Gucci X Alpine Racing Deal Explained - What Does It Mean?

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Gucci has just become the first luxury fashion house to ever title sponsor of Formula 1 team. It's a big deal, but does Gucci need F1 more than F1 needs Gucci? And why is there a luxury invasion going on in Formula 1 anyway?

[00:00:17]Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer, Moet, LVMH, they're all here. We'll get into why.

[00:00:22]>> That's all to come, but if you want to stay up to date, subscribe on YouTube, catch us on newsweek.com, and listen to us on all of your favorite podcast providers. I'm Lydia Mee.

[00:00:32]>> And I'm Alex Harrington. Welcome to From the Paddock.

[00:00:41]On Wednesday, Gucci became the first luxury fashion house to ever title sponsor of Formula 1 team. Now, from 2027, Alpine will race as Gucci Racing Alpine Formula 1. New colors, new identity, a whole new Gucci racing division has been created. Let's get into exactly what has been announced.

[00:01:01]And then in the next chapter, we'll talk about whether this is actually good for Gucci as everyone is assuming. It's It's It's It's an interesting one, isn't it? Let's talk about first of all the deal.

[00:01:12]>> Yeah, so like you say, Gucci has become or will become Alpine's title sponsor for 2027. They will be Gucci Racing Alpine Formula 1 team.

[00:01:22]Bit of a mouthful, but it's not too bad, actually. It's estimated to be worth 50 to 60 million dollars a year, which would mean over 3 years, it would be around about 150 million dollars plus success bonuses.

[00:01:35]>> Yeah, that's as long as the the contract is currently expected to be.

[00:01:39]>> Yes. And they So, Alpine previously had BWT as their title sponsor from 2022.

[00:01:45]>> That is an exciting brand, isn't it?

[00:01:47]It's a It's a a water purification and treatment firm.

[00:01:51]>> Let's be friendly, cuz >> No, I am being friendly. I, to be honest, bit of a change. I liked the livery. I'm not unhappy to see it go. It is a bit of a an upgrade for Alpine.

[00:02:02]>> Yeah, so they've had the blue and pink livery since 2022.

[00:02:06]Um the deal with BWT is ending at the end of this year, so it's, you know, just as one contract ends, another begins.

[00:02:14]>> Interesting that they haven't rehired.

[00:02:17]>> Yeah, I think but Alpine, I mean, I'm going off piste here, but Alpine is going through a bit of a change at the moment with changing to Mercedes power units. So, they they're kind of not rebranding, but you know, a little bit.

[00:02:30]So, the blue and pink livery will be going.

[00:02:33]And like you say, a black and gold livery will come in.

[00:02:38]>> It's very exciting.

[00:02:39]>> So, yeah, big changes.

[00:02:41]>> Why Alpine and why now? Alpine have been struggling for so long. They were fourth in the constructor standings a long time ago. I can't even remember that when that was, and that was under Otmar Szafnauer. He was pushed out. The stupidest thing that the team could have done.

[00:02:59]>> They just needed to be a bit patient with him, really.

[00:03:01]>> Exactly. He had a plan. That plan did not come to fruition.

[00:03:05]>> with a plan.

[00:03:06]>> But now they're looking like they're doing pretty well. Colapinto's great.

[00:03:10]Pierre Gasly is a known skill level.

[00:03:12]He's a known high level of skill level.

[00:03:15]They're what, fifth in the constructor standings?

[00:03:17]Now, there's been a lot of conversation about Otro Capital stake in in in the Alpine team being sold. Mercedes has been interested. Christian Horner has been interested. We've talked about all of that in former uh previous podcasts.

[00:03:29]So, go and have a listen if you're interested. BYD is even circling. You know, that's kind of the level of Alpine uh the level of of of investors that they were looking at. But things are looking good. This year, new regulations, there's a rise in form, the drivers are finally happy. Briatore looks like he's got a smile on his face, which is rare. It's interesting, isn't it? Alpine's suddenly gone from not to hot. I know that's the wrong way around, but I'm going to I'm going to keep with it. I enjoyed it.

[00:03:59]>> That was the right way around.

[00:04:01]Kind of. It works both ways.

[00:04:02]>> It works both ways.

[00:04:04]>> It worked anyway. But it's also interesting because there's been a lot of major title sponsorship deals announced recently. We've had MasterCard with McLaren, Toyota Gazoo Racing with Haas.

[00:04:16]>> Yeah.

[00:04:16]>> Both of those were 2026, and then now obviously Gucci at Alpine.

[00:04:20]And the Sponsor United figure that's been released, which we've talked about previously, is that team F1 team sponsorship revenue hit $2.54 billion in 2025, and that's up 22%.

[00:04:37]So, it's it's different with Gucci cuz, you know, it's not a tech firm or a car maker.

[00:04:43]It's it's really interesting, I think, that we've had Obviously, we had AlphaTauri previously, which is a fashion brand. But they are the first major luxury fashion house to be a title sponsor.

[00:04:54]>> Yeah, and it shows a change in Formula 1, doesn't it? I think um, >> [snorts] >> you know, we've we've seen so many changes now under Liberty Media. Formula 1 is now a real hot commodity. Um look, Gucci racing arrives in 2027, but there is one thing that has been getting to me a little bit. Gucci isn't the most successful of companies right now. It's not the most successful of successful of brands right now.

[00:05:18]So, let's get into that in the next segment.

[00:05:25]>> Everybody's seeing Gucci's deal as F1 landing a glamorous new partner, but Gucci as a brand has been in trouble recently. The sales are declining, stores are closing. The parent company posted a loss last year. So, the real question isn't isn't it cool that Gucci's in F1, it's whether a struggling luxury house is betting on F1's audience to help give it a boost.

[00:05:48]>> Yeah, exactly. Look, let's talk about the numbers first of all. Really quick, let's run through this. Gucci Q1 2026 sales, they fell 14% um to 1.35 billion euros. Now, look, that's a big number, but it's a it's a fall anyway. 2025 was actually a big disaster for the brand.

[00:06:06]Revenue was down 22% and obviously this follows trends that are happening in the world.

[00:06:12]Kering, which is Gucci's parent company, posted a net loss of 29 million euros in 2025.

[00:06:20]The year before that, they made basically over a billion euros profit.

[00:06:24]So, a huge change. Kering sha- shares, they've gone down by 60% since March 2024 and they're closing 200 plus stores worldwide. Um Gucci still generates roughly 60% of the brands Oh, sorry, of the companies the parent company's profit. That does mean that if Gucci struggles, the whole company struggles.

[00:06:46]Obviously, this follows a huge trend.

[00:06:48]You know, we've seen um uh kind of uh stress, pressure after COVID, we've seen that people can't afford things like they used to. There's a lot of money troubles. But, this spells uh a more difficult period for Gucci, doesn't it?

[00:07:07]>> Yeah, and I think I mean, Gucci has been so kind of like culturally visible for so many years, it it just doesn't seem to have converted that into sales. I think if you remember, we had the I think it was 2021, the Ridley Scott film that starred Adam Driver and Lady Gaga, >> Yes.

[00:07:23]>> House of Gucci.

[00:07:24]>> Yeah.

[00:07:24]>> It was a massive success in the box office, but actually that was nothing to do with Gucci as a brand.

[00:07:31]>> Yes, it wasn't connected at all, was it?

[00:07:32]>> No, and the Gucci family were actually pretty peeved off by it. They publicly condemned the film, said it was inaccurate and disrespectful. So, that, while it's kind of naming the brand and getting the brand's name out there, it's not benefiting the brand in any way.

[00:07:48]>> Yes.

[00:07:49]>> They've also had a constant creative director churn.

[00:07:55]They They've gone from one person to the next to next to next. And they've now got Demna from Balenciaga, but that's keeping Gucci in the headlines, but again, it's not converting to anything.

[00:08:07]So, it's it continues to get attention, but it's not It's clearly not the right attention that it needs.

[00:08:15]>> Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? From a business point of view that uh you would assume that means, okay, people know the brand, but the products just aren't right anymore. Cuz Gucci used to be massive. Used to see it all over people, that really annoying pattern. Um but like I think like maybe the style like Okay, so so Alpine released their drivers wearing Gucci, and you just think, wow, the 2000s are back.

[00:08:40]>> Yeah, they haven't I mean, this is all taste, isn't it?

[00:08:42]>> Yeah, of course.

[00:08:43]>> But like in I'm assuming our opinion, [laughter] it they need to kind of stay a bit more relevant for now.

[00:08:51]>> I mean, yes, it's it's personal taste, but profits are down, so it's not, you know, it's not totally um out of this world. Um the really interesting bit here is the connection between Alpine and Renault, which is the kind of the the Alpine is like a division of It's like a sister company to Renault. Um [snorts] and um the guy who runs now Kering, the CEO of Kering, Luca de Meo. So, he ran Renault and Alpine.

[00:09:20]Um and he left in 2025, and he left to become CEO of Kering.

[00:09:25]Um and he was the one who engineered this deal. So, you know, obviously he has a lot of experience in F1. He's seeing this rise and this change, which we'll come into a bit later.

[00:09:37]And he thought that this this brand deal would be a good idea for them. So, you know, it's um >> And why not use those connections that >> Exactly. Yeah, it's who you know, not what you know. But like, you know, obviously um Formula 1 is putting itself forward as like this this driver, this Adam Driver. So, [snorts] look, you know, um it's interesting, but but Gucci they understand where they are, don't they?

[00:10:02]>> Yeah, and I think actually as well, it's interesting because Kering admitted in its own earnings call that Gucci had low cultural relevance, especially in China.

[00:10:12]So, they are obviously realizing they need to do something to turn the beat around.

[00:10:18]>> Modernize the brand. That's the thing, isn't it? I think like a lot of new to me brands have come in and they're very modern, they've got modern branding. Gucci hasn't changed, you know, in a long time. It's from what I've seen, its products are still pretty similar to what they used to be.

[00:10:33]And I feel like yeah, it just needs a bit of a revamp.

[00:10:35]>> Yeah, and F1 is kind of on the way up. I mean, it's obviously >> No, it's still growing. It's still growing and yeah.

[00:10:44]>> And it's it's definitely it provides brands with an opportunity to I don't want to say piggyback off of that, but kind of >> I mean >> it's kind of you know, it benefits both sides, but obviously it's a huge opportunity for any brand.

[00:10:58]>> Yeah, and and F1 obviously has that modern um elegance to it, you know, that's the whole kind of branding that F1 has gone for. Now, why does this matter for F1?

[00:11:10]It looks like F1 is actually a place where brand uh brands who are in this period of transition, like Gucci, or growth, like AI brands like ChatGPT, OpenAI, all these brands, they are in a huge growth stage, and F1 is looking as though it's one of these these like I said, it's these vehicles for growth.

[00:11:32]Um but it's also quite a big risk for Alpine because if Gucci, you know, if this doesn't work for Gucci, they've got a 3-year contract with Alpine that we know of.

[00:11:42]If it doesn't work and something goes wrong, Gucci might have to suddenly pull out. You know, there are always contracts we know are worth their weight in paper.

[00:11:51]Um what happens to Alpine then? Because BWT, yes, it wasn't the most exciting a brand. It was a bit, you know, you know, we saw this earlier this season with the wasn't the car reveal, but it was then talking about the car reveal. Did they have the car on the ship?

[00:12:05]Like they just put a car >> Yeah, it would just be a show car.

[00:12:07]>> Yeah, yeah, no, I know, but like they had they they showed off the livery or whatever.

[00:12:11]>> Yeah.

[00:12:11]>> And they were talking about it. And it was like, why have you put a a car on a boat?

[00:12:15]>> Well, that's because of their other sponsors.

[00:12:17]>> No, I know.

[00:12:18]>> feel like they did more for their MSC Cruises sponsor than BWT in that moment.

[00:12:23]>> exactly. And like it's it's kind of, you know, I I'm getting off piste, but anyway.

[00:12:30]They were BWT were quite boring, but they were safe. And um Alpine's lost that now.

[00:12:43]I don't know. It's such a different It's a difficult economy to know whether this is actually a safe move or not. Um F1 commercial's F1's commercial boom is being driven partly by, like I said, this transitioning brand, this growing brand.

[00:12:58]So it's actually really interesting uh place for F1 to be.

[00:13:03]>> Yeah, and the fact that F1 now is a place for struggle struggling luxury brands to turn to shows where F1 sits right now in culture. And Gucci's not the only one, which brings us to the bigger picture, which is coming up next.

[00:13:20]>> Yeah.

[00:13:26]Gucci is just the latest name to come into F1. So, over the last 2 years, the biggest luxury brands on the planet have all piled in. We've got Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, Moët, the entire LVMH empire.

[00:13:40]F1 has quietly become the most important marketing platform in global luxury.

[00:13:47]But, why is this happening? And what does it mean for the championship?

[00:13:52]>> Yeah, so you touched on it there, but if we actually look at who's already in F1 right now, we've got LVMH, which is the world's largest luxury group. They signed a 10-year global partnership with F1 starting in 2025. That is reportedly worth around $150 million a year, which obviously means it's 1.5 billion in total, which is just insane. There's something about working in F1 where these big numbers like they kind of become numb to you >> [laughter] >> because everything is just millions and billions. It's crazy. But, obviously included in that you've got Louis Vuitton, which became the title sponsor of the Monaco Grand Prix. So, that is now called the Louis Vuitton Grand Prix de Monaco.

[00:14:32]>> Again, a bit of a mouthful.

[00:14:34]>> A little bit of a mouthful, but we'll let it slide. And they make the trophy trunks, which I love. Bit of a faff to get home, but either way.

[00:14:44]Then, obviously you've got Moët & Chandon, which is the official champagne, which you've seen them spray on the podium.

[00:14:52]>> Yeah.

[00:14:52]>> And then you've got TAG Heuer. They've been in for a really long time, but they took over from Rolex as the official timekeeper. And then, I mean, you've had kind of you take a step down a little bit, LM Aston Martin, the official skin care partner, and now Gucci.

[00:15:09]>> Yeah. Yeah, no, it's it's interesting.

[00:15:10]And like that 10-year deal it just shows that that I was going to say Aston Martin, not quite. The Formula 1 has such it's it's grown and much trust with these stakeholders.

[00:15:22]>> Mhm.

[00:15:23]>> Um so look, why are luxury brands doing this? There are three reasons why. The audience has changed. That's the first reason. F1's audience is now younger, wealthier, more female than ever, and that's thanks to the likes of Drive to Survive Netflix, Apple, and the new broadcasting rights. They've got 750 million global fans. It's the fastest growth seen in the US and Asia.

[00:15:48]And that's why these luxury brands are wanting to not latch on, but be a part of this growth. It's because they have access to the exact people they want to sell to. Reason two, traditional advertising isn't working so much anymore. F1 offers something that a magazine ad can't. It's a live it's an emotional moment. And you know, every podium, like you said, it's a Moët moment. Every trophy is brought to you by Louis Vuitton.

[00:16:20]And every time you look at the timing, there's a TAG Heuer watch attached to it. So, you know, it's it's not just like these brands are bolted onto the championship. They are actually woven into the very fabric of what has built it. Now, the last the third reason, and the last one, luxury itself, like we like we touched on, is struggling. Um LVMH posted a 5% revenue decline in 2025. Fashion and leather goods and wines and spirits are both negative.

[00:16:51]Kering is struggling. The whole luxury sector is navigating a time after the COVID pandemic of weak demand, of lack of confidence in the economy, in people's own earnings, and the demand in China, one of the largest markets in the world, is falling, or is weak, rather.

[00:17:12]Um so, luxury brands aren't um you know, they they aren't piling into F1 from a position of strength. Instead, they are doing it because they need to be part of this growth. And there's a massive overlap with um with what these brands desire and with what Formula 1 desires itself. So, F1 is a growth platform for brands where they're not seeing a lot of growth.

[00:17:40]It's really interesting.

[00:17:42]Um obviously, there's a deeper question behind this. If you weave these more luxury brands into F1, is it a positive or is it a negative effect?

[00:17:52]>> Yeah, I think F1 has deliberately positioned itself as a luxury product. I mean, it's always been glamorous.

[00:18:00]>> Yeah.

[00:18:00]>> Monaco.

[00:18:01]>> Monaco, the Miami we've talked about so many times with the 10,000-lb paddock club pass.

[00:18:07]>> And let's not forget, like Jaguar, one of the pretty underperforming team, they got to Monaco 21, 22 years ago. No, I can't remember what 20-odd years ago. I thought, you know what? Let's put diamonds on the car.

[00:18:19]>> A casual casual, yeah.

[00:18:20]>> Yeah, and they crashed. They lost the diamond. Yeah, exactly. But, you know, it's that level of of >> conspiracy.

[00:18:26]>> Lost the diamonds. [laughter] Someone's got them diamonds.

[00:18:30]>> But, I mean, [snorts] obviously, the money is genuinely good for the sport.

[00:18:35]>> Yes.

[00:18:36]>> It's just at what point does the brand matter more than the racing? That's going to be something that obviously bothers true racing fans.

[00:18:46]And like you say, motorsport has always been commercial. We've always seen huge brands involved, like Marlboro, Benetton, Rich Energy.

[00:18:59]>> [laughter] >> That That is a story for another time.

[00:19:01]We'll come to We'll come back to that brand.

[00:19:03]>> I actually can't believe all that happened. It feels like a fever dream, anyway.

[00:19:07]But, >> [laughter] >> it's it's a different type of brand is now coming in.

[00:19:12]Like you just said, is it actually good for F1 or is it losing its soul a little bit? I I think it's it's difficult. Like I say, F1 has positioned itself as a luxury championship.

[00:19:29]But when Liberty Media came in, it was so exclusive before and so difficult and to go and see.

[00:19:42]And yeah, just not very inclusive.

[00:19:46]>> Yeah. Like there was no behind the scenes. There was no There was little social media. There were the drivers were put on I was going to say pedestals, but let's say podiums.

[00:19:55]>> Yeah.

[00:19:56]>> Um and you couldn't connect with them at all.

[00:19:58]>> Yeah, you rarely saw behind the helmet.

[00:20:00]And Liberty Media has done an amazing job of making it more accessible, more understandable for new fans coming into it. Obviously, Netflix gets a lot of stick, but >> Yeah. But they did something right.

[00:20:14]>> it has done something. So I think they've done so much work to make it a more inclusive >> Mhm.

[00:20:19]>> sport. And obviously now we've got a higher female audience as well.

[00:20:25]I feel like is bringing in more high-end luxury brands kind of pushing it more into the exclusive market again. Like if you've got a young fan or just, you know, any fan who's interested in purchasing something that is F1 related, but all of the brands that are connected to F1 are high-end luxury, it's pushing it more to someone who's got a higher value.

[00:20:55]>> Yeah.

[00:20:56]>> It's It's making it more difficult to own a little piece of something that you might want.

[00:21:01]>> Yes.

[00:21:02]Yeah, I think like if you go to Vegas is a good example of this. Vegas I mean there are a number of them actually that are good examples of this, but Vegas I've personally had this where I've gone into the merchandise shop, gone, "You [snorts] know what? Let's buy a few T-shirts."

[00:21:17]And they're all like $200. They're like 200 plus bucks, and I'm like >> slip and fall and your card taps the machine.

[00:21:24]>> It happens anyway. It happens anyway.

[00:21:27]But like at least I got a free flashy cup. Um You literally press a button at the bottom and it starts flashing.

[00:21:33]>> Oh, that's very Vegas.

[00:21:34]>> Yes, so when you put your killer in it.

[00:21:35]No. Um So yeah, like when, you know, if you put a Gucci badge on it, how expensive on top of What is the multiplier that comes with a Gucci badge? Really interesting. But I'm going to disagree with you because look, there's another way you can think about this.

[00:21:52]And my thinking is what were the sponsors 5 years ago?

[00:21:59]10 years ago even.

[00:22:01]It was cryptocurrency.

[00:22:04]It was gambling and betting.

[00:22:07]30 years ago, it was cigarettes.

[00:22:10]Maybe if you're looking at Yes, I Yes, I totally agree.

[00:22:16]You know, luxury brands are pulling F1 maybe a little too high for for the majority of normal people like you and I.

[00:22:24]But these sponsors are at least a little more What's the word? Credible than a cryptocurrency uh or a betting company that or or Rich Energy.

[00:22:43]You know, >> I do I do agree, and I I understand >> There's credibility that comes with the age of these companies.

[00:22:50]>> Yes, and I I don't think they shouldn't have these partners and brands in F1. I just think let's have a wide variety of brands that could cater. I mean, it's not all about selling like going out and buying a Gucci handbag or something, but you know, let's have something let's have a wider range of brands involved >> Yeah.

[00:23:17]>> to cater for everyone to keep it an inclusive sport cuz it is becoming so expensive. Like even just to go to a race is so expensive.

[00:23:26]>> Yeah.

[00:23:26]>> Let's kind of keep it inclusive.

[00:23:30]>> It is difficult because I think F1's kind of stuck in a difficult position because >> attracts big brands, doesn't it?

[00:23:35]>> And it's it's always been so glamorous and so kind of high-end that you don't want to lose that identity. It's just is a difficult one. But that's somebody else's problem.

[00:23:47]>> Yeah, but no, no, you're you're right though because teams are thinking about this. Williams partnered with M&S.

[00:23:55]>> Yeah.

[00:23:55]>> Which is a brand that the majority of people will be able to afford.

[00:23:59]>> It's a high street brand.

[00:24:01]>> It's it's a high street brand, exactly.

[00:24:03]And I mean, you'll know more about this than me, but you know, like M&S the clothes are good and like they're high quality and they're going through a huge boom at the moment where people are really happy with their with their designs. Um so yeah, I mean, there is I think there is this kind of nice balance that F1 is playing now. Not just F1.

[00:24:22]F1's not involved with this. It's team team level. But they're all playing a good game, aren't they? And And you know, like it's just from a business point of view, you got to remember as well with these brands like just because a product is more expensive doesn't mean it's going to make more money as a as a company. You know, M&S they sell I don't know. I don't I've no I have no idea on the numbers, but let's say they sell a million t-shirts. Yes, they're not overly expensive, but they sold a million of them.

[00:24:53]The margins might not be quite as good as like a luxury brand, but they still sold a million of them. They're going to make a load of money from that. And then you look at Gucci. They don't sell, again, I've no idea, but it's going to be a smaller number, much smaller number.

[00:25:06]They're going to be probably making not similar amounts of money cuz the values of these of these fashion brands, these luxury brands are all over the place as businesses. But like, you know, the money's kind of like in a a similar ballpark at least. So, like, you know, smaller, cheaper companies should still be able to as long as other things overlap, like the market and the aspirations of the brand compared to F1 and the team, whatever. As long as that is is working for them, the money's still there.

[00:25:36]>> Yeah.

[00:25:37]>> So, um no, it's really interesting time in in F1 and we are going through this period of evolution. Um Gucci, [snorts] Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, the most the most powerful names in luxury have decided Formula 1 is where they need to be.

[00:25:54]Whether that's F1 at the peak of its power, we'll see um in the coming years, but one thing before we go.

[00:26:04]Do you have a burning question that you want answered about Formula 1 or about any motorsport, really? We love a bit of everything. Drop it in the comments below and we'll try to answer it in an upcoming episode. And while you're down there, like, subscribe on YouTube, catch us on Newsweek, and you can follow us and listen to us on all your favorite podcast providers. I've been Alex Harrington.

[00:26:27]>> And I'm Lydia Mee. Thank you so much for watching and listening. See you in the next episode.