The High-Gloss Circuit

Sara Pope in conversation with Andy Parker

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Andy Parker
Art Editor, THE SHIFT

Contemporary artist Sara Pope takes us behind the visor of POLE POSITION,

her high-contrast tribute to focus, power, and the women reshaping motorsport.

Motorsport is fundamentally an obsession with surface tension.

We measure the sport in telemetry and carbon fiber, yet its visual drama lives in the details: the mirror-finish of a helmet visor, the liquid depth of clear-coat paint, and the electric pulse of human emotion held at the absolute limit. It is an arena of raw performance, but it is also a theater of high fashion, sculpture, and uncompromising style.

Sara Pope understands surface tension better than most.

Her artistic pedigree bridges the highest corridors of culture and fine art, from painting royal portraits to holding the historic distinction of being the first female artist in over 70 years accepted into the Vatican’s permanent collection with her portrait of Pope Francis. Best known for her hyper-realist, glass-like lip paintings that explore glamour, power, and identity, her work carries a distinct high-fashion pedigree forged through years of designing luxury footwear for houses like Paul Smith and Lacoste. It’s an eye trained on form, curvature, and reflection, the exact structural language that draws us to the silhouette of a supercar. When Escapade Silverstone asked her to create a bespoke piece overlooking the iconic circuit, those worlds collided.

The result is POLE POSITION. A piece that strips away the cold anonymity of the fire-retardant balaclava. In its place, Pope reveals the grit, elegance, and fierce determination of the female drivers taking center stage.

We spoke with Sara about the anatomy of beauty, the shared vocabulary between oil paint and automotive clear-coat, and what happens when contemporary art takes the lead on the circuit.

POLE POSITION, (2026, Oil paint on gesso covered wood panel)

KINGSHIFT: Sara, welcome to Kingshift. Your artwork commands space in top-tier galleries, private collections, and royal portraiture around the globe. When you step out of the studio and bring that artistic prestige into the raw, high-octane world of the pit lane, how do you translate your visual language to the asphalt?

SARA POPE: I’ve always viewed my lip paintings as a contemporary twist on classic portraiture, using the mouth as the primary vehicle for emotion. But my background in fashion and design drives everything I do, I'm drawn to glamour, intense color, and strong visual impact.POLE POSITION is just an evolution of that language. Whether I’m working on a sacred icon or exploring motorsport, I’m taking something that fascinates me visually and emotionally and translating it through my own lens.

Sara officially unveiled POLE POSITION at Escapade Silverstone overlooking the famous circuit.

KINGSHIFT: What was the initial spark when Escapade Silverstone brought you in?

SARA POPE: The curator, Renata Fernandes, invited me into the space at a time when I was already falling for motor racing after exhibiting at Salon Privé. What captured my imagination was that moment just before the race begins. It’s an intensely psychological moment. Months of training, prep, and pressure converge into pure adrenaline and total focus. That specific state of mind, where the driver is completely locked in and nothing else exists in that moment, that’s what I wanted to capture.

Sara Pope and POLE POSITION

KINGSHIFT: You lost your primary emotional tool, the mouth, behind a racing helmet. How did your process change?

SARA POPE: It was a fantastic challenge. I’m used to having the mouth as my primary emotional tool, so taking that away meant I had to rethink where the emotion was going to come from. But actually, for this piece, it felt quite natural to shift the emotional impact entirely to the eyes. Everything I wanted to capture is held in the drivers gaze. The helmet also helped, as it frames the eyes so dramatically. All the background noise disappears, leaving a hyper-focused spotlight on this incredibly expressive part of the face.

KINGSHIFT: How did you handle the technical reality of rendering carbon fiber, visors, and race gear without losing your signature pop-art finish?

SARA POPE: High-gloss finishes are already part of my artistic DNA, but motorsport materials react to light in such precise, engineered ways. The reflections had to feel authentic. I was fortunate to be lent a wonderful gold-chrome racing helmet by Steve Deeks, the head instructor at Silverstone. Having that sitting in my studio made a huge difference to the creative process. I could physically study how light bent around the shell, how the colors shifted in the chrome, and translate those subtle technical cues into the paint.

The gold helmet lent to Sara. The helmet belongs to Steve Deeks, racing driver and lead instructor at Silverstone

POLE POSITION currently hangs in the art gallery at Escapade Silverstone

KINGSHIFT: Do you see a direct parallel between laying down oil paint and finishing a supercar?

SARA POPE: Absolutely. My technique relies on building up ultra-thin, translucent layers of oil paint to create depth, luminosity, and flawless reflection, similar to high-end automotive paintwork. Beyond the technique, there’s a shared obsession with perfection. On both a supercar and a canvas, the final surface has to look effortless, even if it took months of highly focused work to achieve.

CHILLI PEPPER (2023, Oil paint on gesso covered wood panel)

CHILLI PEPPER was matched with Ferrari’s F1 2026 livery in Kingshift’s March article Art in Motion

KINGSHIFT: Did the environment at Escapade, sitting right beside the track, change how you dialed in the color palette?

SARA POPE: It gave me total permission to turn up the volume. Escapade sits right at the intersection of luxury and raw noise. I wanted the piece to have enough presence to command a room that overlooks a live circuit. The gloss is slick, the palette is punchy, and the overall finish mirrors the polished drama of the machines outside the window.

Sara’s Lip Portraits have been displayed in galleries and auction houses all around the world.

KINGSHIFT: Diving into motorsport culture, what struck you about the women operating in this space?

SARA POPE: Historically, women like Michèle Mouton had to kick the door down in a male-dominated environment. Today, seeing initiatives like the F1 Academy develop young talent means the narrative is finally shifting. As an artist, that intersection of grace, beauty, and absolute physical power is very inspiring.

KINGSHIFT: Has this project made you want to paint specific drivers from life?

SARA POPE: Completely. I’d love to take this further and paint drivers like Alba Hurup Larsen, who’s currently pushing through the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and F1 Academy. Capturing individual female drivers occupying these high-pressure spaces feels like a really rich direction.

KINGSHIFT: What’s the reaction you want when a young woman walks past POLE POSITION for the first time?

SARA POPE: Possibility. I want her to look at the artwork and feel an immediate sense of belonging in whatever space I choose to occupy. Seeing a woman depicted in a state of total control, focus, and unyielding confidence is incredibly powerful.

Danish racing driver and model Alba Hurup Larsen is a driver Sara wishes to paint in the future.

KINGSHIFT: If you were handed the keys to design a 2026 F1 livery, what’s going on the car?

SARA POPE: Red, without question. I’ve been obsessed with red my entire career, it actually raises your heart rate when you look at it, so it’s literally the colour of drama. I created an entire exhibition of work exploring the colour, even creating a piece inspired by Rosso Corsa, the iconic shade of Ferrari red. I’d also blend in hyper-realistic chrome accents,inspired by Hajime Sorayama’s work and his helmet collaboration with Lewis Hamilton.

KINGSHIFT: POLE POSITION is currently available for private acquisition. What kind of space does a piece like this belong in?

SARA POPE: It’s a commanding, high-energy piece, it doesn’t want to hide in a quiet corner! It belongs in a space with real personality: a curated contemporary collection, a modern architectural home, or a private garage standing right alongside fine machinery. Ultimately, it belongs with someone who connects with that feeling of raw ambition and focus.

For more information regarding the art of Sara Pope including prices and commissions visit sarapopeart.com and follow Sara on instagram.

For more information regarding Escapade Silverstone visit escapade.silverstone.co.uk

For inquiries regarding the private acquisition of "POLE POSITION", contact Escapade Silverstone or Sara Pope.