The Rise of GP Explorer 3
Last month, an event that became one of the most influential in the digital world, the GP Explorer 3, took place at the Bugatti circuit, Le Mans, and was hosted by the French YouTuber and now celebrity Squeezie. Setting records with a live audience on Twitch of more than 1.3 million viewers and an average of 1.2 million live on France 2, Squeezie, or by his real name Lucas Hauchard, proved once again the impact of the French YouTube community and how they became pioneers transforming the platform into the center of digital culture in France. To illustrate, his event bringing together 24 YouTubers in a Formula 4 race had more live viewers than the Formula 1 race happening at the same time in Singapore.
Beyond simple entertainment, the event became a key marketing moment for the brands like AirUp, LEGO or Sol de Janeiro that supported it, whether by sponsoring a team or the event itself. The GP Explorer 3 demonstrated how the loyal community built by French YouTubers through their content has become a powerful base of visibility, elevating their events into major opportunities for participating brands.
This article explores how, from entertainment to a true digital marketing powerhouse, the French YouTube scene proves that digital influence can now rival traditional media and that influence marketing has evolved into community marketing. This success highlights how collaboration and creativity among French YouTubers have turned entertainment into a new form of digital marketing.
A Record-Breaking Events
To illustrate this, let’s present some GP Explorer 3 statistics. First, the GP Explorer series had one of the fastest growths, with the first edition hosting 40 thousand people and the last edition, only three years later, welcoming 200 thousand people. Not only this, but the two-day F4 event gathering 24 loved YouTubers each engaging their own community, sold the 200 thousand tickets in two hours, bringing approximately 13.3 million in ticket revenue alone. This had never been seen in the digital world. In the US, people were comparing the event with the Super Bowl to explain the impact on culture.1 Additionally, Squeezie created a collaborative album with French artists, selling more than 21 thousand copies and showing the power of community as the songs on the album took control of the French digital world and gave each participant a gold record.
On social media, the GP Explorer 3 event generated more than 120 million impressions across platforms. As Stéphanie Jouin, editor and marketing expert, brilliantly explains in her article on Afffect Media2: “It’s no longer just an event between streamers, but a true sporting spectacle, calibrated, monetized, and publicized. Professional production, record numbers, and popular fervour: the GP Explorer 3 is making history.3”
The Impact on Culture and Digital Marketing
This is true for every viewer, participant, and host who still, to this day, remembers the emotions of passion, nostalgia, and the sense of belonging felt during those two days, even if, for some of them, it was only through their screens. And this point is even more important for all the brands sponsoring the event, such as Red Bull and Alpine, which benefited from authentic exposure far more engaging than traditional ads. The GP Explorer became a cultural moment, proving that large-scale influencer events can drive massive audience engagement and brand visibility. This type of event reflects a shift in digital marketing strategies, going from a simple partnership to an immersive experience shared live.
The Community-First Approach of the French YouTube
The success of French YouTube marketing was built through a community-first approach. Rather than pushing promotional messages, French YouTubers like Squeezie create stories, events, and experiences that audiences genuinely want to share. They focus on the human connection and less on the need to appear relatable, creating a true and strong relationship with their community. This trust is then not only shared between the influencer and the viewers, but also with the brands that choose to enter their world. For those brands, this proves that authentic collaboration with digital creators can generate far greater engagement than traditional paid media. The GP Explorer 3 stands as a perfect example: it unites content creation, event marketing, and influence marketing into one powerful ecosystem. This new form of community-based marketing shows how creativity and connection now define the future of digital marketing.
Explore the community yourself
For more information, as you would have guessed, you are welcome to look at the YouTube channel and social media accounts of Squeezie or of all the influencers who participated. You will then see how easy it is to enter the community and to jump d’un monde à l’autre!4
- R. , C. (2025, 13 octobre). Le GP Explorer 3 : une semaine après, que faut-il en retenir ? WOO | Influence et Social House. https://www.woo.paris/blog/le-gp-explorer-3-une-semaine-apres-que-faut-il-en-retenir ↩︎
- On social media, the GP Explorer 3 event generated more than 120 million impressions across platforms. As Stéphanie Jouin, editor and marketing expert, brilliantly explains in her article on Afffect Media[1]: “ It’s no longer just an event between streamers, but a true sporting spectacle, calibrated, monetized, and publicized. Professional production, record numbers, and popular fervour: the GP Explorer 3 is making history.” ↩︎
- Translated from the French: Il ne s’agit plus simplement d’un événement entre streamers, mais bien d’un véritable show sportif, calibré, monétisé, médiatisé. Une production pro, des chiffres records, une ferveur populaire : le GP Explorer 3 entre dans l’histoire. ↩︎ ↩︎
- Translation: Jump from a world to another (title of the top one song on The Last Race album) ↩︎