F1 Sponsorship Guide: How to Secure Formula 1 Partners in 2026

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport sponsorship. It's also the most misunderstood. Teams and drivers at every level — from the grid to the junior programmes feeding into it — make the same fundamental mistakes when approaching sponsors. And sponsors make equally predictable errors when they assume they know what they're buying.

I've spent over 30 years in motorsport commercial operations. The leadership team at SuperHub has collectively raised north of £30 million in sponsorship and funding deals across every level of the sport. F1 operates at a different scale, but the fundamentals of what makes sponsors say yes remain exactly the same. The numbers just have more zeros.

Let's get the uncomfortable bit out of the way first. Formula 1 sponsorship is expensive. Properly expensive. We're not talking about the £50,000 deals that get you on a touring car. We're talking millions. Sometimes tens of millions. Title sponsorship of a top team can run into nine figures annually.

But here's what most people miss: F1 isn't just ten teams. It's a pyramid. And there are entry points at every level of that pyramid, each with different price tags and different value propositions.

At the top, you've got the works teams — Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull. Sponsoring at this level is a corporate board decision, usually involving global brands with marketing budgets that dwarf most companies' entire revenue. If you're reading this looking for tips on how to approach Ferrari, I'm probably not your guy. You need a merchant bank and a very patient board of directors.

But below that? There's space. Williams, Haas, Kick Sauber — these teams are actively hunting for commercial partners. The budgets are still substantial, but they're within reach for serious businesses with genuine marketing objectives.

Here's where it gets interesting for most people. The path to F1 runs through a series of junior categories, and every single one of them needs sponsorship. F2, F3, Formula Regional, F4 — these are the proving grounds, and they're significantly more accessible than the main event.

An F2 season might cost £2-3 million. Still serious money, but within range for a driver with a decent network or a business looking for sustained motorsport exposure. F3 is roughly half that. F4 and the various regional championships are lower still.

The smart money often comes in at this level. You're backing potential, building relationships early, and if your driver makes it to F1, you've been there from the beginning. That story has value. That loyalty has value. And frankly, the cost-per-impression in junior formulae can be significantly better than paying premium for a logo the size of a postage stamp on an F1 car's sidepod.

Beyond logo placement, F1 sponsorship typically includes hospitality access, content rights, driver appearances and association with the team's brand. The specifics vary enormously depending on the deal level and the team's commercial structure.

Hospitality at F1 is genuinely impressive. Paddock access, garage tours, driver meet-and-greets — these create experiences that money can't easily buy elsewhere. For B2B relationship building, there's almost nothing comparable. Bringing a client to an F1 race weekend creates memories and strengthens connections in ways that a corporate golf day simply cannot match.

Content rights are increasingly valuable. Teams generate enormous amounts of footage, photography and behind-the-scenes material. Sponsors with content rights can leverage this across their own marketing channels, creating authentic motorsport association without the cost of producing everything themselves.

Here's something the brochures don't tell you. I've met a fair few F1 drivers over the years, and they very much fall into the category of "be careful what you wish for." They're never quite what you expect. So distracted by the noise around them that they're often disinterested in anything that doesn't directly apply to their racing.

On one particular occasion, I got introduced to a British Formula 1 World Champion. Someone I'd followed since I was a kid. The closest analogy I can give is this: I always wanted an Aston Martin growing up. Saved my pennies, finally bought a used DB9. Hated every moment of owning it.

So there I am, being introduced by someone fairly significant in the industry, and this world champion is waffling on about something I genuinely cannot remember today. What I do remember is sitting there thinking: I loved watching you race, but my God you are literally the dullest person I've ever met.

Being a brilliant racing driver has absolutely nothing to do with being interesting. Think of it like politicians — John Major was famously described as talking quietly and carrying a big stick. This particular driver talked quietly and carried a wet lettuce. He may have driven like a lion, but he drivelled on like Deborah on the checkout at your local supermarket.

The point? If you're buying F1 sponsorship expecting charismatic driver appearances that will dazzle your clients, manage those expectations carefully. Some drivers are fantastic ambassadors. Others are about as engaging as watching paint dry on a damp Tuesday in Slough. Know what you're getting before you sign the cheque.

F1 teams typically tier their partnerships. Title sponsors get the biggest logo placement, the most hospitality allocation and the closest integration with the team's identity. Below that, you'll find principal partners, official partners and various supplier arrangements.

Each tier comes with defined benefits and defined costs. The smart approach is understanding what you actually need rather than what sounds impressive. A title sponsorship might look fantastic, but if your business doesn't need 500 paddock passes per season, you're paying for value you'll never use.

Technical partnerships are worth considering if your business has genuine relevance to F1 operations. Teams need everything from IT infrastructure to catering to travel services. If you can provide something the team actually uses, you may be able to negotiate sponsorship benefits as part of a commercial supply relationship.

Not all F1 sponsorship opportunities are what they appear. The paddock has seen its share of deals that promised much and delivered little, intermediaries who didn't have the access they claimed, and valuations that bore no relationship to reality.

Before committing serious money, verify everything. Speak directly to the team's commercial department. Check references from existing sponsors. Understand exactly what's included and what costs extra. The legitimate opportunities are excellent. The questionable ones can be expensive lessons.

F1 sponsorship deals are typically negotiated well in advance of the season. Teams start selling the following year's inventory before the current season ends. If you're approaching in February hoping to sponsor a car for the coming season, you're probably too late for anything meaningful.

That said, opportunities do arise mid-season. Sponsors sometimes exit deals early. Teams sometimes find themselves with unexpected inventory. Being ready to move quickly when these situations arise can secure deals at better terms than the usual negotiating cycle.

F1 carries associations with speed, precision, technology, glamour and global prestige. If those align with your brand positioning, the sponsorship multiplier can be substantial. If they don't, you might be paying for association that confuses rather than enhances your market position.

Consider also the specific team's brand. Ferrari carries different associations than Williams. Red Bull positions itself differently than Mercedes. The team you choose says something about your brand. Make sure it's saying what you want.

If you're serious about F1 sponsorship — whether as a driver seeking backing, a team seeking partners, or a brand looking to get involved — the first step is getting realistic about where you fit in the ecosystem.

For drivers: Where are you in your career? What's your realistic pathway? What assets can you offer beyond driving ability? Build your proposition before you start approaching anyone.

For teams: What's genuinely available? What makes you different from the team down the paddock? Why should a sponsor choose you over your competitors?

For sponsors: What are your actual objectives? Is F1 the right platform to achieve them? Have you done the maths on what it would cost versus what you'd get back?

If you want the full playbook on motorsport sponsorship — every template, every script, every lesson I've learned over three decades — grab a copy of my book Race Funded on Amazon. It covers everything from building your personal brand to closing deals to keeping sponsors happy year after year.

And if you want help with the strategy, the outreach, or the negotiation, that's what we do at SuperHub. We've been connecting motorsport talent with commercial partners for years. We know what works, and more importantly, we know what doesn't. The first conversation costs nothing.