The “2 hands” Fallacy: The Overlap of Music and Motorsport
How Lando Norris arrived at the center of what may go down as one of the greatest marketing campaigns – intentional or not.
At 7PM EST on November 14th, Canadian pop-singer Tate McRae released her new music video for “2 hands.” So far, it’s receiving glowing reviews. With its artistic elements and subtle early-2000’s vibe, as well as her own pit crew, custom race suits and helmets, and even an orange McLaren speeding and swerving down an empty road, it feels like an art piece with two worlds colliding. But many Formula 1 fans are describing how they wanted more – specifically that they were disappointed it did not include a cameo from McLaren driver Lando Norris.
For anyone questioning their reasoning, there were hints it was a possibility.
For weeks leading up to the “2 hands” music video’s release, social media was buzzing about ‘easter eggs’ scattered throughout Tate McRae’s Instagram and TikTok accounts. On Instagram, there were race suits and orange helmets, and on TikTok, a video of her riding a kid’s go-kart with the number 4 on it (a mini McLaren, if you will) to the “2 hands” chorus.
The tipping point was when both Norris and Formula 1 responded. Norris commented, “Good taste in cars,” under her TikTok video, along with F1 saying, “This MIGHT be Lando Norris.” Though Norris’ comment has since been taken down, Formula 1’s comment remains on the original TikTok video pinned on her page.
There is a precedent for F1 drivers making cameos in music videos for different artists. In 2023, Lewis Hamilton made an appearance in the music video for “Longevity Flow” by Stormzy, alongside his Mercedes F1 car. Romain Grosjean, the F1 driver who turned to IndyCar, was featured at the end of the music video for “Dangerous” by David Guetta in 2014.
More recently, Lewis Hamilton was set to star in the music video for Camila Cabello’s and City Girls’ song “Dade County Dreaming.” This past June, a teaser of Hamilton and Cabello joyriding in a Mercedes convertible was shared on Instagram. Unfortunately, though, it was the only taste fans got, as the City Girls broke up in August, less than a month after the teaser was released on Instagram and before the video could be filmed.
Recently becoming the face of Ralph Lauren’s men's fragrance Polo Red, the McLaren driver has been working to grow his personal brand outside of supercars, motorsport, and Team Papaya. This marketing campaign, though it still highlights his racing experience, focuses on the artistic side of motor racing, similar to that of McRae’s much anticipated music video. It only added fuel to the fire that Lando Norris could have agreed to make his debut in the music industry in order to make him more known outside the world of racing.
With so much speculation that the British driver would be in Tate McRae’s new music video, fans were eagerly awaiting the video’s premier just for a chance to see Lando Norris trying his hand at something new.
In response to his absence, many fans in the Formula 1 community are calling it a missed opportunity on Tate McRae’s part. Motorsport content creators all over TikTok have been sharing their opinions on the music video and how having the McLaren driver in it would have sent it over the top. I would argue though, that Norris being in the video would have been distracting and the only thing some viewers would have focused on.
The singer definitely didn’t need the McLaren driver to make an exciting and electrifying music video, but fans hyping up the video with ideas of Norris potentially appearing in front of the camera certainly aided her. It brought motorsport fans unfamiliar with Tate McRae to her music, which could increase her fanbase significantly. Was that her intention from the start?
Or was it entirely coincidental? When fans began talking about the video’s release and some of the orange racing imagery, McRae might have let the legend grow, bringing more viewers to her premier. Maybe this is a case of opportunism at its finest.
I’m not sure anyone has the answer to those questions except McRae. Formula 1 and its fans were certainly on her side though, bringing thousands of more viewers to her video’s premier than there possibly otherwise would’ve been. The video is still being talked about, as is her 2025 world tour, which was announced in conjecture with the “2 hands” video release. It appears that this was one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns for a pop star’s music video we’ve seen in a while — and a truly incredibly video to go along with it. A round of applause for you, Miss Tate McRae!
Motorsport has been encroaching into all types of different industries for some time now, proof of its ever-expanding following. But perhaps for now, a Lando Norris and Tate McRae collaboration may just go down as one of the best things to never happen.