Sponsorship from the clothing industry is playing an increasingly important role in Formula 1. The sport has become popular, fans eagerly buy clothes of their favorite teams, which translates into an influx of new sponsors and growing contracts. Formula 1 team clothing is now big business.
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There are industries whose companies have been eager to advertise in Formula 1 for many years. This includes the clothing industry, both in terms of sports brands as well as more luxury ones. For several decades, many such companies have been in F1 as sponsors, as well as suppliers / manufacturers of clothing. Due to the significant increase in F1’s popularity in recent years, the situation has changed dramatically. Previously, such companies usually appeared as classic sponsors and paid money for advertising on the cars. Now, the production of clothing and its sale to fans is becoming more important, as it has become a big business. Previously, such clothes were mainly available in specialist stores, stalls during F1 weekends, or in team online stores. Now, they are increasingly found in regular clothing stores. I have personally often seen people on the street wearing clothes of various F1 teams. In the past, you could see people wearing football shirts, maybe also basketball ones from the NBA. In recent years, F1 has joined this, which means the situation has changed significantly. Now teams can earn money from licenses for sold clothes, thus increasing the value of contracts.
I recently went to a shopping mall and saw clothes related to Formula 1 teams in several stores, as well as related to other motorsport disciplines (Formula E and Le Mans). Ten years ago, you could only find something related to Ferrari in a Puma store; now F1 teams, as well as other motorsports, are much more present in stores targeting the mass consumer.
Big companies compete for contracts with F1 teams, and changes regularly occur due to better offers. McLaren shortened its contract with Castore by one year and from this season has partnered with Puma. They must have received enough money for this move to be worthwhile. Castore had very big ambitions in F1 and gradually partnered with several teams, but currently, it is on the defensive, with only Red Bull left among the big teams until the end of this year. Currently, Puma and Adidas are increasing their involvement in F1; these two companies are pushing through and signing high-value contracts. These are global brands, so if you enter their physical stores, which are not lacking in Poland, there should be a separate stand with F1 team clothes. I saw such in an Adidas store, where there were various Mercedes and Audi clothes. The Polish company 4F recently got involved in the Polish racing car championships, so maybe it will also decide to enter this sport more broadly in the future?
Clothing suppliers for F1 teams in 2026
McLaren – Puma
Mercedes – Adidas
Red Bull – Castore and Pepe Jeans
Ferrari – Puma
Williams – New Era
Racing Bulls – Hugo
Aston Martin – Puma and Boss
Haas – Castore
Audi – Adidas
Alpine – Castore
Cadillac – Tommy Hilfiger
Formula 1 – Puma
Some teams, besides these contracts, also have classic technical contracts with other companies for supplying specialized suits for drivers.
Growing money from the clothing industry in F1
Currently, it is said that popular F1 teams sign contracts worth 25-30 million dollars per season with clothing suppliers. I do not know exactly how this is settled. Whether the company pays a fixed fee and keeps any profits from selling clothes to fans for itself, or if it is a licensing fee, i.e., teams receive a percentage of sales of such clothes. Both options are possible; personally, I expect mixed agreements to be common, i.e., a fixed annual fee plus a percentage of clothing sales. The amounts of such contracts have increased significantly; previously, they were single millions of dollars per year. Smaller teams, which were not popular before, might not have had such agreements at all, only a regular technical contract for supplying clothes for employees.
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What personally strikes me most in recent years are special collections. Many teams promote special collections of their clothes several times a year related to a specific race, anniversary, or other event. Such limited collections go on sale and are usually quickly sold out. Drivers regularly serve as models, entering the track every day, often wearing clothes from sponsors, which they promote this way. These are not always standard team outfits, which are also advertisements.
Possible changes among clothing suppliers for the 2027 season
For several weeks, there has been information circulating in the media that Red Bull will partner with Adidas from the 2027 season instead of its long-time partner Castore. The information is 99.9% certain and was provided by business services. Adidas has entered Formula 1 very strongly. From 2025, they cooperate with Mercedes, from 2026 with Audi, and from 2027 Red Bull will join. According to unofficial information, each of these contracts is similar and worth about 25 million euros per season.
Treat this information currently only as a rumor, but reports have appeared that Gucci is in talks with Alpine. The Italian fashion house would become their title sponsor from 2027 for a large sum, replacing BWT. The five-year contract with the Austrian company expires after this season, freeing up the spot. If such a change occurs, the cars of this team would no longer be pink but in Gucci colors, i.e., black with accents. In such a scenario, Gucci would probably also handle clothing production, but likely only the elegant ones; Alpine’s sportswear would still have to have a different supplier. Currently, the CEO of Kering, which owns Gucci among others, is Luca de Meo, who was quite recently the CEO of the Renault group, responsible for the revival of the Alpine brand and its introduction to F1. The connections are therefore obvious.
P.S. Companies related to fashion have been connected with Formula 1 for many decades. Besides clothing suppliers, most teams have sponsors from the optical industry (mainly sunglasses), and they are also connected with companies producing watches. I used to make such summaries on the blog, but they are now outdated because every year there are some changes among sponsors from these industries.
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