Inside The Secret Billion-Dollar Battle Happening Off The Formula 1 Track

• Formula 1 teams now generate nearly $3 billion USD annually from sponsorship deals alone.
• Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes lead, but even backmarkers rely entirely on commercial support.
• Hollywood joined the grid with F1: The Movie, securing over $40 million USD in brand deals before release.

As the chequered flag falls on another British Grand Prix, and the roar of V6 turbos gives way to timely pop of Nico Hulkenberg’s well-deserved champagne, the real race continues behind the scenes. It’s not for pole position or championship points. It’s for prime real estate on a carbon fibre sidepod. Logos are now the lifeblood of Formula 1.

Brands once content with trackside banners or hospitality tents are now elbowing each other for space on race suits, wheel covers and post-race microphones, with sponsorships are pouring in from every sector: tech, fintech, watches, wellness, and the kind of Australian crypto companies that sound like energy drinks.

Collectively, team sponsorship in Formula 1 is worth close to $3 billion USD a year; a number that eclipses the entire broadcast revenue of most global sports leagues. Red Bull Racing leads the grid commercially, as well as competitively, reportedly pulling in over $300 million a season from various sponsporships.

Mercedes and Ferrari aren’t far behind. Petronas continues to anchor the Silver Arrows’ funding model, while Ferrari’s recent partnership with HP has added new polish to the Prancing Horse.

Further down the field, McLaren, Aston Martin and Alpine have quietly built commercial war chests well north of $100 million each. And at the back of the grid, where margins are slim and points are scarce, teams like Haas and Visa Cash App RB rely almost entirely on sponsor money to stay alive. It’s no longer about which team has the fastest car. It’s about which team can monetise every inch of it.

This shift isn’t just shaping the sport. It’s influencing how it’s depicted on screen. In F1: The Movie, Brad Pitt’ fictional APXGP team may be fake, but the funding is very real.

Brands poured more than $40 million USD into the film before a single corner was shot: Expensify took naming rights and launched a ticket-refund campaign through its app; Mercedes-AMG helped design the car and released a road-going APXGP edition; IWC built a matching watch; EA Sports integrated the team into F1 25; and Heineken, Tommy Hilfiger, SharkNinja, and MSC Cruises all made appearances, turning a Hollywood production into a rolling billboard with a script.

It resulted in a movie that was steeped in Formula 1 realism; something that producer (and seven-time World Champion) Lewis Hamilton was eager to replicate on the big screen. It certainly helped that it was also an undeniable money spinner, too.

Between Liberty Media’s expansion strategy, Netflix’s influence, and the growing presence of American sponsors, the Formula 1 paddock has become a public showroom for global brands chasing attention at 300 kilometres an hour.

The numbers tell one story. But the gridwalk tells another. Teams are no longer defined by engine suppliers or national flags. They’re defined by who’s funding the dream. And right now, the logos continue to set the fastest laps across the paddock.