Welcome to F1, Gucci Alpine F1 Team?!

Ajouté : 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]There's a rumor about title partnership between Gucci and Alpine for next year, which is very interesting from the perspective of what sort of livery that would come up with because of course BWT have been sponsoring Alpine and previously Aston Martin to add some pink to the to the grid and Force India favorite famously.

[00:00:21]Now, I don't know if this is just marketing talk and branding and all this, but Alpine's response was Alpine Formula 1 team is constantly looking for new partnership opportunities and in contact with a wide range of brands and companies as potential partners. The discussions how are however kept confidential and they are disclosed only when confirmed and agreed by all parties. Now, this isn't Alpine saying no, it's not happening, but also not saying yes, it is happening and I do find it quite funny from the perspective of there's so much negativity about negativity about the sport at the moment, but the fact that Gucci's even been brought up is really exciting from this perspective of it's such a large brand and I've been looking up and down the grid at some of the sponsors and with the sex exception of Cadillac who've come in and that's a brand new team. I'm not expecting it to be full of sponsors.

[00:01:09]I don't think I've seen the sport in such a healthy state. I remember the Sauber and the Williams not a few you know, just a few years ago with barely any sponsors on them. Every car at the moment looks great in terms of what it must be from the the business standpoint. So, I just thought what would what your take be on this with with the potential for Gucci of all brands to come in.

[00:01:27]Um I mean look, more brands the the better. I think it's uh you know, there was a story that I was told the other day that um a bank wanted to come into Formula 1 and all the teams had a banking partner apart from one and it was like, okay, fine. Well, we'll have to go with this team because they're the only slot available. I mean, that's really strange, isn't it to think you know, that you're you're multi national company or you know, billion dollar company whatever Barclays are turning over these days.

[00:01:56]Um but you want to get into Formula 1, um and that's your only option. So, it's it's a really strange position, a very healthy position for Formula 1 to be in.

[00:02:06]Gucci brand, I think there's a lot of probably talk LVMH coming into Formula 1.

[00:02:14]And I think that Gucci is kind of a natural fit for a Formula 1 team.

[00:02:19]I'm not necessarily sure that Alpine is the one that immediately strikes me as being the obvious choice. But hey, look, if it if it happens and we see a different livery on that car, so be it.

[00:02:30]But um I think the the the response is is smart. You know, it's a non-denial.

[00:02:37]They can't say that they're not interested because they would be interested, wouldn't they? If Gucci did come in and say, "Oh, actually, yeah, we would be interested in sponsoring your team." They would love it. So, uh I think it's unlikely at this stage, but then, you know, we were talking from 2027, a lot can happen between now and then.

[00:02:54]I also think it's not necessarily as strange as you might think because of of course Flavio Briatore's past and coming with the the Benetton branding. So, he's got such a fashion fashion background.

[00:03:04]And I do think that of all the teams, he would have those sorts of connections in the in that fashion industry, even though it's been a long time since he was majorly involved in it. Fascinating history, by the way, anybody who's never looked into Flavio Briatore's past. It's uh a Wikipedia page I highly recommend for some entertainment. But I do really feel that Formula 1, in terms of the global brands it brings along, we spoke earlier about drivers trying to bring a new audience in. These are the sorts of brands that you see when you go up and down the high street.

[00:03:33]Like there's a I'm on a very small island where I live, and there's an Adidas shop in the shopping mall.

[00:03:38]And I walked in, and I can go and buy Mercedes merchandise. In fact, when I first went into it, there was the mannequins and pictures of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. I don't remember that when I was a kid. Like that's wonderful for Formula 1 to be so in everybody's face just whether or not you like the sport or not. These are These are really good times from a business sense. Well, we talk about access point and you can see the Formula 1 merch in stores in the UK like, you know, cheaper stores and then right up to the the fashion houses. So, you know, it depends on what your budget is, but you can get an F1 top to suit your budget.

[00:04:15]And I think that's great. You know, I I used to see people walking around with like sort of retro F1 gear, which I still do. But now you're seeing people walk around with driver t-shirts, you know, their own brand like, you know, Lando Norris's Quadrant stuff.

[00:04:31]And I think it's fascinating and it's all about entry point and where you can afford to get into support your driver.

[00:04:38]I love it. You know what? I've I've gone into decent amount of airports in the last few years and I really don't think there's any time that I go in and I don't see a Formula 1 hat now, which back in back when I was a kid, that would have been like the biggest deal to see an F1 fan in the wild. So, we are in despite a lot of the tricky start to this year, we are in really good times for Formula 1 and if you look at a much more zoomed out perspective and I think that's a positive spin that Ben and I have been bringing most of this season.

[00:05:04]So, if you do like that, please subscribe because we've got plenty more of it to come. But we've got Formula 1 to come next week with the Canadian Grand Prix. We'll be previewing it on F1 Paddock Update. So, tune in then. Like, comment and subscribe. If you have any comments you want Ben and I to respond to, please let us know below and we'll get back to them for the next episode. But until then, goodbye.