital) Live links - [f1into.ca](https://f1into.ca) - [go.f1into.ca](https://go.f1into.ca) [Start a project like this](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=live&ref=f1into) ## The brief F1inTO is Culture Cartel’s own sister brand: Toronto’s Formula 1 watch party, and a home for a fan base that wanted somewhere to gather. We took it over and set out to build it into the biggest race day in the city. The job was all of it. Brand, visual identity, digital presence, campaign strategy and the race-day experience itself. ## The insight Formula 1 in North America was in its fastest period of growth, and the surge was especially strong in Toronto. But the audience was scattered across platforms with no real home. The opportunity was obvious. The window to own it was narrow. A fan page would not hold that audience. A place would. So we run F1inTO as a property first: somewhere to watch the race with people who care as much as you do, with a brand worth showing up for. ## The work ### Brand and identity A motorsport-native brand with genuine Toronto DNA. A bold mark and a visual system built for a city that takes culture seriously, carried across race graphics, social, merch and the room itself. ### The watch party Boutique, social and distinctly Toronto. Race days built as events in their own right, where the screen is the reason to come and the crowd is the reason to stay. ### Content and campaigns A content strategy that speaks to hardcore fans and new converts at the same time. Race-by-race creative from the season opener to Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, fan competitions and a steady social rhythm between Grands Prix. ### Digital f1into.ca as the front door and go.f1into.ca for race days. One place for fans to find the next race and the next party. ### Partnerships Partnerships and activations that gave F1inTO credibility fast. Partners include Monster Energy, Side Launch and The Loose Moose. ## The result F1inTO is now the biggest race day in Toronto and one of the most recognisable pieces of motorsport brand work in the Canadian market. The 2026 season hit a peak show rate of 80% at the Canada GP on a paid ticket, and every fan who scans in is scored into a segment so each race day sets up the next. It anchors Culture Cartel Live’s motorsport division as its flagship, and its next chapter, [GRID+CLUB](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/grid-club), is launching soon. The engine, in numbers ## A room that keeps score. Every F1inTO race day runs on Prize Runner, the engine behind the app, while Race Control reads the race itself, live. Here is what it runs on. Live timing, one race 140K+ Data points read in a single race All 22 cars, about twelve updates a second. Counted from our recording of the 2026 Dutch GP Canada GP 80% Peak show rate Paid ticket, Canada Grand Prix Every AI send 4 guardrails And a person approves Facts as data, a bounded prompt, house style in code The race-day app ## The room, in every pocket. go.f1into.ca runs every F1inTO race day. Fans enter the draw with an email, pick a team, chase challenges around the room and scan in at partner stations. No download. Press play: this is the real build, in demo mode. 1. 01 Enter the draw Email is the key. No password, no download, in under ten seconds. 2. 02 Pick your team Choose a constructor and a driver, and the whole app takes on your team’s colours. 3. 03 Race-day challenges A bingo card for the room: find a fan in a Ferrari cap, high-five the crew at the partner booth. 4. 04 Sponsor stations Scan the QR code at the Monster Energy station for extra entries. Footfall a sponsor can count. 5. 05 Trivia, predictions, quizzes Predict the top ten, take the F1 trivia, find your driver DNA. Every answer is a data point. 6. 06 Race Control A WhatsApp concierge: tickets before they go, your entries on race day and live timing while the cars are out. ![F1inTO app: enter the draw](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/enter.webp) ![F1inTO app: pick your team](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/team.webp) ![F1inTO app: choose your driver, the app turns McLaren papaya](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/driver.webp) ![F1inTO app: you are in, with your entries](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/in.webp) ![F1inTO app: race-day challenges that earn draw entries](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/challenges.webp) ![F1inTO app: photo missions with a sponsor in frame](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/photos.webp) ![F1inTO app: scan the QR code at the Monster Energy station](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/stations.webp) ![F1inTO app: the driver DNA quiz](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/app/quiz.webp) The F1inTO race-day app. A real build, running here in demo mode: nothing you enter is saved. ![The F1inTO race-day app, screen by screen: enter the draw, pick your team, you're in with your draw entries, then the race-day photo challenges](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/work/f1into/app/app-flow-strip-1359.webp) 1. 01 Enter the draw 2. 02 Pick a team 3. 03 You’re in 4. 04 Race-day challenges From a QR code on the table to a fan in the game, in about twenty seconds. Prize Runner ## Five moves. One engine. One pipeline, in the order a race day runs. Capture turns a face into a profile. Retain turns a profile into a regular. Scan to identity 01 Capture Scan a code, pick a team, pick a driver. Every fan in the room becomes a named profile in about twenty seconds. Play to signal 02 Engage Entries are earned, not given. Predictions, trivia, race bingo and a driver quiz keep the room playing. - Instagram +3 - Mailing list +2 - Sponsor station +4 - Referral +2 Pick, live 03 Draw Provably fair, in real time. Synced across two host phones, and every winner written once. Score every fan 04 Understand Every fan scored: tier, segment, churn risk, lifetime value and the next best action. Bring them back 05 Retain Points become comp tickets, then a branded email, then a redemption checked in at the door. AI drafts the one-to-one notes; a person approves every send. Understand ## Every fan, scored. Every fan who scans in is scored into one of five segments, and each segment gets its own next move. The dots show how the model sorts a room, not how many are in it: every group is drawn the same size. How the model sorts a room · illustrative - **Champions:** Triggers VIP access and a first look at every race. - **Loyal:** Triggers rewards that keep them coming back. - **At risk:** Triggers a nudge before they drift. - **New:** Triggers a welcome series to race day two. - **Dormant:** Triggers a win-back, one click from a comp seat. f1into.ca ## A home base, not a fan page. - The front door Toronto’s biggest F1 fan hub, race previews written for fans and the next race day one tap away. - Meet the grid The crew behind the room, so a race day feels like walking into your local, not a ticketed event. - What to expect Big screens, full-room audio, prize drops and a reservation-first booking flow that keeps the room right. - Grid Club The membership sign-up, built into the site from day one, ready for the next stage of the property. [Visit f1into.ca ↗](https://f1into.ca) ![The full f1into.ca homepage: hero, race preview, the crew, what to expect at a watch party and the Grid Club sign-up](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/work/f1into/site-full.webp) F1inTO is an independent fan community run by Culture Cartel Live. It is not affiliated with Formula 1 or the FIA. Project highlights ![A full F1inTO race day room in for the group photo, flag out, the big screens behind them](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/races/race-day-group-white-brick-1600-v1.webp) 01 / A full F1inTO race day room in for the group photo, flag out, the big screens behind them ![F1inTO season opener race graphic with cars on track under palm trees](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_066a22b138be4e39-1200.webp) 02 / F1inTO season opener race graphic with cars on track under palm trees ![The F1inTO hosts on the mic running the prize draw at the front of the room on Monaco Grand Prix race day](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/races/monaco-gp-hosts-prize-draw-1600-v1.webp) 03 / The F1inTO hosts on the mic running the prize draw at the front of the room on Monaco Grand Prix race day ![F1inTO Las Vegas Grand Prix race-week poster with cars under night lights](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_bfb9304036314219-1200.webp) 04 / F1inTO Las Vegas Grand Prix race-week poster with cars under night lights ![The F1inTO chalkboard sign on the sidewalk outside the venue, calling the Monaco Grand Prix watch party](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/races/monaco-gp-sidewalk-sign-1600-v1.webp) 05 / The F1inTO chalkboard sign on the sidewalk outside the venue, calling the Monaco Grand Prix watch party ![Red F1inTO Cap Comp social post announcing a fan competition winner](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_ceb20b3ebf3d4fdd-1994.webp) 06 / Red F1inTO Cap Comp social post announcing a fan competition winner ![F1inTO Abu Dhabi Grand Prix poster showing the field at the race start](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_86fb6a37e462416b-1200.webp) 07 / F1inTO Abu Dhabi Grand Prix poster showing the field at the race start ![Black F1inTO crewneck sweatshirt with a tonal flag graphic on a red backdrop](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_6546403aaf964191-1200.webp) 08 / Black F1inTO crewneck sweatshirt with a tonal flag graphic on a red backdrop ![The F1inTO race-day menu on a table, the dishes named for race day](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/live/races/race-day-menu-1600-v1.webp) 09 / The F1inTO race-day menu on a table, the dishes named for race day ![Red F1inTO team lanyard on a dark background](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_1533ae07e54b4d5e-1200.webp) 10 / Red F1inTO team lanyard on a dark background ![AutoShow x F1inTO collaboration visual of an F1 car against the Toronto skyline at night](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_74623eef3a8c4c55-2000.webp) 11 / AutoShow x F1inTO collaboration visual of an F1 car against the Toronto skyline at night 12 / Top-down view of an orange Formula 1 car on an orange background, from an F1inTO social video ## Start a project like this. Launches, activations and brand presence people talk about the next day. Tell us where you are and where you need to be. [Start a Project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=live&ref=f1into) [Ask about this project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/lens?mode=ask&ref=f1into) Related work - [GRID+CLUB](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/grid-club): The next chapter of F1inTO: Toronto’s race-day club, launching soon. · Live / Events and motorsport / Toronto / 2026 - [Smirnoff x Migos](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/smirnoff-x-migos): The commercial and operational engine behind South Africa’s biggest hip-hop tour. · **$5M+** Raised in brand partnerships and sponsorships · Live / Entertainment and Brand Partnerships / Johannesburg / 2018 - [Decorex 25](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/decorex-25): A 25th anniversary turned from milestone into movement. · Live / Events and Design / Johannesburg / 2025 [Next project Michael Kutcher A keynote speaker’s site built to get him booked. Keep scrolling](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/michael-kutcher) --- Culture Cartel, 8 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E 0A6. info@culturecartel.ca, +1 647 459 2154. Start a project: https://www.culturecartel.ca/start