The Rise of a Marketing Powerhouse
Precision, speed, and performance – this is Formula 1. For decades the pinnacle of motorsport sponsorship was dominated by fuel, tech, and traditional automotive companies. In recent years, lifestyle, luxury, and fashion brands have increasingly been benefiting from the sport’s appeal.
How Do F1 Sponsorships Work?
Since the increase in interest since 2021, fueled by social media and Netflix’s Drive to Survive, the sport has created a marketing platform perfect to reach a global audience. More brands are entering the grid through sponsoring, reaching new audiences, and boosting visibility.
To become a Formula 1 sponsor, brands can pick from several sponsorship levels ranging from central partners (such as DHL, Heineken, or Tag Heuer) to team and venue sponsorships.
Title Partners
At the top level, brands can become title partners, as seen especially in recent seasons with Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari HP. They gain naming rights and visible placement on the car, driver suits, and team apparel, making it hard to miss.
Principal Partners
Brands with strong exposure without appearing in the team’s name are principal partners. Just as with title partners, the brand logo is visible on the car, the race suits, helmets, etc. Examples: Monster Energy (McLaren Racing) and Adidas (Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team).
Global Partners
The other levels include the team’s global partner, which has the rights to use the team’s image, logo, and drivers to promote the brand. Their focus is more on collaborations rather than direct visibility, as it comes with additional costs.
Examples: Santander (Atlassian Williams Racing) and Puma for (Scuderia Ferrari HP).
F1 Global Partners
Like the teams, F1 itself has global partners spotlighted at most races. You’ve surely seen some DHL, Heineken, or Tag Heuer branding, right? Other than the team’s sponsors, they partner directly with Formula 1 management.
This is why the cooldown room is bright red with Moët & Chandon branding everywhere, and the official timekeeper is TAG Heuer (part of LVMH). They’ll be visible around the track, even without you looking for them.
Regional Partners
An F1 regional Partner only has the rights for certain markets or regions, rather than worldwide. For example, although MSC Cruises is a global F1 partner, its being a title sponsor for the 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix makes it a regional partner. Of course, brands can also opt to only be the sponsor for individual races.
Why Do Brands Want to Sponsor in F1?
Not only does Formula 1 present a global market ideal for reaching a wide audience,
but it is a sport that brings people together.
It evokes emotion and passion, which makes it valuable for brands, allowing them to build trust with fans while aligning with the team’s values.
Brands build on strong connections between teams and fans to become part of the moment and remain memorable.
Especially in Formula 1, brands have one huge platform to reach diverse audiences across regions and of different backgrounds.
The Lifestyle Appeal
Races like Monaco, Miami, and Abu Dhabi promote the glamour, luxury, and extraordinary lifestyle of high-profile F1 fans. This is why lifestyle and high-fashion brands are increasingly venturing into Formula 1 sponsorship.
They use the concepts of heritage, engineering, and performance that define Formula 1 cars to create a connection to their brand. But it doesn’t end there.
Fast Meets Fashion
Since the start of the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive, drivers are another opportunity for lifestyle branding.
While brands like LVMH are global sponsors for Formula 1 itself, others collaborated with individual teams and drivers:
- Tommy Hilfiger collaborated with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton until 2025.
- APM Monaco promotes jewelry with Charles Leclerc
- Ralph Lauren and Tumi work with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
- Carlos Sainz is the global brand ambassador for L'Oréal Paris.
Fashion collaborations with teams (Ferrari x Puma, McLaren x Reiss, and Alpine x Perfect) highlight how seamlessly the sport and lifestyle aspects of Formula 1 intersect, showcasing it as an event more about lifestyle, luxury, and marketing expertise.
Overall, the sport evolved into a hub for tech, fashion, and luxury lifestyle marketing. What might be a thrilling escape for fans is a global marketing opportunity for brands.
Ultimately, Formula 1 proves one thing: Speed Sells.
Kommentar hinzufügen
Kommentare