F1 focused on retaining exclusivity for global sponsors amid partnership growth

• F1 has 11 global partners having welcomed seven new sponsors since 2020
• Series is “open to new partners” but will continue to be “restrictive at the top of end of the scale”
• Virtual signage has opened up new opportunities for regional partnerships

Formula One is focused on maintaining exclusivity for its global partners by being “restrictive” on the number of brands it has in its top sponsorship tier, according to Jonny Haworth, the series’ director of commercial partnerships.

Since 2020, Formula One 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 striking deals with the series.

Those brands joined existing partners DHL, Heineken, Pirelli and AWS, taking the total number of global sponsors to 11.

Speaking exclusively to BlackBook Motorsport, Haworth said Formula One still has inventory available to sell, but suggested that the series is conscious of avoiding clutter in the top tier so the value of being a global partner is not diluted.

“On the global partner level, we’re quite restrictive on the number of partners that we have,” Haworth said. “We’re open to new partners, but we’re quite restrictive at the top end of the scale to make sure there’s that value of exclusivity with the number of partners at that level.”

Longevity is also a staple of Formula One’s existing partnerships. Haworth said only one partner has left the series’ partnership programme in the last “four or five years”, although it is worth noting that Etihad was replaced by Qatar Airways in 2023 and Rolex stepped aside as part of the LVMH deal in 2025. It is widely acknowledged that Rolex did not choose to leave Formula One.

With 11 partners at the global level and a further 14 official partners, it’s clear that interest from brands is at an all-time high, meaning Formula One can be more selective while protecting the exclusivity of its global tier. There is also scope for brands to enter at lower levels of its partnership programme and cut through in more creative ways.

Lego’s slickly executed marketing stunt at the Miami Grand Prix, for example, saw the drivers conduct their traditional pre-race parade of the circuit in Lego versions of their cars.

“Sponsorship is evolving and you’ll see us be a lot more creative in the way we build assets,” said Haworth. “Not everyone wants a big brand on track, some people want to tell stories in different ways – the way we brought Lego to life in Miami is a good example of that.”

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Haworth also pointed to the benefits of Formula One controlling its broadcast and its virtual signage, which allows brands to target their advertising at audiences in specific markets. This has not only enabled it to guarantee visibility for its partners, but also created opportunities for more regional partnerships, including with McDonald’s in Latin America.

“We can guarantee signage commitments because we control the broadcast,” explained Haworth. “When you control the cameras and you control the distribution and you control the trackside signage, you can actually control the amount of seconds you deliver…we can actually use the virtual cameras to change the brand during a race. We change brands during the race to be able to manage against various targets.

“It also enables us to sell and do regionalised partnerships … we’re able to send independent feeds directly into those markets and only in that market can you see the branding, so it enables us to be a bit more versatile in partnerships.”

Formula One’s sponsorship portfolio now spans a range of B2B and B2C categories, including the airline, logistics and technology sectors. But even with so many different stories to tell, Haworth is confident that the series’ sponsors have enough space to get their message across to their target audience.

“They’re all broken down into specific categories and the important thing is that the category is super clear and there’s enough space between partners both on category and brand to enable them to tell an independent story in our sport,” he said.

“If you take Lenovo, a B2B/B2C technology hardware company, and Louis Vuitton, primarily a fashion brand, their customers will actually crossover quite heavily, but the stories they’re telling are very, very different.

“We’re telling a technology and innovation story with Lenovo, and with Louis Vuitton we’re telling a lifestyle fashion story that’s less about racing and more about the culture that is around Formula One. 

“You may own a Lenovo laptop and a Louis Vuitton bag, but your engagement in those two things are completely different.”