Gucci becomes title partner of Renault's Alpine Formula One team

Alpine will race as the Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team from the start of the 2027 FIA Formula One World Championship, a striking sign that Formula One has become as valuable to luxury houses as it is to racing manufacturers. Gucci is replacing BWT as title partner, and the Italian fashion brand will put its name on a team that was rebranded from Renault in 2021 and is now based in Enstone, England.

The deal matters because it goes beyond logo placement. Alpine said the partnership will launch Gucci Racing, a business and experiential platform built around performance, precision, discipline and excellence. That language shows how premium brands now treat F1 as a global stage for image-building, audience capture and cultural reach, not just a place to sell sponsorship inventory. In a sport where car makers, media companies and fashion houses increasingly compete for attention, a racing team can function as a high-end media asset.

Gucci’s move also reflects pressure inside luxury itself. Kering, Gucci’s parent company, reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of €3.57 billion, down 6.2%, while Gucci revenue fell 14.3%. Kering has said it is pursuing a turnaround and is preparing a strategic roadmap called ReconKering. For Gucci, a title partnership in Formula One offers visibility that a conventional ad campaign cannot match, especially after the brand staged a Times Square runway show designed to revive attention around its image and creative direction.

The bet is on Formula One’s changing audience. The 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey from Formula 1 and Motorsport Network drew more than 100,000 responses from 186 countries, and female fans now made up 25% of respondents, more than double the 2017 share. The sport has also been gaining traction in the United States and among younger fans, making it more attractive to brands that want to reach affluent consumers far beyond the paddock.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but some motorsport outlets estimated the three-year agreement at roughly US$50 million to US$60 million per season, or more than US$150 million in total. Luca de Meo, Kering’s chief executive and a former Renault boss, links the deal to Alpine’s corporate history, while team principal Flavio Briatore has already signaled pride in the arrangement. For Gucci, the real value may not be measured in laps or podiums, but in how effectively Formula One can now sell luxury as a global lifestyle.