MUCH has been written and said about Sara Misir’s development as Jamaica’s and the Caribbean’s first Formula One female driver, following accomplishments that have soared above all expectations.

Misir’s journey into motorsports at a young age and her outstanding command of the discipline have cemented her status as a budding icon and a symbol of women’s involvement in motorsport.

She expanded her credentials when she inked a multimillion-dollar sponsorship agreement with Red Stripe as their Drink and Live Responsibly ambassador, as well as a Heineken 0.0 influencer, ahead of her 2024 season.

Misir, who competes as part of the Formula Woman Team for McLaren Customer Racing in the British Grand Touring (GT) Cup Championship, will also be featured in the Drink and Live Responsibly campaign through various digital and traditional media channels, as well as making appearances on behalf of Heineken 0.0.

The announcement was made yesterday at Red Stripe’s headquarters on Spanish Town Road.

Dianne Ashton-Smith, Red Stripe’s head of corporate affairs, said that the duality of this partnership aims to reinforce the message of responsible drinking, with the help of Misir.

“When it comes to selecting a designated driver on a night out, the best driver to choose is always the one that hasn’t had a drink — unless that drink is Heineken 0.0,” Ashton-Smith said.

“Heineken has been a long-standing global partner with Formula One. As you know, Dutch race driver Max Verstappen is the ambassador for Heineken 0.0 and so it is a perfect match at the local level to have Sara as our own amabassador,” Ashton-Smith said.

Ashton-Smith said that Red Stripe, as part of the Heineken company, has been committed to leading real change around attitudes towards drink driving, promoting When You Drive, Never Drink, and their Get Home Safe initiatives.

“Sara, who brings her star power to help promote responsible drinking to new and relevant audiences, can effectively convey this message to our consumers, driving home the importance of making responsible choices.

“As we continue to drive this message home we are using this association with Sara Misir to deliver a targeted campaign to drive positive change, building on our long-standing commitment while using Heinken 0.0 — a non-alcoholic beer option — to convey this responsible message,” Ashton stated.

In 2022 Misir became the first Caribbean woman to be chosen as a finalist in Formula Woman, an international championship for amateur, female race car drivers held in the United Kingdom (UK). She eventually won the competition alongside three other ladies, all chosen as the final champions.

As a result, she became a professional racing driver and made her international motorsport career debut on June 8, 2022, competing in the GT Cup Championship at Snetterton Circuit in the UK. She also competed in the fourth stop of the GT Cup Championship at Oulton Park in rounds 13 and 14 on July 9, and Silverstone on July 30 and 31.

In domestic competition Misir won a hat-trick of races in three consecutive Jamaican Race Drivers Club (JRDC) meets at Dover Raceway, to emerge as the 2022 champion in both the JRDC Modified Production 3 and the TS1 Classes.

Misir views this partnership with Red Stripe as a perfect synergy.

“Oh, I am so happy to be a part of the team [Red Stripe]; this is something I genuinely believe in. I think this is an authentic match where I don’t believe in drinking and driving, you should be responsible for your life, and there’s so much that you should be grateful for — so being responsible is important for other people’s safety as well as yours.

“I expect this campaign to do very well because of how important it is, and I feel that my generation and the generations coming up will see that improvement and start being more responsible. I have seen where people can be irresponsible and drink and drive, and it never turns out well,” Misir told the Jamaica Observer.

The motorsports athlete of the year for the third-consecutive time will start her 2024 season on April 1 at the Jamaican Race Drivers Club (JRDC) Carnival of Speed at Dover Raceway in St Ann. She is also slated to compete on May 26, July 7, August 4, and October 21 to complete her 2024 Modified Production Class Four racing calendar.