LinkedIn Content Strategy for Motorsport Sponsorship Strategists | Netwarm
LinkedIn playbook · Case study
LinkedIn content strategy for motorsport sponsorship strategists: how a London F1 and MotoGP sponsorship strategist reached 202 founders and directors hiding among 426 peers
We read every reaction on 18 posts from a London motorsport sponsorship strategist. 1,269 people, 202 founders and directors. Here is what brings buyers, what brings peers, and the 5 posts we’d publish next.
Max Sawyer · Netwarm··12 min read
The creator in this case studyA London motorsport sponsorship strategist with 25 years in F1 and MotoGP
Followers36,980
Posts~3 a week
These numbers are from 3 November. Your audience has already moved.
New founders and directors turn Hot every week and others go quiet. Run your free scan to see today’s version, with the names.
SellsSponsorship strategy and partnership development for brands investing in F1 and MotoGP, and The Business of Motorsport newsletter
PeriodSep 23 – Nov 3
Ideal client: Founders, CEOs and marketing directors of brands that could invest in F1, MotoGP or the wider motorsport world, and need a sponsorship that pays back beyond the logo.The challenge: The strategist writes about the commercial decisions behind F1 and MotoGP: who decides, who invests and who benefits. Motorsport has one of the most passionate audiences on LinkedIn, so fans, students and people who already work in the paddock react first. Which posts reach the brand leaders who would actually sign a sponsorship?
Key takeaways
The buyers are there, hiding among peers.202 founders, CEOs, owners and directors reacted in 6 weeks, 15.9% of everyone. 426 people who work in motorsport, sports marketing or sponsorship reacted too, 33.6%.
Topics don’t decide it. The brand angle does.All five topics brought 13.8% to 17.5% buyers. The post on the sponsors who walked away from Kimi Antonelli brought 24.2%, the post about F1’s CEO on late-night TV 9.2%.
5 buyers are Hot right now.They reacted to 5 posts or more. One of them reacted to 8 of the 18.
01
Who actually reads you, and what the LinkedIn algorithm changed
The strategist posts about three times a week on the business of motorsport: why a brand picks a series or a team, what a sponsor really buys, and what a title or a calendar change is worth commercially. Four posts launched or shared issues of The Business of Motorsport newsletter. 18 posts between 23 September and 3 November, mostly between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. London time.
The LinkedIn algorithm shows a post to the people who reacted to the last ones, then to people like them. Motorsport is a fan subject: a post on Kimi Antonelli’s title gets 751 reactions, and most come from fans and people in the paddock. Reach can’t tell a fan from a brand director. Who reacted can. We looked at the first 100 people who reacted to each post and sorted them by role.
18posts in 6 weeks
1,269people reacted
202founders & directors
19came back 3+ times
Audience by roleThe 1,269 people who reacted, by roleFree
Peers are the second-largest group: 426 people, one in three. Many work in teams, series, circuits and sports marketing agencies, or study motorsport management. They push reach and they share the posts, but they rarely buy a sponsorship.
The 202 buyers run or direct companies outside motorsport: media and brand businesses, technology companies, finance firms, events and engineering. The other half of the audience has neither a buyer nor an industry title in their headline, and many of them are fans. A Netwarm scan matches each person to the ideal client the strategist defines.
SeniorityAll people who reactedFree
Founder, owner, C-level15.8%
Director, VP6.1%
Manager12.7%
Independent5.5%
Other60%
IndustriesFounders and directors onlyNetwarm
Marketing, media and brand26.7%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
See all industries and company sizes in your free scan.
Core audience19 founders and directors engaged 3+ times · 5 engaged 5+ timesNetwarm
19 founders and directors keep coming back. One of them reacted to 8 of the 18 posts.See your regulars
Engager company sizeEveryone who reacted, by company sizeNetwarm
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
See which company sizes your founders and directors work at.See company sizes
02
What to post on LinkedIn to reach founders and directors
Most motorsport creators judge a post by its reactions. A strategist who sells sponsorship should judge it by who reacted.
We tagged each of the 18 posts by topic, then measured the share of founders, CEOs, owners and directors among the people who reacted.
Your topicsWhat your 18 posts were aboutFree
18posts
Brand and sponsorship analysis6
Newsletter issues4
Driver and title moments3
Series and calendar news3
Women and inclusion2
Topics that attract founders and directorsShare of each topic’s reactions from founders and directorsNetwarm
Newsletter issues17.5%
Series and calendar news17.2%
Brand and sponsorship analysis15.9%
Women and inclusion14.5%
Driver and title moments13.8%
Topics are level. Single posts range from 9.2% to 24.2% founders and directors. See which ones led.See which topics
Every topic brought about the same share of buyers: 13.8% to 17.5%. The topic doesn’t decide who reacts. Whether the post is told from the brand’s side does.
Posts that brought the most founders and directorsShare of founders and directors in each post’s reactions1 of 5 open
#1The sponsors who walked away from Kimi Antonelli24.2%
#2MotoGP’s new 2027 weekend format, in numbers21%
#3McDonald’s Golden Zone: an activation, not a hack20.7%
#4Being seen and being remembered are not the same thing20.2%
#5What Mission 44 funded in three years19%
For comparison, the post on F1’s CEO on late-night TV reached 9.2% founders and directors, the lowest share, and the story about starting out as a woman in the paddock 10%.
5 rules for LinkedIn engagement from founders and directors
These rules come from what worked on the strategist’s own profile, and from the best-performing sports sponsorship and motorsport business posts on LinkedIn over the last 3 months.
1
Tell it from the brand’s side. A founder reads a sponsorship post to picture the decision: what the brand bought, what it got, what it would do next time. A post on what happened on track speaks to fans first.On this profile: the 7 posts about what a brand bought or should buy averaged 18.6% founders and directors. The 8 posts on races, drivers and series news, 14.6%.
Correct the viral take with how the deal really works. “A clever campaign? Yes. A hack? No.” When everyone shares the same story, the insider who explains the contract behind it is the one a brand director remembers. 25 years of deals give the strategist that view.On this profile: the McDonald’s post and the Jimmy Fallon post were read by the same 87 people. The first brought 20.7% founders and directors, the second 9.2%.
Put the number in the first line. “9 years ago Como were an amateur club.” A number that doesn’t fit makes a business reader stop. The strategist’s MotoGP format post did it with 22, 22 and 44.Across the niche: Nick Robinson’s Como post drew 76 comments on 192 likes. Gary Digby’s “0 shops and 1 trophy” post drew 23 comments on 86 likes.
Show the activation, not the logo. Brands don’t buy a sticker, they buy what they can do with the rights. A post that lists what fans and clients actually got shows a brand what its own money could do.Across the niche: an F1 show car on a Serie A pitch, posted from the brand side, drew 794 likes. Nubank House, listed item by item, 133 likes.
Turn the big moment into a brand decision. Everyone posts the title. Few ask what it means for the sponsor who stayed, or the one who left. The same news, told as a sponsor’s choice, reaches the people who make that choice.On this profile: the same Kimi Antonelli title, two posts. The celebration: 15% founders and directors. The sponsors who walked away: 24.2%, the highest of all 18 posts.
When founders and directors read: the best time to post on LinkedIn for motorsport sponsorship strategists
We compared the share of founders and directors by the day and the hour each post was published, in London time. Most posts went out between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Share of founders and directors by posting dayAmong the people who reacted to each postFree
12.8%
Mon
20.5%
Tue
15.1%
Wed
16.8%
Thu
19.0%
Fri
13.3%
Sat
14.0%
Sun
Best time to post, by hourShare of founders and directors among people who reactedFree
17.4%
10:00
17.1%
12:00
14.1%
14:00
Tuesday is the best day on this profile: 20.5% founders and directors on 3 posts, about 20 buyers per post. Thursday comes next on 4 posts (16.8%). Monday is the lowest regular day (12.8%), and the weekend posts (race results, title moments) bring more fans than buyers. Friday and Saturday had one post each, too few to judge.
Keep the 10 a.m. to noon slot: both brought about 17% buyers, against 14.1% at 2 p.m. Give the posts that sell the work (the brand’s decision, the deal behind the headline) to Tuesday and Thursday, and keep the weekend for the race itself.
05
5 posts ready to publish to target founders and directors
Each post follows the rules above, in the strategist’s voice: a question and its short answer, short lines, a question to close. Swap in your own details before posting: the real deal is what makes it land.
1Ready to postMyth vs reality
Global, regional, team: what each partner really buysRules 1 and 2: the brand’s side, and the viral take corrected. Modelled on the McDonald’s Golden Zone post, which asked the same question in its P.S.
Hook
Can a brand be an official F1 partner in one region only?Yes.And it is one of the least understood options in motorsport sponsorship.Here is the simple version.Global partner of the series:
The brand, the trademarks and the rights in every market the sport races in.
The biggest budget, the widest reach.Regional partner of the series:
The same official status, in one territory.
The brand activates where its customers are, and pays for that territory only.Team partner:
Rights with one team: the car, the drivers, the garage, the team’s content.
Not the right to call itself a partner of the series.Driver partner:
The helmet, the race suit, appearances and image rights, within what the team allows.None of these is better than the others.The right level depends on one question:
Where are the customers you want to reach, and what do you want to do with them?A brand that sells in three countries doesn’t need to pay for twenty-four.Which level would fit your brand: series, team or driver?
Visual · Single imageA simple four-row table: global partner, regional partner, team partner, driver partner, with one line each on what the brand gets.Check before postingCheck each level against the rights you see in real contracts, and adjust the wording to what F1 and MotoGP actually allow. If you offer the one-page rights guide (lead magnet below), end with “Comment RIGHTS and I’ll send it.”
44 qualifying sessions: what a sponsor gets from MotoGP 2027Rule 3: the number in the first line, then what it changes for the brand. Modelled on the MotoGP 2027 format post (21%) and Nick Robinson’s Como post.
Hook
22 Sprints. 22 Grands Prix. 44 qualifying sessions.That is MotoGP from 2027.Most of the debate is about the riders and the format.I’m looking at the sponsors.A qualifying session on Friday that sets Saturday’s grid means one more result at every round.One more news cycle.
One more moment on the timing screen.
One more reason for fans to watch on a Friday afternoon.For a brand, that is three days of relevance instead of two.But only if it plans for it.A sponsor that only shows up on Sunday misses most of what it paid for.The brands that will get the most from 2027 are already asking:→ What do we publish on Friday?
→ Who is our rider on the Saturday grid?
→ Which guests do we invite to which day?The rights don’t change.
What you can do with them does.If you sponsor in MotoGP, are you planning for Friday yet?
Visual · Single imageA three-column race weekend: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, with the session and the brand moment under each.Check before postingConfirm the 2027 schedule details against the final MotoGP announcement before posting.
Three questions before you back a rookieRule 5: the big moment turned into a brand decision. Modelled on the post on the sponsors who walked away from Kimi Antonelli (24.2%, the highest share).
Hook
Would you have backed Kimi Antonelli two years ago?Some sponsors didn’t.
“Who is this kid?”Today he is World Champion.Waiting for the win is the safe choice.
It is also the expensive one.
By the time a driver is champion, the price has changed, and so has the queue.When a brand asks me whether to back a young driver, I ask three questions first.1. Does the team believe in the plan?
A rookie in the right environment, with time to develop, is a different bet from a rookie on a one-year deal.2. What do you want from the partnership in year one?
If the answer is podiums, wait. If it is a story your customers can follow from the start, now is the time.3. Can you stay for the long run?
The value is built in the years before the title. A brand that leaves after one bad season pays for the risk and never sees the return.Sponsorship is a strategic choice, not a tactical one.Which young driver or rider would you back today?
Visual · Text onlyNo image. The first question carries the post.Check before postingUse the three questions you really ask in client meetings, in your own words.
What the brand did with the rightsRule 4: the activation, not the logo. Modelled on Deborah Wajsbrot’s F1 show car post and Marcel van Oost’s Nubank House post.
Hook
The logo is only the receipt.This is what the brand bought.The Louis Vuitton trunk that carries the F1 trophy.
The Pirelli tyre handed to the pole-sitter.
The IWC watch on the Mercedes drivers.None of these is a logo on a car.Each one is a sponsor using its rights to become part of the moment fans already watch.When I look at a sponsorship plan, I look for three things:→ A moment the brand owns, every race weekend
→ An experience customers can live, not just watch
→ Content the team or the series will publish anywayIf a plan has none of these, the brand is paying for visibility.If it has all three, it is paying for memory.And being seen and being remembered are not the same thing.What is the best sponsor activation you’ve seen this season?
Visual · CarouselFour slides: the trophy trunk, the pole-position tyre, the drivers’ watch, then the three-point checklist.Check before postingSwap in this season’s activation you know best, ideally one you worked on or saw up close.
The question brands ask me firstRules 1 and 2: the brand’s side, told from inside the meeting room. Modelled on the issue 2 post (“We pay to skip ads”) and the McDonald’s post.
Hook
“How many people will see our logo?”It’s the first question most brands ask me.It’s a fair question.
It’s also the one that leads to the most expensive mistakes.Because sponsorship is not advertising.We pay to skip ads.
We pay to watch the sport we love.The question I’d rather start with is:What do you want fans, clients and your own people to feel about your brand in three years?Then we look at:→ Which series and which team share that feeling
→ Which markets matter to you, and which you can skip
→ What you will do with the rights at every race weekend
→ How you will know it workedThe audience number comes at the end.
It matters.
But it’s the result of good choices, not the reason for them.If you are thinking about motorsport for 2027, which question are you starting with?
Visual · Text onlyNo image. The quote in the first line carries the post.Check before postingUse the first question your clients really ask, and your real order of questions.
Free forever: unlimited scheduling through LinkedIn’s official API, with images, video and PDF carousels.
06
LinkedIn lead generation: lead magnets that work to target founders and directors
Reactions show interest. A download shows intent. The fastest way to find out which brand leaders are serious about motorsport is to give them something useful and see who takes it.
In sports business and sponsorship, these formats get the most requests:
Format 1The ranked listA list of the companies or properties that matter, scored on a few clear factors, sent to everyone who comments.
Format 2The market mapOne image that maps a market, with three insights in the post and the full version behind a link.
Format 3The brand guideA short guide written for brands, with rules and case studies, downloaded from the comments.
Our pick for you: “The Sponsorship Rights Guide”Built from what the strategist already explains in The Business of Motorsport: one page on what a brand gets as a global partner, a regional partner, a team partner and a driver partner, with the McDonald’s Golden Zone case filled in. Offer it at the end of post 1, and send it with a free Reveal link to see which founders and directors download it.With a Reveal link, every person who downloads it is shown by name, with their role and how warm they are. Your first Reveal link is free.Create your free Reveal link
07
From reactions to clients
Content brings brand leaders to the profile. It doesn’t say when to reach out. Most never comment, so they stay invisible, and a director reading every post in November may have signed with another agency by spring.
On LinkedIn, the right moment to start a conversation is when someone keeps coming back. We call that Hot: 5 or more points over 90 days, where a reaction counts 1, a repost 2, a download or a reply 4.
Hot right now5 founders and directors · not contacted yetNetwarm
5 founders and directors are Hot. See who to message first.See who’s Hot
First messageAn opener for each Hot person, based on the posts they readNetwarm
Hi Jordan, you’ve been reading my posts on sponsorship for a few weeks. Is your brand looking at motorsport for 2027?Hi Sam, I saw you reacted to the post on the sponsors who walked away from Kimi. Are you weighing a driver or a team partnership right now?
A first line for each of them, ready to send.See the openers
Netwarm sends nothing for you. It tells you who and when, and you write the message. It also works inside Claude and ChatGPT: ask “Who’s Hot today?” and get the list.
08
FAQ
Every topic brought about the same share of founders and directors here, so build the post, not the topic: tell it from the brand’s side, correct the viral take with how the deal works, put the number first, show the activation, and turn the big moment into a sponsor’s decision.
For this strategist, Tuesday brought the highest share of founders and directors (20.5%) and the most per post. Monday was the lowest regular day (12.8%). The 10 a.m. and noon slots, London time, did best.
This strategist posts about three times a week, and 19 founders and directors came back 3 times or more in 6 weeks. Three posts a week is enough when the business posts land on the best days.
Look at who reacts, not how many. Group reactions by role, measure the share of your ideal clients per post, and follow the people who keep coming back. A free Netwarm scan does this for you.
Yes. Netwarm only reads public reactions to your own posts. It never logs in as you, never asks for your password, and never messages anyone for you.
How we made this playbook
We read the public reactions on 18 posts published between 23 September and 3 November 2026, up to the first 100 people per post, and sorted the 1,269 people by role. Comments were not counted, so engagement figures are a floor. The 3 November post was only a few hours old.
Niche rules come from top sports sponsorship and motorsport business posts over the last 3 months; lead magnet examples from the last 5 months. Role groups are approximate, and some founders sell to the same brands; a Netwarm scan matches people to your own ideal client.
