Dreams to Reality: How a Filipina Fan Broke Into F1 Media
In 2023, Marti Pecache’s life changed because of a cancelled Airbnb booking.
She didn’t know it then. All she knew was that her plans for a Melbourne trip had changed in unexpected fashion.
But with her schedule suddenly clear, she opened Netflix, clicked on Drive to Survive, and unknowingly stepped into the beginning of a life she had only ever daydreamed about.
“I got into F1 accidentally,” Marti laughs now in an exclusive interview. Over the last year, we’ve become friends, occasionally discussing the recent races and hoping Lewis Hamilton can find a way back to championship contention.
“Because of a cancelled Airbnb reservation in Melbourne. It was so random… but it led me to DTS, and the rest was history.”
That random moment didn’t just turn her into a Formula 1 fan. It ignited a passion that would launch her into the paddock, bring her face-to-face with her motorsport heroes, and eventually place her behind the camera — on assignment — as a presenter for beIN Sports.
And the story isn’t done.
This weekend, Marti will be working with beIN Sports again, this time at the Qatar Grand Prix, marking her second race weekend as a presenter and confirming what many already see:
She’s not just a fan anymore.
She’s becoming a star.
A Secret Account, A Quiet Dream
Marti didn’t begin her journey with grand ambitions.
Before she ever interviewed a driver or walked a pit lane at 1 a.m., she was filming F1 reaction videos through what people nowadays might call a dump account, which she initially started with a friend just for fun.
“In 2023, I used to make videos secretly,” she admits. “I wanted an avenue to talk about F1 without bothering my friends who weren’t into it. I didn’t really have F1 friends… as in wala.”
The duo started from zero. Literally.
“The account started from scratch. Like zero talaga,” she says. “In my mind, it was like, ‘Oh, that’s just some account.’ I never expected it to go anywhere.”
But her personality resonated. Her content — candid, funny, and deeply relatable — captured the experience of Southeast Asian fans who loved the sport but often felt worlds away from it.
She ultimately continued her passion and was finally open to it being more widely seen by the public. With her friend’s support, she started to pursue it a bit more seriously.
Her videos took off. Her following grew. And within months, brands began to notice.
Enter beIN Sports: The First Door Opens Into F1
Earlier this year, just as the new Formula 1 season began, Marti received a message.
“beIN reached out to me, as in beIN Sports mismo,” she recalls. “They asked if we could meet. I didn’t know what it was about, but I said yes.”
This wasn’t actually the first time beIN had contacted her. They had previously tapped her to make a video, one that quietly put her on their radar. But this time felt different. Bigger.
Still, nothing was guaranteed.
“From March pa lang they brought it up,” she says. “But sobrang layo pa ng Singapore Grand Prix, eight months away. I wasn’t 100% sure if it would push through.”
Then came the moment of cosmic alignment: her “burnt toast theory.”
Marti was supposed to fly to Australia for the Grand Prix earlier this year. But things fell apart. Again.
Instead of landing in Melbourne, she found herself in Manila on the exact day the beIN Sports Singapore team flew in for a quick two-day trip.
Had she left the country, she wouldn’t have met them in person. The opportunity might have floated away.
“It’s such a burnt toast moment,” she says. “The same day I was supposed to be in Melbourne, I had the chance to meet the beIN team. If I had gone, baka hindi ko sila na-meet.”
In that meeting, they dropped the bombshell.
“They told me about Off the Grid — their show where the hosts interview drivers, talk to fans, and cover the race weekend. Then they said, ‘For this year, we want to get you. We want to try you out as a social media presenter.’’’
Marti was stunned.
She said yes.
The F1 Singapore Grand Prix: A Weekend of Dreams
When Marti flew to Singapore for her first race weekend as a presenter, she had modest expectations.
“I thought I’d just be doing fan interviews, social content, relatability stuff,” she says. “But ang daming nangyari.”
So much more happened.
She interviewed George Russell and Zhou Guanyu. She spoke to Franco Colapinto in the chaotic paddock entrance. She crossed paths with Yuki Tsunoda. She saw Toto and Susie Wolff on the track at 1 a.m. She stood on the pit lane with a media pass around her neck. She created content with the David Croft — her idol.
“That was the highlight,” she beams. “I said, if I could make a video with Crofty, kompleto na weekend ko. There was nothing more I could ask for.”
Her job wasn’t entirely glamorous. Not in the way social media imagines F1 to be.
“People think F1 is all shiny, elite, and glamorous,” she says. “But behind the scenes, it’s so tiring. It’s exhausting. I’d be on track until 2 a.m. doing TV shoots and I loved it.”
She was surrounded by veteran presenters and broadcasters — Kelly Latimer, Ed Russell — professionals who had been in this industry for quite some time now.
“I felt nervous,” she admits. “Parang, ‘They’re two veteran hosts and then there’s me — the random newbie kid.’ But they made me feel comfortable. They told me, ‘Just be yourself. Let your personality shine.’”
And shine she did.
The Best Friend That Made It All Sweeter
If the F1 Singapore Grand Prix was a dream come true for Marti, one thing made it even more special.
Her best friend.
Aside from her meticulous, adrenaline-fueled race weekend schedule, Marti had a mission: surprise him with pit lane access, something he’d never experienced despite attending the Singapore GP for 10 straight years.
“I pitched the idea to beIN,” she says. “‘I know it’s a long shot,’ I told them. But they made it happen.”
Seeing his reaction moved her deeply.
“Seeing him have fun, especially because it was his first time sa pit lane, was so special. Para siyang bestie trip… with work on the side.”
A Lesson in Belief
Marti’s rise wasn’t planned. It wasn’t predictable. And in her own words, it wasn’t even always believable.
“There was a time I believed in myself but not in the universe,” she says. “Like, I knew I had passion. Skills, I could learn. But I didn’t trust that the universe could give me opportunities.”
As a Filipina woman from a country without a deep motorsport culture, the odds felt stacked against her.
But she learned something powerful:
“You have to believe in yourself AND believe that the universe is capable of giving you good things. You have to be open to accepting opportunities.”
And when she did, they came pouring in.
Visa flew her to the Montreal Grand Prix.
beIN Sports brought her to the Singapore GP as a presenter.
And in a few days, she’ll be working the Qatar Grand Prix, stepping confidently into her growing role in motorsport media.
What makes Marti’s story special isn’t just the opportunities she’s received. It’s the heartfelt honesty with which she talks about them.
She never expected any of this. She never forced it. She never bragged about it. She simply followed what she loved, did the work, posted consistently, stayed humble, and opened the door for thousands of Filipino fans to believe that dreams like hers are possible.
If a cancelled Airbnb reservation could reroute her life, what more could intentional dreams do?
“If it happened to me,” she says softly, “it can happen to them. If I can do it, then they can do it too. You just really have to believe.”
From filming videos in secret.
To meeting Crofty.
To interviewing George Russell.
To becoming a beIN Sports presenter.
To whatever else might come.
Marti Pecache is proving something important: Dreams don’t stay dreams when you chase them with passion, courage, and authenticity.
They turn into reality — sometimes slowly, sometimes all at once — and often in the most unexpected ways
