The increasing commercialisation of Formula One has seen an influx of new brands from a wide range of industries and markets.
Since 2020, the series has added seven global partners to the top tier of its sponsorship portfolio, with Aramco, Crypto.com, MSC Cruises, Salesforce, Lenovo, Qatar Airways and LVMH all striking deals. They joined existing partners DHL, Heineken, Pirelli and Amazon Web Services (AWS), bringing the total number of global sponsors to 11.
But with this commercial success comes competition for eyeballs. As more companies enter the ecosystem, brands can no longer simply sign on the dotted line and expect sponsorship deals to deliver return on investment. How a brand activates is now crucial to achieving meaningful visibility with fans – and nowhere is that more evident than at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Despite being on the calendar for only three years, the race has quickly become one of Formula One’s most commercially significant events. That rapid rise made it the perfect moment for BlackBook Motorsport to hit the Las Vegas streets and the Formula One paddock to see how brands activated in Sin City.
Lego
The most visible activation of the weekend came from a company that has proved itself a master of sports marketing during its partnership with Formula One.
The drivers’ parade in Miami saw all ten cars recreated in Lego form, with each build constructed from nearly 400,000 bricks and weighing 1,000 kilograms. According to analytics firm Relo Metrics, the stunt generated US$14 million in sponsor media value.
Continuing the theme, Lego brought a pink, open-top Lego version of a 1950s Cadillac to the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Driven by actor Terry Crews, the vehicle carried the top three finishers from the race to the podium.
Engagement on social media has been impressive, with a video of Crews recreating a famous scene from his movie White Chicks garnering three million likes on the official Formula One Instagram account – making it the platform’s most-liked post since Charles Leclerc announced his engagement to his partner Alexandra Saint Mleux on 2nd November.
Other activations included the F1 Academy podium finishers receiving bouquets of Lego flowers. But attention will turn to the track next season when Lego enters a car in the all-female series for the first time.
Hello Kitty
For the first time, Hello Kitty was present at a Formula One race thanks to its partnership with the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Sanrio-owned brand took over a grandstand for the weekend, with tickets priced at US$1,450. Those who purchased this premium package received an exclusive scarf and beanie that were not on general sale. A 36-piece Hello Kitty merchandise collection was also available both on site and online.
Despite the high price of the grandstand experience, the wider activations around the track were far more accessible. Anyone with a race ticket could visit the fan zone, where Hello Kitty was prominently featured. This included a pit stop café offering branded treats such as cookies and cupcakes, as well as a DIY station for fans to decorate their own paper Hello Kitty crown. Temporary tattoos were also available.
Hello Kitty herself also made appearances throughout the weekend, taking pictures with fans in a custom-made F1 Academy racesuit. Hello Kitty also appeared with the drivers when they carried out their autograph sessions in the paddock and handed out photo cards.
Jill Koch, senior vice president for brand management and marketing at Sanrio, told BlackBook Motorsport that the activations were designed to “inspire young girls” as the company aims to help F1 Academy challenge the norm in motorsport.
While this was just a partnership for the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, Koch added that she was “excited to see what’s next” for future collaborations.
Hello Kitty pictured with F1 Academy race one podium finishers (from left to right) Alisha Palmowski, Doriane Pin, and Nina Gademan (Image credit: Getty Images)
T-Mobile
Another brand that focused on the Las Vegas Grand Prix was T-Mobile, although the telecommunications provider has been involved since the inaugural race in 2023 and has already announced plans to expand its partnership to the United States Grand Prix from next season.
Across the weekend, 29 brands advertised on the Sphere, according to Adam Stern, but T-Mobile had the closest connection to the striking landmark thanks to its title sponsorship of the fan zone next to the venue.
This visibility was complemented further by Club Magenta, an exclusive space designed to reward customers, which T-Mobile also activates at other major events such as Lollapalooza and the Ryder Cup.
At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the VIP experience offered complimentary food and drink, custom merchandise, premium views of the fan zone stage – which featured performances from MGK, Zedd and T-Pain – and silent discos in between sets.
Naturally, all this generated significant brand visibility, but there was one area where T-Mobile would have preferred to avoid attention. Delivering seamless connectivity for hundreds of thousands of fans is at its most successful when no one notices any issues.
“The big focus for us is driving a lot of network perception and showcasing what our network can do,” said Amy Azzi, vice president of sponsorships at T-Mobile.
“If our network is powerful enough to run a Formula One race with 100,000 people, or power the Ryder Cup and everything they’re doing [with the] broadcast there, that’s an incredible opportunity for us to show that strength versus simply telling people about our network.”
Heineken
As a member of Formula One’s global partnership tier, Heineken benefits from elevated visibility throughout the season. That presence is further amplified at the Las Vegas Grand Prix through its role as title sponsor.
Central to the brand’s approach is delivering a ‘Heineken Experience’ at every race it activates at. In Las Vegas, this concept took on a distinctive twist.
The Heineken Turn Four Club, located near the straight on Koval Lane, offered all-inclusive beer, premium seating, live music, driver appearances, and access to the F1 Academy paddock and surrounding activations.
Described as a “dance club on the track” by Pattie Falch, Heineken USA’s marketing director of partnerships and consumer experience, the goal was to deliver an activation unique to the Vegas circuit.
“We don’t just have a cookie cutter box that one [activation] is the same for everything,” said Falch. “It’s really trying to be something that is unique and different and speaks to the fan. I don’t think I would put a nightclub on a track at a different race because that speaks to Vegas.”
Heineken also introduced the 40-foot Heineken Trophy Tower, overlooking the track and housing a replica of the trophy lifted by race winner Max Verstappen.
Meanwhile, in the East Harmon fan zone, the brand installed a race car where fans could sit in the cockpit and have a video projected behind them of the Las Vegas track. This allowed fans to create content of themselves ‘driving’ around the circuit, take the video home and share the experience on social media.
Papi Steak
Luxury steakhouse Papi Steak transformed a pitlane garage into an exclusive restaurant for the weekend.
Founded in Miami, Papi Steak expanded to Las Vegas shortly after the inaugural 2023 race and has collaborated with the Grand Prix for the past two years.
A three-day pass to the space cost in the region of US$20,000, underscoring just how extravagant and exclusive this offering was.
“Not only are you front and centre right off the finish line, but you get the opportunity to have that same environment like you’re at Papi Steak at the Fontainebleau,” said Michael Waltman, senior vice president of nightlife at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
“The DJ, the energy, the hospitality, the service that we bring, the energy at which the food comes out, food at a very high level, hand-crafted cocktails, champagne, caviar.
“It’s a bit of excess but it’s exactly what makes Vegas, Vegas. We want to bring that to the track and exemplify an experience that you can’t get if you’re in Singapore or Miami.”
Meta AI
Mercedes’ newest partner opted to take its technology directly to fans with an appearance at the team’s pop-up shop in the Aria Resort and Casino.
Meta AI, which partnered with Mercedes in October, gave fans the opportunity to feel like they were sitting on the pit wall with an authentic setup of screens and radio equipment.
The experience transported users to a lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix, with George Russell relaying feedback on the car and track conditions.
A key part of the activation involved converting a photo of the fan into a video of them facing extremely windy conditions – a playful, accessible way to demonstrate the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
As the partnership is still new, both sides are exploring how to best engage fans, but an appearance from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff helped draw attention and encouraged visitors to try the activation.
Toto Wolff kicks off race week as he arrives trackside with @meta AI at the @mercedesamgf1 pop-up shop. pic.twitter.com/2lsgSGytob
— ARIA Las Vegas (@AriaLV) November 21, 2025
American Express
One of the brands sitting below the top tier of Formula One’s partnership portfolio is American Express. So how does a company like that approach its activations?
At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the American Express Trackside Lounge in the East Harmon fan zone offered an exclusive space for Platinum card holders to enjoy the on-track action. The High Roller Ferris Wheel at the circuit was also available free of charge to Amex card members and Platinum card holders.
But to engage more broadly, the brand offered another activation where fans could design their own livery and make a driver introduction video, which were both then made available to share on social media.
This also extended outside the track with the F1 Hub in the Venetian, through which American Express offered Amex card members exclusive merchandise in the Amex zone. Platinum card members could also pick up a complimentary gift wrap kit.
The presence extended beyond the track as well. At the F1 Hub in the Venetian, American Express offered Amex card members exclusive merchandise in the Amex zone, while Platinum card members could also pick up a ‘complimentary gift wrap kit’.
At the more premium end of the spectrum, the 1850 Club at the Aria Resort and Casino served Formula One-themed cocktails for Platinum and Centurion card members.
American Express also supported an F1 Academy entry this year, backing Nicole Havrda. Through this platform, the brand has also chosen to promote a local small business at each round of the season, which in Las Vegas was Garden Farms.
Plus44
A slightly different approach was required for Lewis Hamilton’s Plus44 lifestyle brand, which manages to extend its presence beyond the race weekend thanks to the Ferrari driver’s status as a global superstar.
The long-term goal is for the brand to reach a level of popularity where it is not necessarily associated with Hamilton, ultimately attaining an evergreen status within the fashion world. For now, the focus has been on capsule collections, which is how the brand targeted the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
A collaboration with illustrator Ralph Steadman was rolled out in a popup store in the cloakroom of the XS Nightclub, located in the Encore Esplanade retail area attached to the Wynn and Encore hotels. This location proved ideal for footfall, with queues well over an hour throughout the weekend.
Hamilton showed up on the second day of it being open, which dramatically increased attention and demonstrated the power of his brand as the world’s most marketable athlete.
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