“Hotness, Tyre, Grip”: Inside the US Grand Prix With Gabriella Karefa-Johnson

SUNDAY 7:40 PM OCTOBER 20, 2024 AUSTIN, TEXAS

Something strange happens to the psyche at a Formula 1 race in the Lone Star State. Maybe it’s the crowds in their red, white, and blue, or the deafening sound of a military flyover, or the sight of a preposterously large American flag billowing over the jet-black expanse of a race track. Whatever it is, it turned this F1 agnostic into a super-fan. My friend, the stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, was already a Formula 1 enthusiast before this past week’s US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, where Levi’s, the great conservator of American denim, hosted us for the weekend. But she too can attest to the experience of getting drunk on patriotism at the hands of race cars, cowboy hats, and Texas barbecue. Back at our hotel after the Grand Prix, we stepped aside for a Texas-style Smoke Break to rank the weekend’s barbecue intake and talk pit stops, Levi’s jeans, and logomania.

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JAKE NEVINS: We’re here in Austin, Texas for the Grand Prix. What’s it giving?

GABRIELLA KAREFA-JOHNSON: Honestly, it’s giving high luxury, but in the context of a strip mall. Does that make sense? It’s like, there’s a Louis Vuitton store, but it’s duty free.

NEVINS: Totally. And you got some chic cowboy boots.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I’m obsessed with my cowboy boots.

NEVINS: Tell us where you got them.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I got them at Allens Boots, which I think is the rival of Tecovas, where you got your boots.

NEVINS: Ooh, we’re beefing. But anyway, we’re here in the name of fashion and cars, which brings me to Levi’s sponsoring the McLaren team and collaborating on a collection, combining the great American tradition of denim with the distinctly European legacy of luxury sports cars.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I think that America’s greatest cultural export is the concept of cool. And I think that one of the primary vehicles for communicating that concept is denim. I mean, obviously the Japanese are far superior at denim than we are. But in theory, we brought denim to the world. And I also feel the same way about cars. So it’s actually very natural that I would be at an automotive event with Levi’s. I wear Levi’s to a cocktail party and I wear Levi’s to a dive bar. And that’s kind of what Formula 1 in Austin is. It’s both a dive bar and a cocktail party.

NEVINS: I’ve been a bit surprised by how versatile my jeans have been all weekend. Like, I wore the same pair to a dinner, to the Grand Prix, to the Shaboozey pop-up concert.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: But it’s also like, is that a function of the denim, or is that a function of Austin? Is Texas just a place where you wear jeans everywhere? Or are we like, “These jeans are so fab, we can wear them anywhere?”

NEVINS: I think it’s the latter, and that being in Austin, Texas compels us to wear jeans everywhere. Or even denim on denim, which I wouldn’t do in New York. But here, you turn the dial up a notch.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Agreed.

NEVINS: You’ve taught me a lot about F1 this weekend. I was a bit of a novice coming in, but you’re a big Drive to Survive girl. We saw a pretty thrilling race today.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: We saw a thrilling race today, and we saw P1 and P2 go to Ferrari, which is a shakeup.

NEVINS: We were rooting for McLaren, but the face card of Charles LeClerc will not be denied.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I mean, hotness is the primary factor in terms of my allegiance in this sport.

NEVINS: Hotness, tyre, grip.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Exactly. Hotness, tyre, grip. Tyre with a Y.

NEVINS: What was your favorite part of the race?

KAREFA-JOHNSON: You know what? I love seeing the pit stops in real time. The editing on Drive to Survive is such that it’s like, “Okay, maybe they took one second out of this and that’s why it looks like such a phenomenal feat of physics and engineering.” But it really is that. They really are changing all four tires on this incredibly complex piece of machinery in three seconds. It’s really fab.

NEVINS: It’s jaw-dropping. And it’s a remarkable feat of collaboration, too. The way these guys were preparing for this pit stop laps and laps ahead, then he rolls in and it’s done in three seconds. 

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Totally.

NEVINS: And they were wearing helmets. They looked uncomfortably hot.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Also, a good number of cowboy hats on the pit crew, which I loved. And I don’t know if that’s because we’re in Austin or if they just wear cowboy hats. I feel like they’ve come up a couple of times in BTS footage of Drive to Survive.

NEVINS: Really?

KAREFA-JOHNSON: You really need to get into that show. The drama is pungent.

NEVINS: I felt it. And I heard it. Girl, it was so fucking loud.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Do you think that people who like Formula 1 and cars are going to read this interview and be like, “These people have no idea what they’re talking about?”

NEVINS: Maybe. And I’m going to say, “Well, sorry. I’m dealing with a terrible case of tinnitus.”

KAREFA-JOHNSON: No, it’s so loud.

NEVINS: Let’s talk about how an event like this infects you with this really toxic sense of patriotism.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I have to say, the size of the American flag at the track, it’s both grotesque and also how brainwashing works. I was like, “USA, USA.” I loved seeing the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and the flyover. Then I was like, “Wait, hold on…” It’s weird. We were hypnotized by the Formula 1 experience.

NEVINS: When I saw that flag billowing I was like, “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.” What was the other thing we were saying at the race? On the topic of being drunk with chauvinism.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Oh, yeah.

NEVINS: Signage and cars.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Signage and cars.

NEVINS: F1 is a parade of signage and cars.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: It’s so funny ‘cause when I think about Formula 1 I’m like, “This is very much a 1% sport.” There’s so much wealth around and it’s honestly a very white audience. It feels like it would be really exclusionary and highbrow. And then you look at the cars and it’s like, “Sysco’s Steak.”

NEVINS: I thought the same. One of the cars had like, “Pepe’s Jeans.” I was like, “What the hell is that?”

KAREFA-JOHNSON: As long as they’ve got the cash and they’re funding all these amazing mods on these cars, they get to put a little logo on there. It’s fashion logomania transposed on cars.

NEVINS: It is logomania. Come on Bob Gill. We also saw our favorite rapper Shaboozey last night. And a country music duo whose name I can’t recall.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I too cannot recall.

NEVINS: You were a little bummed out that you had spent $90 on barbecue prior to the event where there was a free barbecue food truck.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I do think we need to be investigating antitrust violations within the barbecue community, because I know that the supply and demand is so astronomical that they can charge whatever they want. But there’s no reason why I spent $90 on barbecue when there was such good barbecue at the party. I wish I hadn’t eaten all day and then gorged myself on free things, which is how I like to go to any party, to be honest.

NEVINS: I want to hear your barbecue power rankings.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Okay, I’m going to start with cold sides. In the battle between slaw and potato salad, it’s always going to be potato salad for me.

NEVINS: 100%.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: And it needs to be an herb-y potato salad, and it needs to be light on celery. And that’s something that I really appreciated from Terry Black’s, which is where I got my $90 barbecue.

NEVINS: What’s your ideal mayo dosage?

KAREFA-JOHNSON: It was a good mayo ratio. And by good, I mean it was heavy. I like a heavy mayo.

NEVINS: Douse it.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: The slaw, take it or leave it. Cabbage in general, it’s too filling. It’s taking up space that could be going to fatty proteins such as a brisket and/or a burnt end, a kielbasa, whatever is happening. So that would be my number one side. As for meat, I try to only do one cut of the cow, and then I’ll do a pork sausage. I’ll always have a pork sausage. But I can’t do brisket and ribs. I definitely need a cornbread, which also takes up valuable space. And then if we’re going to go to hot sides, it’s only macaroni and cheese. If there’s a creamed spinach, I’ll do that. I did make the mistake of getting a creamed corn yesterday.

NEVINS: I love creamed corn.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: It’s really good. But can I tell you, it was both maple and nutmeg forward. I prefer a spiced cream corn with even-keeled sweetness. This one was too dynamic for me. But yeah, a fatty brisket—

NEVINS: A fatty brisket is essential for me, because I grew up on brisket at Shabbat dinners. I mean, my grandmother can really tear a brisket. But brisket in Texas is different.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: It’s different.

NEVINS: Sidebar: the mac and cheese at the party was spiced.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I didn’t have the mac and cheese. What was the flavor profile?

NEVINS: There was some garlic. It was a bit charred.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: I like that. There was a burntness to it.

NEVINS: Let’s just say we’re leaving Austin very full. And now we’re signing off.

KAREFA-JOHNSON: Vroom, vroom baby. Drive to Survive.