When F1 Met Fries: How McDonald’s Hit the Accelerator with Bortoleto

Some partnerships feel engineered in a boardroom. Others feel like they were built in the paddock, over a pit stop and a shared order of fries. McDonald’s never simply attached itself to Formula 1 this season — it entered the slipstream of culture. And at the centre of it all: Gabriel Bortoleto. A rising star. A quiet confidence. A campaign that made speed look simple.

The spot opened with a tone that felt more backstage than broadcast. Bortoleto stood there, surrounded by golden arches and track energy. No grand speeches. No forced metaphors. Just a driver and a brand in rhythm. He looked into the camera, playful but sharp, and said it like only he could: “Gabriel Bortoleto no capricho no caprichoooo.”

In that moment, McDonald’s achieved something that most global brands struggle to pull off — it sounded local. It acted human. And it lets the talent carry the tone.

There were no car crashes, no revving engines, no overproduced montages. Just a nod to speed, culture, and craving — all stitched into one seamless sequence.

This collaboration thrived through its ease. It embraced the undramatic. In an industry obsessed with power and podiums, McDonald’s introduced freshness through calm confidence. Bortoleto appeared not as a superhero, but as someone you might run into while picking up a McChicken.

The video served as a quiet reminder: sometimes the loudest message is the one that lets the audience fill in the blanks. Brands grow when they share the spotlight, not steal it.

McDonald’s moved beyond tapping into the F1 universe — it understood its newer, younger, meme-fed fandom. The campaign held a mirror to this generation’s sense of cool: casual, authentic, and off-script.

With Bortoleto, they created more than a commercial. They built a moment.