- Team will be known as Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One team
- Enstone outfit will race in Gucci colours
- Luxury brand targets F1’s “younger and increasingly female audience”
Gucci has entered Formula One for the first time, becoming the title partner of the Alpine Formula One team from the 2027 season.
The three-year deal is estimated to be worth between US$50 million and US$60 million per season, according to The Race giving it a total value of more than US$150 million.
This is the first time a luxury fashion house will serve as title partner of a team in top-level motorsport. The team will be known as Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One team from the start of next year and will compete in Gucci colours.
As part of the collaboration, the Italian firm will introduce the ‘Gucci Racing’ brand, which it describes as ‘a new business and experiential platform’. In terms of activations, the partnership will focus on a range of initiatives ‘from content and product to high-end client experiences and exclusive engagements’.
“[This partnership] reflects our ambition for the brand and the role we want Gucci to play on this stage,” said Francesca Bellettini, president and chief executive of Gucci.
“Formula One represents today a unique convergence of performance, culture, and global reach, and Alpine Formula One Team is the right partner to bring this vision to life. Gucci Racing is more than a presence on the grid: it is an expression of who we are and where we want to take the brand.”
Gucci will replace Austrian water treatment systems manufacturer BWT, who has served as the French marque’s title partner since 2022.
This new deal benefitted from a good working relationship between Flavio Briatore, executive adviser of Alpine, and Luca de Meo, chief executive of Gucci’s parent company, Kering. De Meo was previously chief executive of Renault Group, which owns the Alpine brand.
Indeed, Briatore has previously overseen a team sponsored by a clothing brand through his various positions at the Benetton Formula One team between 1989 and 1997.
“Partnering with a prestigious brand of Gucci’s calibre in Formula One as title partner of Alpine Formula One Team is something I am incredibly proud of,” said Briatore. “Not only that, but I am also excited about the possibilities the partnership with Gucci brings and the great things we can achieve together at a global level.
“The Enstone Team has a history of doing things differently to others and has previously shown that fashion can finish first in Formula One. With the improved performance on track, and Alpine having its best-ever points total to start a season, this new collaboration with Gucci shows the growing momentum behind the team.
“I would like to thank Luca [de Meo] and Francesca [Bellettini] for their trust and dedication in the project and helping make this partnership come to life.”
De Meo added: “Formula One has evolved far beyond sport to become one of the world’s most powerful premium content platforms, reaching over 1.5 billion people each season and inspiring a rapidly expanding, younger and increasingly female audience.
“As a space of creativity, pursuit of excellence and human achievement, we see it as a unique platform for a luxury brand to push boundaries, spark meaningful connections and build long-term value and brand desirability, while delivering measurable and lasting impact.”
Gucci’s first step into the world of Formula One will come two years after rival fashion house Louis Vuitton became an official partner of the championship as part of a wider deal encompassing multiple brands within the LVMH Group.
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