Theme songs from F1 and car races. Classic tracks that are also great for driving.
What kind of background music do you choose when you go for a drive? If you’re a fan of motorsports like F1, many of you might enjoy playlists that compile historic Formula 1 Grand Prix theme songs.
Even if you’re not deeply familiar with F1, these tracks are all full of exhilarating energy—perfect for driving.
Popular songs are often used in commercials and TV programs, so you might recognize them even if you don’t know their titles.
In this article, we’re bringing you a collection of theme songs from F1 and other car races.
Be sure to check out which bands and artists are behind them!
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Theme songs of F1 and car races. Classic tracks also recommended for driving (21–30)
Stack AttackGary Hoey
The hit program “F1 Grand Prix” is known not only for its theme and ending themes—many of which are popular songs familiar even to non-F1 fans—but also for the many classic tracks used as background music during the starting grid introductions.
In 1996, the song chosen for the starting grid segment of “F1 Grand Prix” was “Stack Attack” by American guitarist Gary Hoey.
It’s a refreshing instrumental number driven by energetic, hard-edged guitar work, and its appeal lies not merely in its speed but in the clear sense of melodic phrasing—real musicality—running through it.
As it happens, Gary was the guitarist for HEAVY BONES, a melodic metal band from the early 1990s, and afterward he built a career as a session guitarist, active across a variety of genres including hard rock and blues.
(Everything I Do) I Do It For YouBryan Adams
Bryan Adams is a globally popular singer-songwriter from Canada.
Here in Japan as well, there are many fans of Bryan’s music, and his popularity remains strong.
Bryan, a master of ballads, released the global smash hit (Everything I Do) I Do It For You in 1991, which many people remember as the theme song for the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood.
In fact, this song was also used as the ending theme for the 2005 edition of the special program F1 Summary, which began airing in 1988.
Since the program was a digest of that year’s Formula 1 Grand Prix season, F1 fans might hear this track and have memories of 2005 come flooding back.
dangerous concentrationD-CREW
A starting grid is a term in motorsports that refers to the positions and order at the start of a race.
In the popular program “F1 Grand Prix,” not only the opening and ending themes but also the music used during the starting grid introductions attracts a lot of attention from fans.
The track introduced here, “Kiken Nōdo” (Danger Concentration), was selected when the starting grid introduction music—previously not fixed at the start of the program—was standardized for the first time from 1989 onward.
This cool track, seemingly entirely programmed and tinged with a curious sense of melancholy, was created by D-crew, a.k.a.
Osamu Rightdaira (Migi-dera).
He is known as a video game music composer, and fans of the BEMANI series will likely recognize his name.
The piece originally appeared on the soundtrack for the 1988 original video animation “Dominion,” but more people may remember it as the starting grid introduction track.
In This CountryRobin Zander
The fiery melody that evokes a man’s melancholy and clumsy kindness, paired with that unmistakably ’80s gated-reverb snare, is just the best.
From 1991 to 1992, “In This Country” was used as the ending theme for Fuji TV’s popular program F1 Grand Prix.
Since THE SQUARE’s “TRUTH” had been used for four years, some people might have felt a bit of dissonance at first.
On the other hand, there are probably those who remember this song as the definitive ending theme of F1 Grand Prix.
Released under his solo name by Robin Zander, known as the frontman of the world-famous band Cheap Trick, the track was originally written as an insert song for the 1987 film Over the Top.
As one of the great rock ballads born of the ’80s, it comes highly recommended not just for fans of the movie or F1, but for everyone.
S.S.T.BANDI Can Survive
If you’re familiar with the history of video game music, you probably know that starting around the late 1980s, in-house sound teams at game companies actually formed bands, released records, and played live shows.
The group featured here, S.S.T.BAND, was formed in 1988 by Sega’s sound team as the “world’s first live band for video game music.” Their 1992 album BLIND SPOT consists entirely of original tracks, and the song I Can Survive was used as F1 driver Riccardo Patrese’s winning theme.
It’s a high-quality instrumental that rock and fusion fans are sure to love—also perfect for a drive!
Race into the lightImpellitteri
Despite being only two minutes long, this is a masterpiece of guitar instrumental where classical melodies and fluid speed picking come at you with relentless intensity.
It’s one of the two instrumental tracks on Impellitteri’s 1997 album Eye of the Hurricane, by the band led by Chris Impellitteri, widely known as a representative neoclassical metal guitarist of the 1980s.
As the title suggests, the track has a sound perfectly suited to a car race theme, and it was actually used in the 1998 broadcast of the F1 Grand Prix to introduce the starting grid.
If you love classic, style-driven metal, it’s packed with phrases that will more than satisfy.
Just listening to it can make you feel like you’ve become a racer yourself—so be careful when driving on public roads!
Battle for the ChanpionshipIsamu Ohashi & Tail To Nose
The renowned fusion guitarist Isamu Ohashi studied under Masahiro Andoh of T-SQUARE as a first-generation student at the music school Mesar Haus.
Not limited to fusion, he also joined the early lineup of PEARL—the band that featured Naomi Tamura—and has been active as a session musician for many other artists.
As a solo artist, Ohashi’s signature track is undoubtedly “Battle for the Championship.” From 1993 to 1994, it was used as the theme for the starting grid introductions on Fuji TV’s F1 Grand Prix broadcasts.
The track was also included on the F1 compilation album “IMAGES,” making it one of the quintessential songs that defined the F1 boom of the time.